The End of the Journey

Part Seven, Chapter Four: The End of the Journey

Term: epiphany

After finally reaching South Georgia, Shackleton was able to contact a rescue team for the men back on Elephant Island. Thoralf Sorlle, a factory manager in South Georgia, helped Shackleton and his men with the rescue. However, the atmosphere back on Elephant Island was frustrating. The men were beginning to give up all hope of a rescue team finding them. Many of them thought that Shackleton and the other five men had been stopped short of South Georgia. The twenty-two castaways sat in anticipation for far too long. Each day would bring more and more disappointment after no signs of rescue were visible. Then, on August 30, their prayers were answered. At about 12:45, every man except for Marston went to eat. Marston had gone to the lookout bluff. "A few minutes later they heard his footsteps running along the path, but nobody paid much attention. He was simply late for lunch. Then he put his head inside and spoke to Wild in a tone so breathless that some of the men thought he sounded casual. 'Hadn't we better send up some smoke signals?' he asked. For a moment there was silence, and then, as one man, they grasped what Marston was saying" (Lansing 279). This quote explains the epiphany of the men as they realized that the rescue team had finally arrived. They were shocked and hardly believed Marston in the beginning. The quote proves the amazing amount of time that the men were stranded. It helps to show how much rescue tactics have developed over the years. The men had been waiting so long that they had almost forgotten about being saved. Today, people have developed faster and safer methods of rescuing those in need.