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Summary Of In The Heart Of The Sea By Owen Chase

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In the novel, In the Heart of the Sea, Nickerson tells a eye opening story of a crew that got lost out at sea after their ship got sunk by a whale. The captain, George Pollard Jr., tried but failed to lead his men through this hard and impossible journey to survive the open waters of the ocean. He failed simply because he let his men push him around. His first mate, Owen Chase, was the one who always pushed Captain Pollard. In the end it showed immensely that Owen Chase was a better leader because he pushed the crew and did not give up, even on the brink of death. George Pollard Jr. showed great potential to become a great captain. His father, George Pollard, was the previous captain of the Essex. Which he passed down to Pollard Jr. his…show more content…
In this case he let his subordinates push him around and make the decision for him. Another situation arose after the ship wreck where Captain Pollard let his subordinates push him around, “Just as he had after the knockdown in the Gulf Stream.” You would think that he would learn his lesson from the first time, but he did not. It was Owen Chase, with the back up of Matthew Joy, who convinced Captain Pollard to go to South America instead of going to the Society Islands. Chase thought the people of the island were savages and practiced “...the eating of human flesh.” Yes, he was just being cautious in which is a smart thing to do, but he should have listened to Captain Pollard. It could have saved some of the crews lives, but Owen Chase had to give his opinion. Plus, it is almost ironic that he was frightened of the cannibals because he becomes one later down the road. Throughout the entire journey, Owen Chase and Matthew Joy kept getting in Captain Pollard's way. From the moment he left, he was challenged at every turn. It is always a good thing for a leader to be challenged because it helps him grow as a captain. Then again, Captain Pollard “...embraced a more democratic style of command,” where he lacked the strict and overbearing leadership attitude. Also, having a 'democratic style' of command on a ship full of man is never a great idea. More importantly, that strict and overbearing attitude is exactly what a whaling captain should have, and Owen
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