November 21, the Endurance sank beneath the icy waters of the Antarctic. This had a horrible mental effect on the crew. To them, the Endurance was a symbol of civilization. Losing the ship most likely marked the complete loss of civilization to the men. However, there was another sign that the men were beginning to become less civilized. To avoid wasting ammunition, the men had to kill their food in a very inhumane manner. The brutal killing of animals in order to eat was at first upsetting to many. However, by this time, none of the men even hesitate about acquiring more meat. "In the beginning a few of the men, particularly little Louis Rickenson, the chief engineer, were squeamish about this seemingly cold-blooded method of hunting. But not for long. The will to survive soon dispelled any hesitancy to obtain food by any means."
The men were forced to become less civilized in order to adapt and survive. These circumstances reminded me to a lesser extent of a book I once read, Lord of the Flies. In the book, a large group of boys is stranded on a deserted island. The boys slowly start to become savage. This loss of civilized behavior is symbolized in the book by the action of hunting and killing animals. When the boys begin to kill their food, they slowly lose touch with the behaviors of normal society. Although much more extreme, the boys behavior is similar to the men of Endurance.
I did not notice the connection between Endurance and Lord of the Flies, but I do see the similarities now. The characters in each novel are especially brutal when it comes to killing the animals, as you said, but each is for different reasons, and the crew of the Endurance do not become reckless and unfeeling as the Lord of the Flies boys do.
ReplyDelete