- Would Chase have captained the Essex better than Pollard? Explain.
- In your opinion, why does Pollard choose to take another whaling job after the Essex disaster?
- Whose account of the disaster do you find more compelling: Chase's or Nickerson's?
- Is whaling ethical? Why or why not?
- What do you think happened to Henry De Witt?
- If you were an Essex survivor, would you have kept sailing, or would you have remained on Henderson Island?
- Do you find the eyewitness accounts of the Essex disaster to be accurate? Explain your answer.
- In your opinion, what prompts Nickerson to write his own account of the disaster?