Survival

Survival is an interesting concept. When I think about survival I usual think about providing for my children, my home, and emotionally. But there are many ways that one has to survive...basic needs, emotionally, physically, mentally. We must survive in the work place, in school, in our homes, in a social circles...When Darwin said " survival of the fittest", was he just talking about strength and size or was he talking about the ability to adapt to any situation that is presented to us? Not becoming the extinct species. Is survival ever left to chance? If I am in a plane crash...does that have anything to do with my natural abilities? In the Heart of the sea touches on survival in many of the ways listed above. It was not just about making it on a boat for 4 months after being attacked by a sperm whale. It was about surviving trauma, death, power dynamics, friendships, enemies, strangers, weather, predators, and your own self. What we found in this story was that personality, will, and physical strength all play a role in helping the few men survive, as did chance and the balance of nature. And how the men who were forced to survive were active players in the destruction of the balance of nature. I was appalled by the continued belief that man, or the men of the new world have the god given right to rape this earth of her inhabitants. I keep seeing the cartoon we looked at in class the first week where the woman is laying, draped in the American flag...enduring "man" pillaging of her. We have read of how man has came to America and see her as a place he can ravage and take advantage this land. This continues in this story as the whalers of Nantucket deplete the sperm whale population, the sea turtles and within 5 days all but destroy the natural make-up of Henderson Island. The men of the Essex did not once hesitate and think about the repercussions of their behavior, "In just 5 days, these twenty voracious men had exhausted their portion of the island" (143). They did believe that the earth and it's beauty was here for their taking. I understand that I should not judge by standards of today but I find it still repulsive the way the human populations continue to deplete or annihilate the earth's resources. I do not see much difference in the men of the Essex and the people of today. So the question is what will be the Whale that sinks America? The world? Another correlation that I made was that the men of the Essex were faced with the same decisions that the men and women of 911 were faced with. I am thinking of the people who choose to jump to their death. I have always thought to myself..."what was so bad that the people choose to jump to a sure death?" Is this what the men who stayed on Henderson Island were faced with when they chose to stay on an island that was low on food and may lose and did lose its fresh water source? How do you make that decision? Chase explains of the men who decided to stay on Henderson Island, "(they) were very much affected, and on of them began to cry" (149). I can not even fathom it. Perhaps it was not the fear of returning to the ships and the sea but that the men felt they must take control. Philbrick states of the men, "the men felt an overpowering need to reclaim at least some control of their won destiny" (106). I also think this story really speaks to the human condition and how it is subject to change at a moments notice. Human life is fragile. How do we survive it's fragility? Anyone who has been devastated or has experienced a "tormenting memory" will tell you just how fragile life can be. We are subject to natural disaster, crime, sickness, finances, senate bills that will destroy unions...(sorry)... I wonder to myself how do we organize our lives to safeguard against tragedies outside of our control? We can not. We must do what we can while we can....This ideal of survival has been represented throughout the course. We read about the harshness of the land during settlement...the conquest of explorers, the accusations of being a witch, and now the conquest and exploration of the sea by whalers. I found the discussion in class about Pollard and Chase very interesting. I focused so much on the atrocities the men faced after the wreck and the consumption of natural resources that I never really thought about life after their return. I personally do not think I would have been able to get back on a whaling ship, or any ship for that matter. I think that was extremely courageous of Pollard. Equally courageous was Pollards ability to stay in Nantucket and change his career. Individuals who possess the highest position in a community and change to try something new, I believe are admirable. However I also think Chase tried his hardest to reconcile with the disaster. If you have ever survived an attack by a crazed animal/person, it is a haunting experience. You subject yourself to endless "what if", "could have", and "would have" scenarios. Everything that happens in life after that moment is subject to being questioned. The immense guilt and anger you feel is consuming at times. I am not sure how either man ever survived after having eating a fellow shipmate. How do you come to the terms with this within your psyche? I would imagine they would not have been a day Pollard and Chase did not relive some portion of this disaster. You asked in class about a "tormenting memory". I do have one, or two, or three....lol. but the one that troubles me most involves my oldest son. It was a situation where I was trying to survive emotionally, physically, and mentally. I was involved in an abusive relationship and my son saw this man hit me and my reaction. I will never be able to save him from that....I will never be able to take away what he saw that day. I will always feel guilty for not leaving sooner or protecting him more. I do not try to think about this memory often because it is painful. I took the steps to get out and life is pretty good now for all of us but the lasting effect can still be seen within both of us. This is what I mean when I say that every event or decision made after is subject to being questioned. Things that trigger that memory is when I look into my son's eyes and see his innocence. However I will never forget so that I will never make the same mistake again... Now as hideous as the ordeal in the boats was...I just had a thought....at some point did these men feel free? Completely free from societal norms? I would think that you would have to become free of expectation of society to be able to eat another human. Tragedy and disaster can free one from their inner constraints...this was similar to the character in 'Lost'. Although he had gained his use of his legs....the plane crash and being with people who did not know him allowed him to become whoever he wanted to become....I think that is liberating...and I think this is relevant to the movie Fight Club. Tyler often talks about liberation and how to survive you must intellectually and emotionally liberate yourself. This is obvious in his quote. " I am free in all the ways you are not" or " It is only after we have lost everything that we are free to do anything". The latter quote is really intense. When those men were sitting on the make-shift boats, roasting for 4 months, watching friends and enemies die, there had to be a feeling of complete freedom at some point. And perhaps this is what set them free when they returned home, well at lease for Pollard. He had faced his worse demons and could be whoever he wanted to be. After reading Moby Dick and In the Heart of the Sea, I was interested in the black whaler. I found a book entitled, Black Hands, White Sails, the Story of the African-American Whalers. Chapter three was dedicated to the black whalemen of Nantucket. The majority of the black whalemen lived in the all-black community of New Guinea on Nantucket. Absalom Boston was a whaling master. She was the captain of the ship the Industry. He also did fairly well on land as well. He owned land and businesses. He was well respected in a time when the country was at odds about slavery. Fredrick Douglass has ties to Nantucket. Another famous African American sailor from Nantucket was Paul Cuffe. He was an excellent businessman as well a fighter for civil rights for African Americans, "find equality, we must return home"(83). He was instrumental in the development of the American Colonization Society which bought land from Sierra Leonne for the purpose of African Americans moving back to Africa...this land is Liberia. McKissack, Fredrick & Patricia. Black Hands, White Sails, the Story of African-American Whalers. New York: Scholastic Press. 1999.