Endurance Post 3

Throughout part III, the morale and optimism seem to waver between being slightly high to extremely low. Their faith in Shackleton as a leader is definitely not as strong as it once was, and some of the men are even beginning to criticize his decisions. Sometimes they have an abundant amount of food which seems to live their spirits, but other times they have a low supply of food which greatly affects their moods. When Shackleton suggested that they eat the dogs because their food was running low, the men all had extremely adverse reactions to it; not because they wouldn't eat dog, but because they all had emotional attachments to the dogs. I feel that since eventually they were forced to kill the dogs as to not run out of food, this severely affected them because they lost an emotional confidant. After this, the level of food they have continues to vary.

When the wind began to pick up, the whole crew felt a wave of relief because if meant they were getting closer and closer to their destination. Shackleton even wrote in his journal that the wind was a turn in their fortune and must be spoken of with reverance. Slightly after this however, the crew began to grow tired of the snow that the wind blew into their tents. It was so cold and windy that they men were even described as having constant tears in their eyes that would slide down and create an icicle on their noses. Once pulled off, it would leave a sore that never seemed to heal. The men continue to comment how bored they are and how hard it is to get the time to pass. Sometimes all they can think about is food because they are so hungry. For all the good, fortunate happenings that occur, there also seems to be very many negative experiences as well.

At the end of the section, their attitudes are still pretty low. They continue to fight on and not give up, but it is definitely evident that peoples' motivation is slightly lessening. The end of the section does not end on a happy note. They have discovered that they were not heading in the direction they had wanted to, and the floe splits so they are forced to make an attempt to continue their journey on the boats. While this is not a very smart move, it may be their only chance of survival.