Shackleton

I knew nothing of Shackleton’s trans-Antarctic expedition going into the book “Endurance.” My goal, as always, is to try to infer, even if it is a ridiculous inference, how the story has affected maritime culture. And typically, I run into a major problem: is my focus on the text or on the story on which the text is based?  For this text, I was caught up with the story, the excitement of it, and thus I was content with focusing my review on the man himself, Shackleton, and the expedition.  At least that is where my brain was until I recalled there was a second ship in Shackleton’s plan. A second trip that the reader forgets about shortly after the first chapter.  I finished Endurance with tears and relief.  They made it!  It was excitingly written and the adventure itself was an unbelievable trial of man at sea, beating all odds. And through my blurry vision I quickly broke out a pen and paper and started my review, and that’s when I remembered the second ship, on the far side of Antarctica.  What happened to that ship?  They were waiting for Shackleton!  Holy shit they were waiting! What tremendous suspense. So, I did some quick research.  That research changed everything.  The first thing I did was to order a text on the Ross Sea Party. The second thing was to reframe my views on the The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. And the third was to start writing, this time with the intent on reviewing the text by Lansing, and not reviewing the expedition itself.  The text by Lansing is a hero story, wrongly so.

First, Lansing should have mentioned the Ross Sea Party, even if indirectly, as a thought in Shackleton’s head. As we start the book, Shackleton is scurrying around Europe finding interest and investors in his plan to be the first to trek across Antarctica.  His plan is to take two ships, and it is two ships that form this expedition.  Lansing completely removes one of these ships from the story.  This is ridiculous and a complete denial of the reality each and every sailor of the Endurance lived.  The lives of the Ross Sea Party depended on the success of multiple things, one was the arrival of Shackleton.  As the crew of the Endurance fought the perils of wintering on an ice flow in Antarctica, and there were many, they also thought the dread of knowing their failure would lead to a nightmare on the far side of Antarctica.  Because the Endurance failed, the Ross Sea Party was to have to wait, with zero information, on the possibility of the arrival, for over a year, not knowing how to ration their supplies, not knowing how many men would be arriving when or if ever. The thought of this tragedy must have been raging through the heads and discourse of the Endurance pack, at Patience Camp and at Ocean Camp, and it must have been a weight on their comfort as they set sail from their ice flow – symbolically leaving the Ross Sea Party in a state of ice-purgatory indefinitely.

Secondly, Shackleton created the story whereby he was the hero – this is not what a hero does. It is understood that man has personal and social drives to be great.  In a competitive world, countries do all they can to find advantage over their neighbors, their enemies and allies alike.  In the 1960’s we raced to the moon. In the 16^th century we raced around the New World, over sea and land. And in Shackleton’s age, 1915/1916, there was only one apparent place left to conquer, Antarctica. Ironically Shackleton had already made headlines with previous expeditions to Antarctica.  The Dutch had already made it to the South Pole by the time Endurance set sail. And the waters around the Southern continent were well traveled and known to explorers and whalers alike. A successful expedition across Antarctica would prove nothing with any scientific or commercial use. The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 was an endeavor to boost the tribal heartbeat of a country.  It was not a worthy endeavor to risk so many lives.  And since Shackleton dreamed, packaged, and marketed this expedition, he did so for his own ego.  He wanted to be recognized.  And so, he led these men to their icy fates in vain.  This is no hero.  Physical endurance and manipulation skills don’t make heroes.  The men who carried Shackleton’s weight and the men who pointed towards true north and calculated the correct latitude and shot their own beloved dogs to feed the group were the heroes, and even that feels disgusting to say.

Finally, where are the 20 sailors in this story?  What the fuck? Why is it that so many sea adventures leave out the majority of the crew.  There were 28 men aboard the Endurance and this text only mentions 8 of them with any significance.  The 20 unknowns undoubtedly had it the hardest, as they were not as well prepared, dressed, or informed as their officers.  Story after story in the maritime there is a focus on the upper class, the officer class, and the intellectual class – as the main characters – and this focus has had a negative impact on the lives of the working-class sailor. It’s robbed them of proper recognitions of their inputs and struggles. It has disregarded their attitudes and beliefs as inferior. And it has ignored their skillset and has asserted they are replaceable.  Well, I believe Shackleton is replaceable.  There are tons of wealthy brats with deep social networks who endanger and take the lives of many hard-working men, all to prove superiority in a game of egos.

In conclusion, Lansing’s book Endurance is a page turner. The adventure itself is fucking amazing.  The ice flows, the sounds, and the hardships are all brought to life. And though the book is worth the read, the reality of the situation is sadly missed. The men all survived the winter of ice – even though some lost body parts to frost bight and they had to eat their dogs.  Though, the men on the far side of the continent, the party sent to leave food supplies and pick up Shackleton’s party, did not all survive – and we should question the author for not mentioning this. We should also question the author for his focus, which is on the men who had it the easiest during this trial, not the unprepared seamen. Lansing’s book has surely encouraged many a man into adventure, though I wish it would encourage more men into thinking about the societal serving they are receiving from the upper classes – both the social and intellectual classes.

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