The Titanic: Can Mankind find Meaning from its grave? Essay.

Yet another paper I wrote. This topic was quite enjoyable to analyze, and I enjoyed putting everything together. Several things to note before you read this: First, this is pretty rough. I have not revised it, so it simply is it what it is. As such, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Please excuse any awkward phrases or rough thought-flow throughout the essay. Secondly, I write this paper mostly from a naturalistic point of view. (I.e. the world simply is and humanity will cease to be when we die out). However, I do not hold such a naturalistic standpoint myself. I view it to be unreasonable and inconsistent. I allude at my perspective in the second-to-last paragraph: that humanity has a greater meaning than the ebb-and-flow of the world that comes from an outside source, but I do not directly state this view. Just keep that in mind as you are reading, as it is an important clarification to make. ALSO as I tried to transfer this paper, my computer messed up the format. If you see any connected words or weird punctuation, that's why. These things were fine in the original essay.

Thanks for taking the time to pursue this, and I would love to hear comments, constructive criticism, or objections in the comments.

Much love,
Meghan

Meghan Wolfe
ENGL 2260
Knott
7 July 2014

The Titanic: Can mankind find meaning from its awe-inspiring grave?
The doomed voyage of the Titanic is one of the most remembered historical events of our time. Countless books, movies, and other media have been created in remembrance of the ship, which sunk on its very first journey across seas. Two poems in particular explore the meaning behind the life and fate of this condemned passage. The first, titled The Convergence of the Twain, written by ThomasHardy in 1912, explores the union between the ill-fated ship and the unassuming iceberg with a comparison of grandeur and destiny. The second, simply titled the Titanic, written by David Slavitt, comments on the glory of a death via a comfortable tragedy. Both show the unspoken experiences of the pilgrimage and explore the eventual futility of the tale of theTitanic's suffocating closure. Within these two poems, the fatality of mankind is explored in words written of the opulence, power, and strength of the Titanic, showing us that even man's most trusted plans and achievements will ultimately lead to destruction and death.

Humanity overall is determined to prove its worthiness to itself, often through the means of splendor, and affluence. We hold onto the concepts of meaning and value within our lives, even if from a naturalistic standpoint, this fight for significance is quite unproductive. This concept is proved from the very birth of the Titanic. The ship was supposed to be grander, bigger, and more powerful than any other. It was the ultimate proof of wealth and talent, and nothing in its day and age surpassed its majesty. Hardy touches on this idea in lines 10-12 ofThe Convergence of the Twain,where he says “Jewels in joy designed / To ravish the sensuous mind/ Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind.”The Titanic was built to cause wonder, yet all the work and effort poured into assuring this reaction inevitably became wasted. The lights go out, sea-animals fill the void left by 1500 deceased souls,and the majesty that once was the Titanic is no more. We do not look back on history in admiration of its triumphant design. Instead we scoff at the ships mistake, its imperfections and the flaws that caused it to sink beneath the shore. Instead of opulence, we remember the life. Slavitt touches on this in his version of the events,“...There will be the books and movies / to remind our grandchildren who we were / and how we died, and give them a good cry.” (Titanic, lines 8-10) Did our attempts come to nothing, or is the picture described in Slavitt's poem the true meaning behind this tragedy? Is human life more meaningful than money, or as the poems describe, does it all end up the same? The Titanic, after all,“In a solitude of the sea / [is] Deep from human vanity.”(Slavitt, Titanic lines 1-2) Mankind's bid to impress, in this instance at least, came to nothing.

It is debated whether or not the fate of the Titanic was deserved because it was caused by its own arrogance. Simon Schama writes for Newsweek that the fate of the Titanic was “The spectacle of luxury punished for its own vanity, the delusions of the unsinkable power brokers, the chill hand of extinction catching the arrogant in the midst of their own sumptuous festivities.” (Schama, Voyage of the Damned) The creators of the Titanic underestimated the abilities of things that were not themselves, thus condemning the ship into utter ruin if anything were to go wrong. Hardy's use of bemused voice and distant reflection indicates that he agrees with this idea, “The voiceHardy affects in this poem not only records the retribution but applauds it, for as Hardy mythologizes the event, the Titanic and all who sank with her got what they deserved” (Emerson Brown Jr.,The Ruthless Artistry of the Convergence of the Twain).There was not enough lifeboats, and the ship was built in such a way to sink it more easily than claimed. They called it unsinkable, yet to the depths of the ocean it sunk, eradicated. The iceberg seemed separate to the ship, a lesser object that had no power of its own compare to the magnificence of its bones and steel. Hardy describes the iceberg as “A shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate”(The Convergence of the Twain, line 21). The people on board the ship trusted its makers more than outside forces they never dared to imagine. This concept is brought forth in the movie Titanic, where we watch, perhaps fictionally, as children throw the chunks of ice back and forth, in ignorance of the upcoming catastrophe. Men view themselves above nature, yet this event proves that factors outside of our selves are forces to be reckoned with. It does not do us well to ignore the objective strength of non-humanity, for as we see in this example, this ignorance only led to peril.

Perhaps, some argue, that outside forces controlled the intertwining of ice and steel. Hardy certainly agrees with this sentiment in several parts of his poem. “The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything /Prepared a sinister mate / For her – so gaily great” (TheConvergence of the Twine, lines 18-19). The poem alludes to a greater being, perhaps a god, or maybe even Death himself, who ordered the slaughter. Says Schama of this being, “Somewhere inside that iceberg rising 50 feet above the Atlantic on the night of April 14,1912, stood Death with a trident” (Voyage of the Damned). Were the people of the Titanic meant to die that night, as opposed to the event being a great tragedy? Was it actually the ultimate plan of some external authority for reasons unknown to us? Slavitt sees such a shared death as a reason to celebrate, “To go down... We all godown, mostly / alone. But with crowds of people, friends, servants, /well fed, with musics and lights! Ah!” (Titanic, lines 4-6)

This attitude begs the question of whether these events are worth repeating, simply due to its togetherness, the celebrated death within the crowd of victims. Perhaps this is the purpose of wreck that the two poets are alluding to. After all, such death brought the world together as one as we all mourned the ships misfortune. Hardy describes such union in the last line of his poem, “And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres” (The Convergence of the Twain, line 33). United mankind became, from corner to corner, fueled by the force of grief.

The ultimate implication and purpose of these events made be lost to the tide, but did this brings up the question of the value of the event. The tragedy hints at more questions in relation to human purpose. For all we know, our time may be short, yet we still find value in the accomplishments and glories of our species. The Titanic was doomed, but it is still remembered. The point behind our doings may be unknown, and imaginably, someday forgotten if we continue along our current path, but that does not make it any less worthwhile. If we view ourselves as more than nature, more than time, and more than reason, as we are so inclined to do, then our merit upon this universe could very well leave a mark, even if it this mark turns out to be insignificant to the rest of the universe.

The poems The Convergence of the Twain and theTitanic by Thomas Hardy and David Slavitt respectfully, scrutinize humanity's ultimate cataclysm through artistic analysis of the first and final sail of the drowned ship called the Titanic. Both poems touch on luxury and prestige, decisively showing the readers that despite ourself-assured confidence in our own capabilities, we are somedaydestined to fail. It goes on to show our lack of complete understanding on human meaning. For if something as large as the celebrated ship is damned to become mere memories, what will the future hold for men and our wide-scale efforts to prove ourselves and surpass history? Will humankind be lost to some unknown future,rendering our existence inconsequential? Or will we rise above the tide and find meaning in something, perhaps, greater than ourselves? Only time will tell.

WorksCited
BrownJr., Emerson. “The Ruthless Aristry of Hardy's 'Convergence of theTwain'.” Sewanee Review 102.2(1994): 233. Academic Search Complete. Web.7 July 2014.

Hardy, Thomas. “The Convergence of the Twain.” Poetry;an introduction. Ed: Michael Meyer. Boston, New York: Bedfords/St. Martins, 2013. 84-85.Print. 7 July 2014.

Schama ,Simon. “Voyage of the Damned.” Newsweek 159.15 (2012): 36-41. Academic Search Complete. Web.7 July 2014.

Slavitt, David. “Titanic.” Poetry;an introduction. Ed: Michael Meyer. Boston, New York: Bedsfords/St. Martins, 2013. 86.Print. 7 July 2014.
Meghan