Unsinkable

Unsinkable revolves around the first and only voyage of the RMS Titanic, named for the Titans of Greek myth. Perhaps best known in modern-day media for the 1997 film, the ship was the second in the class of Olympic vessels, which also included the RMS Olympic (named for Mount Olympus of Greek myth) and the HMHS Britannic (which served as a hospital ship until it sank in 1916). As depicted in the novel, the Titanic was assembled in Belfast, Ireland, at the Harland and Wolff shipyard and belonged to the White Star Line. Korman stays true to the ship’s specifications, including the revolutionary technology that encouraged the idea that it was unsinkable. From bow to stern, the Titanic stretched 1/6 of a mile, and the hull was divided into 16 compartments that could be sealed off by switch-operated watertight doors. Since the ship could remain afloat with up to four compartments flooded, and engineers did not envision a situation that could breach more than four compartments at once, the ship was proclaimed unsinkable. Thus, the Titanic was not outfitted with enough lifeboats to evacuate the over 2,000 people aboard. There were approximately 700 survivors, making the sinking of the Titanic one of the deadliest maritime disasters during peacetime in modern history.

Unsinkable also tackles issues of class and social standing to explore the influence of wealth on cultural divides, and it examines how attitudes can separate even those of similar status. During the voyage, passengers were split into three classes—first, second, and steerage (third). As shown through Juliana and Sophie, first-class passengers received the best treatment and occupied the most opulent areas of the ship, but not all first-class passengers were, to their considerations, equal. Juliana’s status and limited view of society make her feel superior to Sophie (the daughter of a suffragist), even though both girls move within the same spaces aboard the ship. Similarly, Sophie feels separated from the other first-class passengers because of her mother’s actions and attitude. Through Alfie’s perspective of the girls, these distinctions mean nothing to those who are not involved in first-class social circles. Analysis of the survivors’ demographics has revealed that social standing, gender, and age also played a role in who made it off the ship. First-class passengers out-survived both second-class and steerage passengers, and women and children far out-survived men, suggesting that wealth and gender played a role in who was given preferential space on the lifeboats. Edwardian social standards emphasized traditional masculinity, binding honor with self-sacrifice. This led to the “women and children first” directive during lifeboat boarding.