Terror and Erebus

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The play Terror and Erebus, written by Gwendolyn MacEwen, is about the tragedy of the Franklin expedition; an expedition to find the Northwest Passage in the 19th century. Franklin, the expedition leader, and the entire crew of both the Terror and the Erebus die on their journey to find the passage. The ships become stuck in the ice and the men are unable to handle the harsh winter conditions that are forced upon them. The men arrogantly thought they were prepared for their voyage because of their science-based knowledge. They thought that there compasses and various instruments would lead them to a successful quest; however, they forgot a key piece of the quest, the quest of learning. They did not try and learn the environmental conditions or the landscape of the latitude they would be travelling through. Consequently, this led to their demise; as the forces of nature conquered the science dependent men. Nature is the physical world and all the products and features of the earth; it can be uncontrollable and unpredictable. Nature can terrorize landscapes and destroy cities; yet w...

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