Endurance: Part 2, Chapters 5,6

     It was almost Christmas Day, and Ernest Shackleton commanded that the crew must start moving north again.  The men once again pushed the boats and other equipment need for the journey.  Days later though, Shackleton spotted cracks in the ice.  The ground did not have any stable ice that would support the men and the weight of the boats.  There was no where to go and little to do.

"The final loss of the Endurance was a shock in that it severed what had seemed their last tie with civilization.  It was a finality.  The ship had been a symbol, a tangible, physical symbol that linked them with the outside world."

    The Endurance was a symbol for the stranded crew.  In a way, it was a symbol of comfort and it was from home.  The Endurance was the ship that was destined to be the first the cross the Antarctic Ocean from east to west.  Now, there it was, sinking into the depths of the ocean.

      The despair Shackleton feels is definitely evident as he is telling his crew that they cannot move on.  It seems as if the men are in the worst of situations.  With no where to go, the men write troubled passages in their journals.  Anyone can say they have felt as though they have hit rock bottom sometime in their lives.  With Shackleton and his men, they really are a severe situation, but have not given up on hope.  It is true in a distressing situation, hope can always be found.