Where One Does Not Want To Go: In the Heart of the Sea

    Before the light bulb and kerosene, our cities relied on oil. All types of oil, including that of whales. The whaling business was huge. Each ship was expected to bring back many barrels of oil. The job was long and risky. Kill sperm whales, take them apart, and extract their oil and other useful parts. And be prepared if the whales retaliate. Based on the true story of the American whaling ship called the Essex, In the Heart of the Sea was released in 2015 and was directed by Ron Howard. What many don't know is that the story of the Essex is what inspired Herman Melville to write that classic novel, Moby Dick. 

Left to Right: Owen Chase, Captain George Pollard

     Once upon a time, in 1819, the Essex set sail from Nantucket, Massachusetts. The ship is captained by George Pollard, along with his first mate Owen Chase. Together they have a decent crew, including cabin boy Tom Nickerson. At first George and Chase don't get along, but soon bigger problems arise. One day, the Essex is attacked. The attacker is the biggest sperm whale the crew has ever seen. The whale succeeds in its aggression, and the Essex is destroyed. Forced to abandon ship, Captain Pollard, Owen Chase, and the rest of the crew are stranded in the ocean with a few small boats and little means of living. Is there any hope of rescue? Will Owen return home to his wife and child with the rest of the crew, or has Moby Dick gotten the better of man?

    The tragedy of the Essex is the story of men. And a Demon." Is it? Or is it really a story about what happens when you oppress someone for too long? In the 19th century, the whaling industry was dangerous and bloody. This goes for both the humans and the whales! In order to kill the whale, the harpoon was usually aimed at the whale's heart or lungs. Once it was struck, the whale would endure pain and struggle to breath as it drowned in its own blood. The whalers would witness this as well as the whale spouting blood through its blowhole with each breath! Regardless of whether or not the whales were intelligent enough to be angry about this, one thing can be said: The whale that brought down the Essex was probably
fighting back.
  
     The story of the Essex is about Courage. Courage to do what is necessary to survive, courage to do what is necessary for a clear conscience, and the "courage to go where one does not want to go." Throughout In the Heart of the Sea, bravery is extremely vital to our main characters. Though they each have to summon up their courage in their own way, the crew of the Essex had a common goal: To survive.
   In the film Herman Melville asks: "How does a man come to know the unknowable?" As the film shows us, some men come to know the unknowable the way the crew of the Essex did through their ordeal. Melville tells us that the demand for whale oil "has pushed man to venture further and further into the deep blue unknown." To venture out where one has not gone before, in and of itself, takes courage, no matter how much reluctance one may have.

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