Unsinkable

“The two had an informal agreement never to make a victim of a poor man—even though they themselves were always much, much poorer. Their unfortunate situation forced them to live by their wits and steal to survive. But there was a line they would not cross, knowing that they weren’t the only hungry youngsters in Belfast.”

These lines come while Paddy and Danny seek out someone else to pickpocket. When Paddy points out a potential mark, Danny vetoes the man because it is clear that he is struggling financially. Though Paddy and Danny are struggling more, their mindset here shows that they refuse to make life worse for someone else who is struggling. Further, this reveals that, while they commit crimes to survive, they are not heartless criminals and only steal from those who can afford to lose. While this does not outright justify theft, it does highlight the failures of society to take care of its own, forcing children like Paddy and Danny into difficult decisions. This moment offers an early example of The Impact of Class on Experiences, as Paddy and Danny’s moral code emerges despite their poverty, revealing how class hardship does not erase empathy.

“‘Move out of the road, you shameless baggage!’ bellowed a lorry driver.

Other cries echoed his sentiments, their words not so polite. London saw its share of political activism for a wide variety of causes, but not from women, who were expected to be obedient and demure. The ‘suffragettes’ were considered unfeminine, rebellious, and even immoral.”

This excerpt comes from Sophie’s first chapter and shows the life she lives alongside her mother, who is a member of the women’s suffrage movement. By including this scene, Korman offers atmospheric details to ground the readers in the global society of 1912—when women were fighting for the right to vote in both Europe and the US. The dialogue at the beginning of this excerpt reflects a disdain for outspoken women, such as Sophie’s mother, and also for Americans who are viewed as troublemakers. The latter part of the quotation conveys the societal expectations for women at the time—namely, being quiet, subservient, and unseen. Sophie’s mother’s refusal to live by these standards sets Sophie up for her character growth and her realization that she has power and agency in a world where it otherwise seems like she does not.

“At the opposite end of the building, White Star officials were hiring hordes of waiters, stewards, maids, and laundry and kitchen workers. The Titanic offered features that had never been dreamed of on other ships. Employees were required to perform dozens of onboard functions, like trainers for the gymnasium and attendants for the swimming pool and Turkish bath. When the great ship set sail on April 10, she would carry nearly nine hundred crew members, most of whom would have nothing to do with the nautical operation of a ship.”

These lines offer more historical setup for both the Titanic’s voyage itself as well as how the Titanic was meant to stand out among cruise ships at the time. As seen by the long lines of hopeful employees, work aboard the Titanic was widely coveted. While the pay was nothing extraordinary for the time, work aboard the ship offered lower-class working people the opportunity to sail aboard the ship, an experience that would have otherwise been unavailable to them due to cost-prohibitive pricing for passage. This excerpt also notes the sheer number of people who would board the ship and, tragically, the sheer number who would die.

“If it was a good thing to purchase this for Daniel, perhaps it made sense to buy each of them a new suit of clothes. If they weren’t dressed so shabbily, no one would be suspicious of the money they spent. And they could get closer to a better quality of pocket if they weren’t always being chased away as ragamuffins.”

Here, Paddy contemplates spending the money that the boys recently stole, despite Danny’s warning not to in case they’re discovered as pickpockets. Though he isn’t yet aware that the money came from a gangster, Paddy is determined to spend it because he is tired of living poorly and believes that such wealth is a ticket to a better life. Prior to this, Paddy intends to buy only a drawing set for Danny, and these lines reveal how the money is a temptation. It also shows how this kind of money at Paddy’s level of society can be a game changer. By purchasing finery that is otherwise out of his reach, Paddy can appear better off than he is, which could then lead to him increasing his quality of life. Paddy’s attempt to “dress up” in better clothes also reflects the impact of class on experiences, as he believes that appearing wealthier might allow him to escape judgment and gain access to new opportunities.

“They started toward the wharf. If the Titanic dominated Belfast’s silhouette, at Harland and Wolff she stood out like a mountain range. The boys needed no directions to find her at her slip. As they made their way through the lineup of delivery wagons, they had to crane their necks to see the top of her mast and towering smokestacks. Yet despite her impressive height, the truly incredible dimension was her length—nearly 900 feet, a full sixth of a mile. Stood on end, she would have almost reached the top of the Eiffel Tower, the tallest man-made structure in the world.”

These lines come while Danny and Paddy search for Thomas Andrews so that Danny can explain his theory of how the Titanic could sink. The historical details, such as the Eifel Tower being the tallest manmade structure, offer more context to ground the novel in the early 20th century. Specific to the Titanic, this passage offers a glimpse at the ship’s grandeur from an outsider’s perspective. The Titanic’s size and unique details make it a landmark within Belfast, but within the shipyard, it stands out as the most prominent structure, which reflects how the Titanic was built to be an impressive model of innovation.

“As soon as his worn boots hit the first-class passageway, he was aware of a strange feeling, as if he were running in molasses. It was the carpet—so plush, so thick, that you sank down nearly to the ankles. Paddy had never slept on anything so soft, much less used it just for walking.”

Here, Paddy has escaped the fight with the gangsters by accidentally boarding the Titanic with cargo. After a year of living on the streets, Paddy’s instincts tell him to keep running, even though it’s unlikely that the threat followed him, and these instincts bring him to the first-class area of the ship. This is Paddy’s first up-close glimpse of the luxury that such wealth affords, and his confusion about the carpet reflects how his experiences of the world have never allowed him to remotely understand how the wealthy live. While first-class passengers expect this kind of plush softness to walk on, Paddy views it only as something to slow him down because it offers poor traction for maintaining speed. This quote highlights the impact of class on experiences, as Paddy’s bewilderment at the plush carpeting emphasizes how deeply unfamiliar he is with first-class luxury, reinforcing the physical and psychological divides between social classes.

“In a week’s time, Juliana and her father would be a part of the Titanic’s maiden voyage, sailing to New York to meet with an associate of Papa’s—a man who owned several oil wells in a place called Texas. Gushers, he called them. Such a vulgar word. In truth, the whole thing seemed rather vulgar to Juliana, smelling strongly of the shop. Why would her father rub elbows with a man who drilled holes in the ground, no matter how wealthy he happened to be?”

These lines are part of the readers’ introduction to Juliana, and they reveal how her high-class upbringing has influenced her view of the world. While Juliana understands her father meeting with other men for business purposes, the exact details of the business make little sense to her, which reflects how women were not made privy to their male relatives’ or husbands’ business ventures at the time. Rather, Juliana focuses on how the term for oil wells (gusher) sounds vulgar. Further, she sees drilling holes in the ground as beneath her family’s station, which makes it clear where her sensibilities lie at the beginning of the book.

“The Titanic was a marvel of engineering, but she was also a maze, with dozens of passageways on nine different decks. Da had brought him here via a wide passageway on E Deck that the crew had named ‘Scotland Road.’ It was supposed to be the fastest way to get from one end of the ship to the other. But he was on F now. It made no sense that going up could be the most convenient way to get down to the boiler room.”

These lines from Alfie’s perspective hint at the massive underbelly of the Titanic, as well as the ship’s confusing layout. Since crew passages needed to be convenient but also unseen by first-class and second-class passengers, these routes were twisty and often doubled back on one another to ensure that the crew could perform their duties without getting in the way of the wealthiest passengers. The ship’s main thoroughfare was named Scotland Road after the road that passed through Liverpool in England. Since a large number of crew members were from this area, the nickname stuck, showing the ties between the ship’s crew and the culture of the time.

“But Mother saw none of this. She was determined to keep her focus narrow. Suffrage, the cause—that was all that existed for her. It wasn’t that she disapproved of the magnificence of the great ship. She simply didn’t notice it. The Titanic was a means to get home so Amelia Bronson could hold rallies and disturb the peace of American cities, just as she had done in the English ones.”

Here, Sophie takes note of the Titanic’s grandeur, from the opulent details of the first-class areas to the spectacular views afforded by the upper decks. For her, these things are an experience in and of themselves because she has never considered that such finery could exist aboard a ship. This passage also highlights a key difference between Sophie and her mother, specifically how they view the world around them. While Sophie tries to enjoy her time aboard the Titanic for what it offers, her mother’s single-minded focus on her cause keeps the woman from enjoying the ship. This difference helps to explain the key difference between Sophie and Juliana. While Juliana similarly sees people and objects as things to provide a function for her, Sophie makes an effort not to think this way so that she does not miss out on observing the world like her mother does.

“It was strange—for all the Titanic’s grandeur, Andrews seemed to see only problems. Paddy had overheard him lamenting the number of screws in the stateroom coat hooks, or the fact that the kitchen stores could accommodate only forty thousand eggs, and not the forty-three thousand the quartermaster had requested.”

Taken in conjunction with the previous quotation, this excerpt offers additional support for how single-minded fixation keeps the novel’s characters from appreciating the grandeur of the Titanic. Like Sophie’s mother, Andrews fails to acknowledge the Titanic’s decorative accomplishments, instead fretting over the type of minute details described here. Separate from the previous quotation, these lines show how being part of the group responsible for the passenger experience gives Andrews a different view of the ship. He is focused on creating the best experience possible, knowing that a good experience will lead to wealthy passengers booking travel on another of his ships.

“It dawned on Juliana that she had no idea where they would be going, or what the nature of her father’s business might be. She knew they were to be met in New York by a Mr. Hardcastle, who owned oil wells. But Papa wasn’t in the oil business, was he? Surely not. Papa wasn’t in any business.”

This passage again shows how disconnected Juliana is from her father’s business, even going so far as to think that her father is not involved in business at all. Aside from illustrating the divide between men and women at the time, this passage also shows Juliana starting to change, however slowly. Sophie has just asked where and with whom Juliana’s father will conduct his meetings, and Juliana is taken aback because she has never had to consider such questions before, never mind their answers. Juliana ultimately dismisses the questions without giving proper answers, but this subtle shift in Juliana’s thoughts shows that she is capable of questioning the status quo and sets her up to help Paddy at the end of the book.

“John Huggins spat into the roaring firebox. ‘Especially fond of!’ he repeated in disgust. ‘I’m sure she’s got seventeen more in her stateroom. It’s a blessing to be working class. Money makes you soft in the head.’”

Alfie’s father says this when Alfie visits him in the boiler room on his way to collect a scarf from the cargo bay for a first-class passenger. As a working-class person who’s struggled to make enough money to survive, Alfie’s father scoffs at this errand because, compared to what he has experienced, it feels like a ridiculous concern. His reaction highlights the priorities among the different classes of society, as well as how members of different classes view people who have more or less than they do. The dialogue also calls to the idea that money causes higher-class individuals to create concerns. For the working class, major concerns revolve around providing necessities—such as food and shelter. People who can afford these necessities many times over no longer have to concern themselves with such things and thus create concerns like wanting a preferred scarf. Alfie’s father’s disdain illustrates the impact of class on experiences, contrasting the working-class value of necessity with the frivolous concerns of the wealthy.

“‘A sandwich would be lovely. And a glass of that nice, rich milk.’

Light dawned on Alfie. ‘You blackmailing little gangster!’

Paddy’s expression darkened suddenly. ‘A blackmailer I may be, but you’ll not call me a gangster.’”

This exchange between Paddy and Alfie comes shortly after the boys meet. To secure their places on the Titanic, both boys threatened to report the other for being aboard the ship illegally, showing that both have a strong sense of self-preservation. However, when pushed, Alfie folds first because he doesn’t want to be ripped away from his father after he finally managed to get the two of them together. With less to lose, Paddy gains the upper hand, which also shows how Paddy’s sense of self-preservation is stronger. His time on the streets has taught him that if he wants to survive, he must keep fighting until there’s nothing left to fight for.

“How beautiful it looks!

In truth, it was not very beautiful. A misting rain and low overcast sky washed its green into a wet, dirty gray. And anyway, Queenstown was hundreds of miles away from Paddy’s village in County Antrim. To an Ulster boy, Cork, the southernmost county, might as well have been in England or even America.”

Here, the Titanic has pulled into a port at Queenstown, Ireland, which is in Paddy’s home country. The first line of this quotation is from Paddy’s thoughts as he gazes at the land, and taken with the following description, this shows how home is often misrepresented in the mind. Paddy thinks that Ireland is beautiful because it’s his home, even if the view itself is drab and unappealing. In addition, this port is nowhere near Paddy’s home village, but to him, it’s still Ireland and thus part of his home.

“‘Women are only irrational because the standards of rationality have been established by men!’ Amelia Bronson held forth. ‘You’ve been in charge since the dawn of history, and what do we have to show for it? War! Hunger! Slavery! We should all choose our leaders, not merely half of us. Then you’d see a revolution without bullets or bloodshed!’

‘Madam!’ came an indignant bluster. ‘I never thought I’d say this to a lady, but you are no lady!’

‘Agreed!’ Sophie’s mother roared. ‘I am a human being, just as you are!’”

Sophie overhears this argument between her mother and a group of first-class male passengers. Sophie’s reaction to it shows both her irritation and her sorrow about how her mother chooses to spend her time while aboard the Titanic. The argument itself offers a glimpse of the gender inequalities that existed during the early 20th century—some of which have persisted into the modern day. Sophie’s mother also highlights how history and standards are established by those with the power. Since men have traditionally held the power in society, their decisions about who could have power and who was considered rational held, and these decisions kept women and other groups secondary because they had no power to counter what powerful men decided. The man in this exchange finds Sophie’s mother to be irritating and “unladylike” because he expects a certain type of behavior from a woman, but there is nothing wrong with how Sophie’s mother conducts herself because, as she says, she is a person and entitled to how she wants to behave. This quote directly supports The Inevitability of Progress, as Amelia’s speech calls for structural change and challenges the long-standing systems upheld by patriarchal power.

“‘And this person is on board?’ Juliana demanded. ‘Not in first class, certainly!’

‘Money doesn’t stop a man from being horrible,’ Sophie reminded her gently. ‘Or a woman.’ Equality in every way—Amelia Bronson’s motto.”

This exchange between Sophie and Juliana highlights the key differences between the girls and also shows Sophie coming to understand how her mother’s messages apply to everyday life. Prior to this, Alfie explained that he found the journal about Jack the Ripper in the first-class cargo hold. Juliana immediately denies the idea that anyone carrying something so horrid could possibly be traveling first class, which reflects the effects of her upbringing and her belief that status equates to being a good person. By contrast, Sophie’s mother taught Sophie that status and money are markers of societal class and nothing more—meaning that having these things does not make someone a good person. The final line calls to a core principle of equality—that people are equal in all ways, not just positive ones. Sophie’s reminder reveals how The Effect of Change on Relationships can manifest through shared beliefs, pushing Juliana to reconsider her assumptions and biases.

“Alfie regarded her in trepidation. It was hard to judge what the girl might do. Certainly, anything that harmed Paddy would damage him as well. Juliana didn’t seem like a cruel person. But she was so mired in the world of lords and ladies that she had no idea of the hard choices ordinary people had to make.”

Here, Alfie confirms what Juliana has shown from an outsider's perspective. As Alfie notes, Juliana seems nice enough and not like the kind of person who would go out of her way to harm others. However, now that Paddy has made her question her values, it is unclear what Juliana will do to maintain her beliefs about how the world works. The final observations in this excerpt highlight the insulating effects of status. Juliana is so coddled by her wealth and status that she can’t fathom what people like Alfie and Paddy have done just to survive.

“He paused, listening for signs of pursuit, and then found another staircase that led to E Deck. There, he made his way to Scotland Road, the longest passageway aboard. It was filled with crew, bustling this way and that as the largest ocean liner in the world began her day. Since he was in uniform, too, he blended right in.”

This passage comes as Paddy runs for his life with the gangsters in pursuit. From his time on the streets, Paddy has learned many tricks for losing someone, and here, he shows his proficiency as he reaches the busiest part of the ship and slows to blend in with the crew members. By doing so, Paddy hides in plain sight, effectively camouflaging himself. This passage also shows Scotland Road at the height of its busy time, revealing just how many people and how much work went into the day-to-day running of the Titanic.

“There had been little hysteria in his escape from Mr. Lightoller, but now Paddy’s legs were fueled by raw fear. The tender mercies of the second officer seemed pleasant compared with what these two thugs had planned for him.”

This passage offers more context about how Paddy has learned to survive by highlighting the different types of pursuit and how he responds. When pursued by the ship’s officers, Paddy was determined to escape, but he also recognized that, if caught, the officers would likely only toss him in the brig. While this is not an outcome that Paddy wants, it is one he can live with. By contrast, he knows that the gangsters will do far worse, such as toss him overboard, and this knowledge informs how much effort Paddy puts into escaping.

“If he’s in trouble, it’s thanks to his own lawless behavior, which started the moment he stowed away aboard this ship! Frankly, I find it mystifying that you insist on becoming involved with this criminal and his problems. It’s none of your affair, and it’s unsavory for you to be entangled in this tawdry drama—all in an attempt to protect someone who does not deserve even one second of your attention, much less your protection!”

Juliana delivers this speech to Sophie when Sophie is searching for Paddy after he’s gone missing. These lines reveal Juliana’s view of society, including how she believes she is better than other people because of her status. Since she delivers these lines to Sophie, another first-class passenger, the lines also show the differences between the girls, as well as how Juliana clings to her beliefs as justifications for condemning Sophie’s actions. Ironically, this also shows that Juliana is close to changing her mind about Paddy because the agitated subtext of her dialogue shows that she is uncomfortable with the situation and her involvement, or lack thereof, in it. Juliana’s tirade, though rooted in frustration, reflects how the impact of class on experiences can limit a person’s ability to empathize with others whose survival has required moral flexibility.

“In answer, Paddy turned tail and sprinted along the boat deck, leaving his rescuers staring after him, openmouthed. They had saved his life, and he was grateful, by God. But he was still a stowaway aboard this ship. And Paddy Burns had a talent for shifting his attention from one problem to the next with lightning speed.”

Yet again, this excerpt from Paddy’s perspective reveals how every aspect of who he is revolves around survival. While the ship crew has just saved him from being tossed overboard by the gangsters, Paddy realizes that he is still in danger, specifically from the very people who just saved his life. As he’s acknowledged, the punishment he’d face from the ship’s officers is less than what the gangsters would do, but Paddy still doesn’t want to be tossed in the brig, especially now that the gangsters will be there too. The final line shows how a life on the streets has made Paddy a quick thinker and taught him to react first and ask questions later.

“‘You blithering fool, can’t you see I’ve been robbed? What kind of ship are you running where miscreants put their mitts on a man’s property and deface it with lies?’

‘I see no lies,’ King replied evenly. ‘And the only miscreants are behind bars.’”

Here, the gangsters have been locked up in the brig, and the ship’s crew has brought their trunk up from storage. When they find that the defiled shirt is the only object in the trunk, the gangsters immediately try to make themselves look like the victims, despite the fact that they were caught trying to throw a child overboard. This highlights how high-level criminals often get away with their crimes through deflection of blame and victim blaming. As seen here, the officers don’t fall for such tricks, showing how the gangsters’ actions have made their tactics unbelievable.

“Many messengers came and went at Donovan’s, but this one was greeted with suspicion. He was not one of the usual runners employed by Gilhooley. He was a representative of the Marconi Company, which sent, received, and delivered wireless communications. Thanks to Mr. Marconi’s astonishing new invention, Morse code messages could be forwarded from ship to ship to ground station, reaching anywhere in the world in mere hours. It was just another way that the world had changed for the better in this incredible twentieth century.”

Here, the brother of one of the gangsters aboard the Titanic has received a telegram from the ship, informing him of his brother’s situation. The Marconi Company was a real telecommunications company that specialized in telegrams, and its mention here is yet another way that Korman grounds the novel in an accurate historical atmosphere. The delivery of this telegram represents the innovations of the early 20th century and shows the relatively new phenomenon of quickly gaining information about events happening elsewhere. In addition, the receipt of this telegram also lets Danny know that Paddy is alive, which opens up the potential for Danny’s later involvement in the series.