The sinking in 1912 of the worldÆs largest ocean-liner, the Titanic, taking with it more than 1,200 lives, remains in the imaginations of many people. This is evident by the enormous number of books, films, documentaries, TV movies, and other events dedicated to the Titanic, nearly a century after its sinking. Zani (2003) reveals that:
The Onion newspaperÆs faux headline for the sinking of the Titanic is æWorldÆs Largest Metaphor Hits IcebergÆ. The irony of an æunsinkableÆ ship sinking on its maiden voyage is an obvious testament to the hubris of mankind in the face of the Real (125).
Indeed, the Queen Elizabeth, II, recently took to the seas, a ship as large as the Chrysler Building in Manhattan if stood on end. Yet the ship that was labeled æunsinkableÆ did sink, taking with it many lives. In reviewing the incidents surrounding what the Apr 16, 1912, edition of the Daily Sketch called ôthe first disaster of such magnitude to befall a mammoth liner at seaö, one comes to the conclusion that of all the factors most responsible for the sinking of the Titanic, human pride remains chief among them (1).
The headline of the Apr 16, 1912, edition of the Baltimore American read: ôTITANIC SINKS WITH 1,200 MEN; 866 WOMEN AND CHILDREN SAVEDö (1). Only a day earlier, Logan Marshall (1998), author of The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters, reports that on Mon Apr 15, 1912, a wireless message was sent that read, ôThe Titanic in collision, but everybody safeö (19). Due to the lack of technology, mistakes were common in message transmission by wireless. Though everyone went to sleep assured the passengers were safe, the next day the Canadian Government Marine Agency discovered, to its horror, that more than 1,200 were dead and the original wireless received was to have read; ôAre all TitanicÆs passengers safe?ö (Marshall 1998, 21).
As Tuesday morning, Apr 15, 1912 unfolded, so did the grisly news con...