All aboard the polar express

polar exploration

• Historical period;  mankind explored region north of Arctic Circle
• Two major passages
• Many challenges 

WHY DID PEOPLE PARTICIPATE?

• Despite centuries of attempt failures 
• People idolized previous attempts 
• Economic reasons (ex; fur trade)
• Stories of previous attempts appealed to the minds of many
• Wanted to beat the odds against the possibility of an open polar sea 

continued...

• Idea of glory and greatness
• Odds against discoveries and science
• "You seek for knowledge and wisdom as I once did"

Frankenstein

• Passage eluded explorers through Mary Shelly's lifetime
• Death 
• Romanticism- Walton little education  
• Relates as Walton makes a polar exploration