In the novel "In the Heart of the Sea,"" by Nathaniel Philbrick, the author educates his readers about the tragedy of the whaleship Essex. This tale tells of a 21-man whaling crew that set sail from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts hoping to return with an abundance of oil-filled barrels. However, only five of the seamen were fortunate enough to return after they encountered the harshest living conditions they had ever faced while on this trip. After experiencing an attack by a bull sperm whale, being shipwrecked, having limited provisions to eat, living in damaged whaleboats, killing and eating their deceased crew mates as a result of a diminishing amount of food, and being dehydrated for approximately three months, the surviving men were lucky to be alive. Although the men would move on with their lives after the tragic journey, those daunting 93 days would eternally be engrained into their minds as a nightmare that found its way into reality. Just as the tragedy had affected the survivors' lives, it did the same to mine but in a different manner. "In the Heart of the Sea " was an event-filled novel that evoked almost every emotion from me: anger, sadness, relief, happiness, sympathy, anxiety, and even revulsion.
The first instance that the novel impacted my emotions was when the men were shipwrecked; a whale attacked and sunk their ship, resulting in the crew having to continue their journey in only three small whaleboats. As this occurred, I felt immense sympathy for the men that had just lost their homes, food, equipment, protection, and hard work. In addition, I was anxious and tense for what the men would experience during the remainder of their journey, for there was "no longer going backward, the Essex was now going down " (Philbrick 83). Although the men lost their beloved ship, they regained their sense of determination but now for a new goal. Instead of their goal being to return to Nantucket with as oil as they possibly could, it was now to survive long enough to reach land and be rescued.
