Part II Chapter 4-6

The world's largest Buddha statue

Over the course of time the crew has been on the floe, they become acclimated with life on the ice. The men are now able to live comfortably enough, and have little worries. Over time; however, the men become bored with the monotony of living on the ice. The men are isolated on their island of ice. Lansing writes "In some ways they had come to know themselves better. In this lonely world of ice and emptiness, they had achieved at least a limited kind of contentment. They had been tested and found not wanting. This made me think of the novel Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Hesse's story is of the future buddha's quest for absolute enlightenment, that is his way of being one with the universe. At one point in Siddhartha's quest, he joins a group that's path to enlightenment is that of not wanting. This is similar to the crew of the Endurance except that what Siddhartha did on his own, the crew is being forced to do. The crew later then, decides to head West, no matter what the cost. Just before Christmas, the men feast, knowing that they will have to abandon their so called "Ocean Camp." The crew sets off and works through Christmas all the way to New Years.