Analysis

Along with harmful exposure to the elements, hunger and thirst soon become the dominating punishments of being lost on the ocean. Mac’s chocolate-eating binge and subsequent soul-crushing guilt threaten not only their lives, but also their sanity. Louie, with the determined will of an Olympic athlete, institutes a saving grace: conversation. He and Phil keep their minds sharp and active with questions about every conceivable subject. Hillenbrand writes that Phil and Louie “turned the raft into a nonstop quiz show.”

For Phil, another saving grace is a fragile, yet constant, faith in God. Phil begins singing hymns, hoping that a “protective God” will save them. And maybe God isn’t that far away: At the height of their starvation, in what could be described as nearly a miracle, an albatross lands directly on Louie’s head. The bird becomes bait for catching fish, which save the men from starvation.