Response to the Book the Voyage of the Narwhal

¶ … Voyage of the Narwhal, by Andrea Barrett [...] second half of the book. Barrett paints a vivid portrait of the difficulties the early Arctic explorers faced, and how they lost their lives in search of adventure and discovery. Her characters and descriptions are vivid, adding to the reality of the novel.

THE VOYAGE OF THE NARWHAL

The Voyage of the Narwhal" is the story of discovery and exploration, and the dangers early explorers faced. It is also the story of the people left behind - of their feelings and fears. The second half of the book covers the time after the "Narwhal" and her crew have arrived in the Arctic, and are ice-bound - unable to return to the United States and their homes. Most of them have survived the winter, but they still cannot leave, the ice is too thick and not breaking up fast enough. Suddenly, Zeke, in an irrational move, decides to go exploring, and when no one will accompany him, he decides to leave alone. "Alone, without dogs or human companions, he couldn't pull a sledge. He left two days later of foot, with a spare pair of boots, a rife, a good deal of ammunition, and provisions strapped in an unwieldy bedroll to his back" (Barrett 213).

Finally, they abandon the "Narwal" and head out in a canvas-covered boat, hoping to find Greenland or rescue. They come across an entire fleet of ships that are ice-bound, and are eventually rescued as the ships break free of the ice and set out for their homes. Their expedition to find Franklin and discover a new route to the Pacific have all failed. Those who are left are broken men, injured, maimed for life, and what they discover is how much they are ridiculed by the sealers and whalers who make their living in the icy northland seas. "It's what we call you arctic exploring types,' he said. 'All you men who go off on exploring expeditions, with funding and fanfare and special clothes, thinking you'll discover something. When every place you go some whaling ship has already been" (Barrett 244). They are failures, and Erasmus ends up taking the blame for abandoning Zeke, who never returned from his lonely exploration, and for abandoning the ship. He lives his life in guilt and torment, and then suddenly, Zeke reappears, along with two Esquimaux as proof of his survival and aid by these people. He is immediately a hero, which throws Erasmus into even deeper despair. The survivors of the "Narwal" were forgotten and passed over, but Zeke returns from the dead and immediately becomes a celebrity and hero, without once acknowledging the others.

Ultimately, the Esquimaux are totally out of their element in Philadelphia. Zeke should not have taken them from their native land, it was cruel to think they could adapt to life in the city when they lived so well off the land. He takes them on tours and shows them off like animals, and it distresses Erasmus and Alexandra, who have become friends. Finally, after Annie, the Esquimaux woman dies, they "kidnap" Tom and take him to a secluded area in the woods, where they live in harmony, and write their own book about what happened to the "Narwhal" and her crew in the Arctic. Eventually, Erasmus acknowledges what must be done, and they make plans to return the Esquimaux Tom to his real people.