Endurance Part I: Ch. 5-8

     Chapter 5 begins with describing the Polar Night and the hardships those before had to face during it. Lansing explains how crews have gone mad and slipped into depression from the endless darkness and the toll it takes on the minds of the men. However, he then goes on to note that the Polar Night did not affect the crew aboard the Endurance in that way, but instead drew the men closer together. We learn more about the members of the crew and discover that, although everyone is quite different in many ways, they get along great and were able to support each other throughout the dark winter.
     In chapter 6, things take a turn for the worst as the ice begins to break up into large floes creating immense pressure all around them. The sledge teams started training again whenever possible and all of the men hope that the pressure doesn't start around the ship:

"'Lucky for us if we don't get any pressure like that against the ship for i doubt whether any ship could stand a pressure that will force blocks up like that' (Greenstreet)."

     This statement made by Greenstreet is an example of foreshadowing. After everything that has gone wrong so far during the expedition, the reader can imagine what will happen next to the Endurance. Only a few days later, the ship was freed from the ice floe and raised up to resist pressure. Despite this small stroke of luck, Shackleton warned his men about getting overconfident, as he was well aware of the dangers they still faced. A second attack on the Endurance occurred in late August when pressure forced ice against the ship's side making loud cracking and bumping sounds. After pulling through, the confidence in the crew didn't go up like the first time; they were now worried about what would happen if stronger pressure were to test their ship.

     After surviving the third attack of pressure on the ship, everyone aboard the Endurance had a feeling of hope; hope for the ship to make it out in tact, and hope that they were finally going to be able to complete their expedition. It seems like that happens a lot in life. Hope is the emotion that people turn to when situations look bad, and the story of the Endurance proves that. The fourth time pressure hit, it broke a hole in the side of the ship and the men had to work for days straight just to keep the Endurance afloat. Although she had put up a great fight, Shackleton ordered the men to stop working and prepare to leave the ship with as many provisions and supplies as they could.