Managing a ship without experience and courage was never been easy. The captain and his crew might prepare for some conditions or unexpected events that they may experience in the middle of the sea. The Essex, the name of the ship, was run by Captain George Pollard with the help of Owen Chase and his men. In that movie, I preferred Chase as captained the Essex over Pollard since he thought about his crew and he was knowledgeable enough to manage a ship and go hunting whales. Additionally, they also said that Chase have more experience because he was a veteran whaler. He was born to do whaling and he knows how to deal with a situation over Pollard.
In that film, Nantucket was a place where whaling is one of their habits of living. There were individuals who were called whalers. They hunt whales in able to get oil from them, for some reason. In spite of the fact that he endure and encountered the feeling of being stranded because of that unexpected event during their expedition, Pollard still chose to continue and manage a ship after that and I think he wants to prove something. Maybe, he does not want to defile his family name. Also his pride, I know he wants to gain his reputation.
The Essex with its captain, George Pollard, has encountered different struggles. It affects all the people on that ship. After knowing their conditions, despite everything, they kept on fighting and did not lose any hope. However, just a few of them survived that calamity. At that time, we know that Chase has more experience with regard to whaling but there is a boy, named Nickerson, a fourteen-year-old boy who joins the crew of the Essex. It was his first time doing that kind of job. Also, it was Nickerson who experience that kind of event even at that age. It's hard to imagine that he's a young boy, but he's able to survive it. Despite all the circumstances, he did not lose hope until they returned to Nantucket.
Every single one on this Earth has a purpose. Even the smallest animal has its purpose and we must know that all life is important. Animals are not just animals; they are our main source of food, they play a vital role in our ecosystem because most of them are the one who completes the food chain, but not all animals should be killed for food, even whales. Whales are wonderful animals that God just made, as well as other sea creatures. They are the largest mammals on Earth, but it's sad to think that not all last forever because some of them became extinct. In that case, even though it is in the time of 1819, whaling in Nantucket is unethical. There is more source of oil, not just a whale but they lack enough knowledge about it. Also, getting oil from whales for their own uses was not a valid justification to slaughter a whale. Just do not let us come to the point that their race is extinct because of our own sake. They are also alive, they have feelings too.
There are things we really do not expect and in that movie, Henry Coffin plays a huge role. In the early part of the movie, Coffin is eager to exploit his familial connection with Captain Pollard for his own benefit. But in the later part, Coffin turns into a different person. He was the first one who sacrificed his very own self for the sake of other people. There you can see that being bad is not natural to humans. There are things that we think we can’t do, but for the sake of our loved ones and those who are important to us, we can.
The tragedy that happened in Essex is not really easy to believe and if I became a survivor of that tragedy, I let myself sail again. I think it is better to try my luck again than to remain at Henderson Island. Despite the fact that there is only a last opportunity to be alive, at least I try my best and fight until my last breath. Realizing that Henderson Island will turn into the grave of certain individuals, I do not want to end up just like one of those individuals. As long as I can breathe, there is hope. My experience will be part of my past, memories that I can go back to when I survived and miraculously lived.
As I said, the tragedy that happened in Essex is not really easy to believe. And as a fourteen years old crew and I survived that, I think every single detail of what happened will still remain in my mind. In that film, the story was told by the old Nickerson. His account as an eyewitness of the tragedy suits as the best and most accurate account among the others. Why? because he was stacked between the two major characters of the movie, which is Captain Pollard and Owen Chase. He sees all the events inside the ship, especially between Chase and Pollard. From the point of view Nickerson, he can easily tell the whole story without being biased of one.
Nickerson is one of the survivors of the Essex and the last person who can uncover the truth, the real truth about the mentioned tragedy. Perhaps, Nickerson's own account was written because he wanted to share his experiences. He wanted to create his own name saying that he actually survived the tragedy. He also wants to tell the truth because most people do not believe in it, even if it was decades or years ago.