How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #4
The billows that came at this time were more formidable. They seemed always just about to break and roll over the little boat in a turmoil of foam. There was a preparatory and long growl in the speech of them. No mind unused to the sea would have concluded that the dingey could ascend these sheer heights in time. The shore was still afar. The oiler was a wily surfman. "Boys," he said, swiftly, "she won't live three minutes more and we're too far out to swim. Shall I take her to sea again, captain?"
"Yes! Go ahead!" said the captain. (4.13-14)
We would prefer to describe this passage as describing a dance between the waves, the boat, and the rower, but that would imply they're working together. Maybe it's more like a war, or one of those dance scenes from West Side Story, where the fight is a dance and the dance is a fight. Here, all three are putting forth maximum effort to survive, and it's basically a war of attrition, in which each side is trying to wear down and outlast its opponent. We like how the boat gets a shout-out here, one of the few times it gets any credit for being a brave little boat.
Quote #5
This oiler, by a series of quick miracles, and fast and steady oarsmanship, turned the boat in the middle of the surf and took her safely to sea again. (4.15)
Here's the oiler doing something impressive again, yeah yeah, no big deal, right? It's the part about "quick miracles" that drew our attention to this quote. Can miracles really be attributed to the oiler's strength and skill, or is there something else going on here?
Quote #6
The plan of the oiler and the correspondent was for one to row until he lost the ability, and then arouse the other from his sea-water couch in the bottom of the boat. (5.5)
Yeah, we know, we talked about this a lot in the Determination section, but imagine—waking up from a nap all cold and wet, only to row all night long. Sounds pretty miserable. Not to mention, they also have to switch seats, which risks dumping everyone out of the rickety little boat. Strength and skill are a must at this point.