From Isabella S.
The crew on the Essex were very remarkable. They suffered cold, fatigue, and many other symptoms. They couldn't even bear to stand up. "...they barely had the strength 'to move about in our boats, to perform the necessary labors appertaining to [them]'........upon our attempt to rise again, the blood would rush into the head, and an intoxicating blindness come over us, almost to occasion our suddendly falling down again." To survive they had to eat the dead shipmates' bodies to fill thier empty stomachs, and they drank the blood.
Do you think this was right? Do you think they should have thrown the body overboard? Should they have kept the body? What would you have done in that situation? Was that kind of ironic was that all of the colored ship-mates died first. Do you think that was a coincidence or was it planned out that way? What are your thoughts on this?This is something that I was thinking about and it really interested me. Do you think that it is ok?
9 comments:
The fact that all the Africans died first interested me too. It made me wonder why. Maybe it was mere chance and bad luck. It could be because they had less going into the ordeal. By "less" I mean less strength, because maybe they'd been given all the harder jobs and less of the good food and therefore their bodies' resources had been depleted even before their trial on the whaleboats. Other than that, I really have no idea.
I agree with Sarah when she says that they were given the harder jobs, and therefore, used up what remaning strength they had left. Also, the blacks were looked down upon and treated poorly. This mental depression only added to their numerous problems. Nantucketers thought that blacks that were whaling were even worse than the Native Americans. (Womponoags) Ships carrying blacks from other places to Nantucket were known as Slavers. These black people were treated well because of the Quaker belief that everyone is equal, however, they were still looked down upon.
I do not think eating your crewmates is right. However, if you haden't eaten in a very long time, you may feel that you had no other choice in order to survive. I think they would have thrown the bodies overboard but as I said, they had not eaten in a long time and at this point thought that they had no other choice but to eat them. I think that it is strange that all the Africans died first also. But to repeat what Sarah and Brian said, they wer given harder jobs and probably weren't fed as well as the others.
i also thought it was weird that all the color people died first. i think it was because they had the harder jobs. i also thought it was discussing that they ate them. i would have thrown the bodies overboard because i think it would be disrespectful to eat them, but i guess i would have had to if i wanted to survive.
I find it amazing that people can survive under those conditions for such a long time. I cannot imagine what the crew looked like when they were rescued. They must have been as skinny as a twig. I wonder if this had an effect on them later on in life.
In foresight, the crew should have brought towels to shade them from the light, as much fatty food as possible, and fishing equipment. This would have prevented them from getting as skinny as they were, starvation and dehydration.
I personally think cannibalism is disturbing and morally wrong. But in the case of the members of the Essex, I can understand why they had to resort to it. If I had not eaten for that amount of time I would become desperate. Not in a million years would I ever dream of eating another human as my daily dinner meal, but under these circumstances I might just change my mind. I think in that situation I would be willing to eat about anything.
However, no matter how starving a human may be, I don't believe it is right to kill another human to satisfy your own needs. If a crew member happened to die on its own, that is one thing. The men in the Essex hadn't eaten and could barely move a muscle. If there was dead meat in front of them, I'm sure it would be more than tempting to eat it regardless of what or who it was. But it is another thing to choose a member to die and eat him to protect yourself and survive.
This is a hard topic to think about. I sure thought it was strange the all the African Americans died first. I remember my old teacher saying that African Americans are usually better at running marathons because of something having to do with a larger lung capacity. I don't remember. Perhaps in the same way, they are not as well suited for the sea? I agree with a few people before me who said perhaps they'd been given harder jobs and less food, you never really know though.
While I agree that cannibalism is wrong and very disturbing, what will one resort to while on the sea with no food left? Won't your needs overcome your sense of right and wrong, the want of food take over. It all comes back to survival of the fitest, doesn't it?
The question of why the African Americans all died first is a fascinating one that may never be answered. One possibility I thought of that may or may not have any chance of being true was this:
What if it was just a coincidence?
...Could be way off, but who knows?
Sure, it could have been a coincidence, but the author makes such a big dramatic point out of it, I guess you can't help but wonder...
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