Imagine being stuck on a wild, terrible storm at sea, not knowing if you are going to die that night. This is what authors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Sebastian Junger describe in their respective stories, “The Wreck of the Hesperus” and “Perfect Storm”. Even though “Wreck of the Hesperus” is an amazing poem and a work of art, however “Perfect Storm” is a slightly better story to describe a shipwreck as it’s an actual shipwreck story. In the “Perfect Storm”, there are survivors off the ship, Satori. Unlike in “The Wreck of the Hesperus”, in which everyone dies because of drowning, or hyperthermia. “Perfect Storm” had called for help, which arrived in the form of helicopters, jets and other ships. Since “The Wreck of the Hesperus” was set in 1839, they could not call for help and storms blew in the crew into the water and froze the skipper and his daughter. “The Wreck of the Hesperus” is terribly depressing with the grim fate, while the “Perfect Storm” is uplifting, help came to save the crew. One item is common about the works is the skippers were both stubborn and caused the ships’ ruin. …show more content…
In “The Wreck of the Hesperus”, the skipper laughed in the face of the Old Sailor who had warned him of the storm. “I pray thee, put into gander port. For I fear a hurricane…The skipper blew a whiff from his pipe and a scornful laugh laughed he.” (P125, L15-19). The skipper of the Satori did not want to get off his ship, fearing he would never see it in one piece. “At some point that night, lying on his bunk waiting for dawn, Ray Leonard decides he won’t get off the boat… he’ll see the vessel into port.”(113-114). Because the skipper in “The Wreck of the Hesperus” didn’t listen to the Old Sailor, he greatly increased the likelihood of his crew and daughter’s death. The rescuers of the Satori had to drag the uncooperative skipper off the failing boat, he made the rescue a little difficult than need