Major Themes of In the Heart of the Sea

A main theme of Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex is that appearances can be deceiving. This became apparent throughout the travels of the Essex. For example, while aboard the ship, Chase decided that the sperm whale swimming calmly beside the ship posed threat to the ship, however, this was a horrific mistake, which ended up in the sinking of the Essex and the death of nine men. The characters in the novel also rely heavily upon their assumption of an object or place, such as the Marquesas Islands. The crew aboard the Essex believed that the Marquesas Islands were inhabited by cannibals, however, it was inhabited by harmless natives, who may have helped the crew. These dramatic flaws in the cha...