The Shadow of the Titanic
History 150 – Final Project
The Shadow of the Titanic
April 30, 2013
By Sarah Kohar
The book “The Shadow of the Titanic” describes a chilling cold truth to the tragedy of the sinking. As the Titanic was sliding underneath the ocean at 2:20am on April 15, 1912, the noise of the cries of those drowning with the boat will haunt the survivors from the water and in the lifeboats for the rest of their lives. (Wilson)
One survivor described the noise like a gigantic swarm of bees. Another person said it sounded like 100,000 people at a Cup Final, and a third, the roar of a crowd in a baseball stadium. The man said he could never bear to go to another game, so he would never take his two sons. (Wilson) Andrew Wilson describes something different in this book unlike most books written about the Titanic. He describes the feeling of the tragedy. He describes how it affected different people individually. The book really personalizes the tragedy. Bruce Ismay was managing director of the White Star Line, the person responsible for building the Titanic and for voting against 48 extra lifeboats for cost reasons. If they would have had these extra boats, they would have saved nearly all the 1,500 people who died. (Wilson)
Bruce Ismay went into a lifeboat, despite the rule of ‘women and children first’, and survived the sinking. When he went on board the rescue ship, the Carpathia, he crawled up in a private cabin, while other survivors slept on tables and floors. He was shell shocked. He just sat in his bed, staring into space and trembling. Many survivors suffered from post-traumatic shock disorder along with Ismay. Another survivor Jack Thayer though, had a completely different story.(Wilson)
Jack Thayer was a 17 year-old man who can be considered a hero. He helped other passengers into lifeboats and refused to get on one himself. As the ship went down, he jumped into the icy cold water. The temperature of the water was minus 20 degrees Celsius which
The Shadow of the Titanic
April 30, 2013
By Sarah Kohar
The book “The Shadow of the Titanic” describes a chilling cold truth to the tragedy of the sinking. As the Titanic was sliding underneath the ocean at 2:20am on April 15, 1912, the noise of the cries of those drowning with the boat will haunt the survivors from the water and in the lifeboats for the rest of their lives. (Wilson)
One survivor described the noise like a gigantic swarm of bees. Another person said it sounded like 100,000 people at a Cup Final, and a third, the roar of a crowd in a baseball stadium. The man said he could never bear to go to another game, so he would never take his two sons. (Wilson) Andrew Wilson describes something different in this book unlike most books written about the Titanic. He describes the feeling of the tragedy. He describes how it affected different people individually. The book really personalizes the tragedy. Bruce Ismay was managing director of the White Star Line, the person responsible for building the Titanic and for voting against 48 extra lifeboats for cost reasons. If they would have had these extra boats, they would have saved nearly all the 1,500 people who died. (Wilson)
Bruce Ismay went into a lifeboat, despite the rule of ‘women and children first’, and survived the sinking. When he went on board the rescue ship, the Carpathia, he crawled up in a private cabin, while other survivors slept on tables and floors. He was shell shocked. He just sat in his bed, staring into space and trembling. Many survivors suffered from post-traumatic shock disorder along with Ismay. Another survivor Jack Thayer though, had a completely different story.(Wilson)
Jack Thayer was a 17 year-old man who can be considered a hero. He helped other passengers into lifeboats and refused to get on one himself. As the ship went down, he jumped into the icy cold water. The temperature of the water was minus 20 degrees Celsius which
Cited: Wilson, Andrew. Shadow of the Titanic. Great Britain: Simon & Schuster UK Ltd., 1967. 400. Print. Titanic. Dir. James Cameron. 20th Century Fox, 1997.