Endurance Part V: Ch. 1-4

     Shortly after landing on what is actually Elephant Island, the men realize they cannot stay on that part of the island and unfortunetly have to move again. The next morning they move a few miles around the island but find out that this part is not any better. Shackleton decides it's time to take five men to South Georgia in search of rescue. After preparing one of the boats and storing it with enough provisions to last six weeks, the six men sail once again into the icy see.

     The 22 men who are left on the island know that being rescued is their only hope. For the first time in the book, all of the men begin to question their chances of survival and try to do their best to hang on until hope arrives. The mood in this part of the book turns desperate as the men turn to converting their remaining boats into a hut since there is no other shelter. They begin to get impatient and everyone was well aware that only the strongest men were going to survive another month. Despite all of that, the men had to stay confident and not give in to the harsh conditions.

"On this score, their general feeling, at least outwardly, was confident. But how else might they have felt?  Any other attitude would have been the equivalent of admitting that they were doomed. No matter what the odds, a man does not pin his last hope for survival on something and then expect that it will fail."

     One month and one day after Shackleton had left the island, the rest of the crew had to face the harsh reality that a rescuse was not going to be probable before winter if at all. All they can do now is prepare for the winter and pray for a miracle.