Independent Reading Log
Rhetorical Situation / Whole Text Features
Research the author and subject. Analyze the purpose, audience, and context.
Author and Title
In the Heart of the Sea – Nathaniel Philbrick
Subject
A story of hardship and survival
Purpose
To challenge our understanding of “leadership” – how the qualities of a leader determine the success of the group
Audience
Those who seek leadership positions, or those who are seeking a leader or mentor (Lexile: 1200, reading level: 11th grade+)
Context
Nantucket and the Pacific Ocean, early 19th-century
Structure
Introduction
Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
Analysis:
Tone
Awe-inspiring, dramatic
POV/ Perspective
(of the author)
Nathaniel Philbrick narrates this book from the point of view of a historian. He brings in the sailors’ points of view whenever their accounts can fill in specific images or feelings and frequently fills in gaps with other tales of whaleships and scientific studies.
Nathaniel Philbrick is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
Reading Log
Date /
Chapters /
Page numbers
Key Ideas and Inferences
What are the main ideas in this section? Where does the text leave matters uncertain? What is your response to the text?
Rhetorical Analysis:
technique (s) + example (s) + effect (s)
Day 1
Chapter 1 -3
Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Personal Response:
Foreshadowing: “The Chili would not return for another three and a half years, and then with only five hundred barrels of sperm oil, about a quarter of what was needed to fill a ship her size. For Captain Coffin and his men, it would be a disastrous voyage. But nothing could compare to what fate had in store for the twenty-one men of the Essex”
Diction: “A Nantucket whaleman kept his clothing in a ‘chist.’ His harpoons were kept ‘shurp,’ especially when ‘atteking’ a ‘lirge’ whale. A ‘keppin’ had his own ‘kebbin’ and was more often than not a ‘merrid’ man, while a ‘met’ kept the ship’s log for the entire ‘viege.'”
The integration of Nantucket vocabulary allows the author to bring the audience into the era of whaling, such as the odd make-up of vocabulary such as “merrid” rather than “married”
Detail: “When the lance finally found its mark, the whale would begin to choke on its own blood, its spout transformed into a fifteen- to twenty-foot geyser of gore.” (Chapter 3)
Through the gruesome hunt description, Philbrick conveys why many novices and even seasoned crew members carry a deep sense of fear aboard the ship.
Day 2
Chapter 4 – 6
Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Personal response:
Contrast: “Just as the skinned corpses of buffaloes would soon dot the prairies of the American West, so did the headless gray remains of sperm whales litter the Pacific Ocean.” (Chapter 4)
Philbrick contrasts the hunt of buffaloes in America to the hunt of sperm whales to portray how this mass extinction is purely economic and fueled by greed. In the same way, buffaloes were hunted to make way for the railroads; sperm whales were hunted for their oil.
Symbol of leadership: The tortoise Lawrence tasked with taking back to the ship represents the leadership he chooses to follow. If he returned to the ship empty-handed, he would lose the crew’s respect for his lack of initiative. (Chapter 4)
Tone: “Chase and his men had good reason to be amazed. Never before, in the entire history of the Nantucket whale fishery, had a whale been known to attack a ship.” (Chapter 5)
Through an astonished tone, Philbrick conveys the surprise of the crew when faced with the violence of a sperm whale. When the crew ironically gets “tracked” by their prey, it is suddenly concerning. However, no second thoughts are involved when the crew tracks their prey.
Irony: “Chase and Joy were disposed to believe that the people of the Society Island practiced the eating of human flesh.” (Chapter 6)
Both their fears suddenly become realities; rather than stumbling across a cannibalistic society themselves, their situation warranted them to turn their island society into one.
Day 3
Chapters
7 – 10
Irony: “Without their ship to protect them, the hunters had become the prey.” (7)
“From the beginning, Chase had strictly, even obsessively attended to the distribution of rations aboard his boat” (10).
Day 4
Chapters
11-14
Final Reflection
What did you enjoy about this book? Why?
How does reading a full-length work compare to reading essays?
Was the text persuasive and engaging? If so, what made the text persuasive and engaging?
What could have been more effective to further the author’s purpose for their audience?
How did the awareness of authorial choices deepen your appreciation of language?
What did you learn by reading this book?
Did you change the way you thought about the topic while reading the book? How?
Bonus Question: What did you learn this term about language, academic discourse, and writing?