Endurance Part Four

      Throughout the book, one thing remained constant- it was cold. However, in Part Four, the conditions seemed unbearable. Then men were barely sleeping through the night, sometimes going without sleep for days at a time. It was getting increasingly colder. The men watched as pancake ice formed and they could hear the water freezing. The men were frozen still. Their clothes were wet from the snow and spray, plus their own body oils. The men tried their hardest to sit still and stay warm, but it was impossible. Lack of food, sleep and warmth made them weak. The harder they tried to not move, the more they shivered, which in turn kept them awake. It was a vicious cycle. The men started to lose a little motivation, given they were frozen from the inside every day and night. In order to keep up their spirits, motivation, and to make things a little better, Shackelton came up with an idea. His idea was that the men could eat whatever food they wanted and however much of it they wanted. He did not ration the food anymore. Although this was a good idea, some men were not happy still. Some men felt seasick, so more food wasn't as enticing as it should have been.
     When reading this section of the book, I couldn't imagine what the men were going through. Section Three talked about how cold and sleep deprived the men were. Sometimes I complain about not getting enough sleep, or freezing on a cold day when I'm bundled up in warm clothes and can go inside to escape the cold. I'm sure the men would love to have traded places with me, given their situation throughout the book.