Discussion #2 – Molly, Kaitlin, Belinda, Natalia (The Leader)

Molly (the leader), Natalia and Kaitlin (Belinda was absent)

The ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot shares the themes of loss and environment. The poem tells a story of how twenty-nine men died on a shipwreck caused by a storm on the Great Lakes during the 1950’s. Loss is a central topic of the poem due to all of the lives of sailors lost from society and their families due to the event. Not only were these twenty-nine men affected, their friends and family also experienced sentiments of loss when they found out their loved-ones had died. The poem shares a tone of mourning from society and the relatives of the late sailors. Lightfoot describes the impact of these sailors losing their lives on their relatives, stating that no matter how they died specifically, all that remains from them is their families, “They might have split up or they might have capsized/They may have broke deep and took water/And all that remains is the faces and the names/Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.” (Lightfoot, 37-40) It is important to remember these men due to the tragedy of the event in itself. They were simply doing their job to support themselves and their families and had their lived taken away from them. Also, the poem displays a sentiment of pride for this boat by society since it was described as a very well-kept, big and famous freight. Society experiences loss in this case due to how the boat was a symbol, for some, of the heart of their country. To understand the future is to understand history. Remembering tragedies like the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck causes society to feel loss for the sailors, their families, and the symbolic boat itself. Environment is another central theme in the poem due to how the shipwreck was caused by an unexpected storm. The poet describes the severity and panic the weather caused for the sailors. “When afternoon came it was freezin’ rain/In the face of a hurricane west wind/When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’/Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya/At seven pm a main hatchway caved in, he said/Fellas, it’s been good t’know ya.” (Lightfoot, 23-28) Since they were in the middle of the lake, the environment greatly affected the shipwreck. Without calm waters, their boat couldn’t safely sail. Without this early hurricane caused by the environment, this tragedy would have not happened. The weather cannot be controlled or prevented, causing events like these to happen regularly and unpredictably. It is important to remember tragedies like the shipwreck of this boat, due to the impact it had on people whether it be direct for the sailor’s families or indirect for society. We must also never forget and remember the power of the environment, since it can cause great tragedies like the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.