How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
The tongue hardens into what McGee describes as "a senseless weight, swinging on the still-soft root and striking foreignly against the teeth." (8.17)
In case you don't remember, this is what happens when a human being goes too long without water. Just think about that next time you complain about "dying of thirst." In many ways, this feeling seems to mimic the men's helplessness after the Essex disaster.
Quote #5
Their physical torments had reached a terrible crescendo. It was almost as if they were being poisoned by the combined effects of thirst and hunger. (8.40)
The crew's suffering only gets worse and worse. Eventually, these physical strains snowball, creating a situation where rational thought is all but impossible. At a certain point, these guys are not even strong enough to row anymore, no matter how badly they want to.
Quote #6
Survivors typically undergo a process of psychic deadening that one Auschwitz survivor described as a tendency to "kill my feelings." (11.30)
Once you've become so desperate that cannibalism is involved, you know that things have gotten bad. In light of such anguish—both emotional and physical—the crew's only choice is to shut down their feelings. Otherwise, they might be driven stark raving mad after the horror they've committed.