The builders of the Titanic fulfilled their goal as it became the largest ship constructed. On its maiden voyage, the Titanic quickly ceased after encountering an iceberg. In the poem, “Titanic”, David R. Slavitt gives a brief description of the Titanic and how the world has remembered the legend. Thomas Hardy’s “The Convergence of the Twain” illustrates how “Immanent Will” impacted the Titanic’s crash. Both Slavitt and Hardy challenge the views that people have on the legend of the Titanic by creating a critical tone as well as a duality of expectations and reality.
As an action to show the different identifications of the Titanic, the authors establish tone by using effective word choice. Many people died on the Titanic that day, but instead of remembering the pain, the world romanticizes the ship and the event. People overlook the number of passengers that reached the end of their life rather they romanticize the Titanic and its passengers deaths. Slavitt states, “Not so bad, after all. The cold water is anesthetic and very quick,” to critically and sarcastically dispute the reputation of the Titanic (lines 11-12). The way that Slavitt uses anesthetic creates the idea of becoming insensitive to pain. With similar techniques and opposing ideas, Hardy establishes a reverent
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Being the largest ship built at the time, its sinking on its maiden voyage across the North Atlantic Ocean killed thousands, rich and poor. Slavitt’s “Titanic” and Hardy’s “Convergence of the Twain” protest society’s perceptions and romanticisms of the Titanic with their vivid imagery creating tone. Slavitt insinuates the avoidability of the Titanic's demise while Hardy’s contrasting idea speculates that an Immanent Will created the iceberg specifically for the Titanic. The authors convey their ideas with similar stature but their use of tone focuses the reader on the death of the passengers rather than the glory of the