The Perfect Storm

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2001

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For my independent reading assignment, I selected a novel by Sebastian Junger called The Perfect Storm. The Perfect Storm falls into the literary classification of nonfiction-thriller, because it's a true story that is filled with heart-pounding suspense. It's a tale of David and Goliath or man versus sea. The Andrea Gail versus the most violent storm on record, the worst storm of the century and it's likely to be the worst storm ever.

I chose to read this novel because I am an avid sailor myself, having a boat of my own. Also I have been fascinated with the ocean ever since my earliest escapades to The Jersey Shore as a toddler. Today, I am continually amazed by its beauty, splendor, and raw power.

After finishing The Perfect Storm, I began to reflect more about how volatile life can be and how insignificant we our compared to the ancient beast we know as the ocean.

One minute your enjoying the water, but you've sailed out a little too far and the next minute a storm has just rolled in and you and your boat are swallowed alive. Gone in a second, due to the unpredictability of the awesome power of the ocean. All collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it had five thousand years ago-Herman Melville, Moby Dick.

The Perfect Storm is set in two places. The first is the small fisherman's town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Gloucester is a place where fishing is the only way of life, so all the town basically consists of is a few run down bars(fisherman love to spend lots of money in bars), a giant port, and lots of boats. It's a homey town in which everybody knows one another and little goes on to speak of. This...