Setting. The setting of a literary work is the time and place in which it happens. In fiction and in drama, writers create setting using what they know about the time and place they wish to represent. In nonfiction, writers try to stay true to the particular time and place in which a person lived or in which an event took place. Writers use description to develop in the reader’s mind an accurate picture of the setting. As you read “The Face of the Deep Is Frozen,” look for information on the setting.
Description. Description is a type of writing that portrays a character, object, or scene. Descriptions make use of sensory details—words and phrases that describe how things look, sound, smell, taste, or feel. Effective descriptions contain precise—or concrete—nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. In what ways does Jennifer Armstrong, the author of this selection, describe the setting? Identify some of the descriptions she offers about the setting.
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• History Connection. In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton and 27 men sailed from England in an attempt to become the first team of explorers to cross the Antarctic continent from one side to the other. Five months later and still 100 miles from land, their ship, Endurance, became trapped. The expedition survived an Antarctic winter in the icebound ship, but then the Endurance sank and the men were forced to camp on the ice for five months. In a desperate effort to save themselves, the men made a perilous boat journey through storms and icebergs to Elephant Island. From there, their only hope was for someone to fetch help. Shackleton and five others navigated 800 miles of the treacherous open ocean in a 20-foot boat and then hiked across the unmapped, glacier-strewn interior of South Georgia Island to a whaling station. In August 1916, 19 months after Endurance first became icebound, Shackleton led a rescue party back to Elephant Island for his men. All of the members of Shackleton’s expedition survived. Shackleton became well known for his ability to lead his crew successfully to safety.
Create a story web with the chapter title at center. Make branches at the right to name events. Use branches at the top and bottom for the setting and descriptions.
What would you do if you found yourself the leader of a crew forced to abandon their ship in the dangerous cold of Antarctica?
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