Endurance: land sighted

• Literary Term: foreshadowing- the presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later in the work
• example: "Depressing news was waiting,  Ice conditions in the Weddell Sea, while never good, were the worst they had ever been in the memory of the Norwegian whaling skippers operating the are...some even tried to dissuade Shackleton from trying until the following season."
• Quote: "And James noted: 'A great air of expectancy everywhere.  We are on the verge of something, there is no doubt.  If all goes well we may be on land very soon.  Our chief need is an opening in the ice.  Our chief danger being carried beyond these islands and into the open sea.'"
• We have all experienced the feelings of these men.  It is as if all of nature is holding its breath, waiting.  It is as if the earth itself has stopped spinning to witness what is sure to unfold.  For the stranded men, however, they had no way of knowing what would be unfolding.  Land had been sighted after months on their ice island.  Shackleton was faced with a difficult decision that could go one of two ways.  He could choose to chance sailing in the life boats to the sighted island, at risk of colliding into huge masses of floating ice.  He could also choose to remain on their bit of ice which was, for the time being, still safe to inhabit.  It is maddening to wait in anticipation for something that we cannot control in any way.  The crew of the Endurance were forced to do just this.  They had to wait, pray, and wonder whether or not the ice would open up for them to pass through safely.