Part VII and Epilogue Summary and Analysis

Part VII consists of three enumerated chapters; the epilogue is distinct and consists of five pages of text followed by two pages of acknowledgements. Briefly, Part VII describes the traverse of South George Island by Shackleton, Worsley, and Caird. The roughly thirty-mile traverse crosses 10,000 foot peaks and is accomplished virtually without equipment in a stunning thirty-eight hour hike which is to this day considered one of the most spectacular, if unlikely, feats of mountaineering in recorded history.

The first order of business is to secure the James Caird but the men lack the strength to drag her safely ashore. She is instead tied off while the men eat and sleep. In the morning the boat is lightened by unloading and partial dismantling and finally dragged ashore. Shackleton decides that circumnavigating the island is impossible and...