VASILE ALECSANDRI NATIONAL COLLEGE

BACU

COORDINATING TEACHER:
PROF. DR. TEONA CODREANU

STUDENT:
SAVA ANDREEA-NICOLETA
12 A

2012

Foreword

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I. At the Beginning was Titan

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I. 1. The Construction of the Titanic

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I. 2. The Titanic or the Ship-Wreck of an Entire World

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I. 3. The Sinking of the Titanic

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II. Summary of S.O.S. Titanic

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II. 1. Investigations into the disaster

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II. 2. Titanic alternative theories

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II. 3. The Titanic movie

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Conclusion

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Bibliography

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Foreword
On April 14, 1912 a disaster happened and now it is more than just a story in a history book. There
were many kinds of people on the ship - rich and poor, young and old. When it sank, hundreds died.
Unfortunately, their hopes and dreams died with them.
Trying to become a person who knows very well what the cause and effect of this disaster were, I
woke-up from its marine cemetery, the old ship, helped by the art of words. During two chapters, I
wrote the most important characteristics of the Titanic: her shape, her crew and passengers and also the
unexpected ending. James Cameron was the big winner at Oscar night in Los Angeles in March 1998,
because his movie Titanic, represented reality developed with the help of romance. Taking with them
the passion, love and forced by destiny break-up, I tell you story of a ship which was, in the movie
Titanic, the place where love had begun.
Some people think that the Titanic, showed people at their best and even though the film and the
disaster didn`t wait each other to be famous, without the movie, the wreck their worst. Maybe this is why
the disaster is still famous. The ship sank in the North Atlantic over ninety years ago. But almost
everybody in the world today knows the name of the Titanic. There were many examples of bravery on
the Titanic during that night. Some of the crew and passengers worked all night to save other people.
They chose to stay on the ship until the end. Other passengers thought only about saving themselves. And
that was the end. She was the ship of all dreams. It really was.

I. At the beginning was Titan

Morgan Robertson

In 1898 the American writer, Morgan Robertson, wrote a story called the Wreck of Titan. In his
story, a large passengers ship called the Titanic sails from England on its maiden voyage to the New
York. The ship has the very latest technology and everyone on board
believes it is unsinkable. A few nights later, the Titanic hits an iceberg
and sinks. Because there are not enough lifeboats on the ship, many
passengers-including many rich and famous people die in the icy water of
the North Atlantic. Not many people read The wreck of the Titan-the only
unusual thing about the story was that Morgan Robertson claimed that he
wrote it in psychic trance.
Six years later in 1892 William T. Stead wrote From the Old World to
the New. In the story, too, a chip hit an iceberg and sank. Another ship
picked up the survivors. The captain's name was E.J Smith-the name of the
Titanic's captain. Stead travelled on the real Titanic but he didn't survive.
Twenty years later on April 9th, 1912, a larger passenger ship called the Titanic left Southampton,
England on its maiden voyage to New York. The ship was the very latest design and it was described as
being unsinkable by its engineers. Even at the start of the trip, the Titanic had bad luck. There was
almost an accident in the first minutes of the trip. The danger passed, but for same people was a bad start
to the famous ship's first trip across the Atlantic. Some people said, It's bad luck!. Five nights later the
Titanic hit an iceberg and sank. There were not enough lifeboats on the ship and 1513 people including
many rich and famous passengers died in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.

I. 1. The Titanic construction

The idea of the luxury liner was first conceived of in 1907, but the Titanic construction did not
actually begin until March 31, 1909 in Belfast (Ireland). The construction of the Titanic was handled
by Harland and Wolff.
It took 3 years for building of the Titanic to be completed and in the end it cost $7.5 million
dollars for the ship to be finished. More than 3000 men were
employed in building the Titanic during that time span. In
the months, and even years, leading up to the maiden voyage
of the Titanic; the White Star Line published numerous
marketing materials claiming that the ship was 'designed to
be unsinkable.'
At the time, the construction methods used in the
building of the Titanic were considered to be second to none. Titanic construction included sixteen
compartments that were reported to be watertight. Builders of the Titanic had included steel doors that
were supposed to have been capable of being shut in 25 seconds or less; thereby enclosing any water
that might have seeped in to threaten the safety of the ship and her occupants. Of course, we now
know from the photographs taken of the ship's wreckage, that in all likelihood many of the nearly 3
million rivets that were employed to hold the ship's hull plates together popped loose when the vessel
struck a massive iceberg. Without the rivets to hold the plating together, they quickly buckled,
allowing water to seep into the ship. New theories have suggested that the iron used in the Titanic
construction may have been less than the best quality, containing high degrees of sulphur, which made
the hull plates particularly susceptible to the icy cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Builders of the
Titanic can hardly be blamed for the iron's contribution to the tragic sinking, however. The iron used
in the construction of the Titanic was standard for the first part of the 20th century. While the high
sulfur content in the iron may have surely played a role in the tragic history of the Titanic, it was not
the sole reason the ship sank.

Reports from surviving crew members indicate that

the ship had been ordered to proceed through the waters
of the Atlantic Ocean faster than safety allowed. There
has been debate regarding whether or not the owner of
the White Star Line, Bruce Ismay, instructed Captain
Smith to attempt to break a speed record in the TransAtlantic crossing. Regardless of whether or not he gave those orders, following the sinking of the
Titanic (which he survived) he was asked to step down from his role in the company's management.
Numerous other vessels had reported the presence of several ice floes in the area on the day the ship
sank, yet the Titanic made no effort to slow down her speed. When it became obvious that the ship
was about to collide with a huge iceberg crew members attempted to turn the ship, hoping to avoid the
berg all together.

Passenger facilities
The passenger facilities aboard Titanic aimed to meet the highest standards of luxury. The ship could
accommodate 739 First Class passengers, 674 in Second Class and 1,026 in Third Class. Her crew
numbered about 900 people; in all, she could carry about 3,339 people. Her interior design was a
departure from that of other passenger liners, which had typically been decorated in the rather heavy style
of a manor house or an English country house. Titanic was laid out in a much lighter style similar to that
of contemporary high-class hotels the Ritz Hotel was a reference point with First Class cabins finished
in the Empire style.A variety of other decorative styles, ranging from the Renaissance to Victorian style,
were used to decorate cabins and public rooms in First and Second Class areas of the ship. The aim was to
convey an impression that the passengers were in a floating hotel rather than a ship; as one passenger
recalled, on entering the ship's interior a passenger would "at once lose the feeling that we are on board
ship, and seem instead to be entering the hall of some great house on shore." Passengers could use an onboard telephone system, a lending library and a large barber shop. The First Class section had a
swimming pool, a gymnasium, squash court, Turkish bath, electric bath and a Verandah Cafe. First Class
common rooms were adorned with ornate wood panelling, expensive furniture and other decorations
while the Third Class general room had pine panelling and sturdy teak furniture. ] The Caf Parisien was

located on a sunlit veranda fitted with trellis decorations and offered the best French haute cuisine for the
First Class passengers.

I. 2. The Titanic or the ship-wreck of an entire world

No other ship has captured the world's attention, quite like the Titanic ship. Constructed to be
unsinkable, this first class ocean liner set sail on April 10, 1912. The world had awaited the maiden
voyage of this luxury liner for months. The White Star Line had taken great care to publicize the fantastic
engineering of the Titanic and the world waited with baited breath for the ship to make her first voyage.
The Titanic ship disaster began, ironically enough as the ship was heading out to sea. The ship's
builders had spared no expense in assuring that the Titanic would not only be the safest ship on the
waters, but also the largest. This fact proved to be disastrous from the beginning. The larger ship managed
to suck a much smaller vessel, the New York, into her wake as she began ploughing through the waters
with her massive propellers. The two ships came very close to colliding. This near miss may have set a
few nerves on edge, but it was nothing compared to what would come later.
Despite the close call, the first few days of the ship's voyage in no way indicated the tragic history
of Titanic ship. Information of Titanic records indicates the ship made two ports of call, both with no
incident. After the stop in Queenstown, Ireland to take on more passengers, the RMS Titanic set sail
once again, headed for her destination in New York. For four days the ship's elite passengers reveled in
the brand new amenities of the Titanic ship, replete with every modern luxury known at the time.
During the early part of the 20th century, it was considered quite sophisticated for wealthy families to
spend portions of their time in Europe, which necessitated crossing the Atlantic at least once per year.
Even to these jaded travellers, however, the Titanic ship was like no other. Nothing had been spared to
insure the comfort of the first class guests. The ship was even equipped with only 20 lifeboats, so that
precious deck space for the first class passengers would not be taken up by bulky lifeboats.
Down below, however, it was a different story. While the luxury liner teemed with a significant
number of first class passengers, hundreds of second class and third class passengers survived the first
few days of the voyage in cramped compartments. Most of these individuals were immigrant families
who had scraped together every bit of money they had to travel to America aboard the grandest, and
supposedly, safest ship everbuilt.

When the Titanic ship disaster finally reached its pinnacle on April 14th, each and every passenger
on board; wealthy and poor alike; were forced to fight for their very survival. In the end only 705
persons survived the sinking of the ship, out of 2,228 passengers and crew members. 1,523 lives were
lost when the Titanic ship beneath the ice cold waters of the Atlantic.

I. 3. The sinking of the Titanic

On the morning of April 15, 1912, the sinking of the

Titanic the previous night shocked the world. The year had
dawned bright with promise and the maiden voyage of the
Titanic was a symbol of the advances mankind had made in the
last few years.
The ship was considered to have been so well constructed it
was believed she could sustain any amount of damage and still
remain afloat. Late on the night of April 14, 1912, the sinking
of the Titanic proved this idea wrong in a horribly tragic way.
The causes of Titanic to sink have been the subject of much study and debate. Obviously, the
instigating factor was the collision with the iceberg; however the question of 'how did it sink' is
frequently the centre of most questions regarding the Titanic.
The Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean, having covered half of her trans-Atlantic crossing. The
remains of the Titanic were eventually located approximately 13 miles southeast of the location of her
last distress call. This distance contributed to part of the
difficulty in locating the Titanic, which was finally
discovered in 1985.
In 1912 the sinking of the Titanic began late on the
night of April 14th. Information on the sinking Titanic
indicates that the ship approached a massive iceberg, and
although efforts were made to steer clear of the large frozen mass, all efforts were to no avail. Sadly,

further records of the Titanic accident history indicate that the Titanic disaster may very well have
been able to have been completely avoided had officers on ship paid heed to reports received earlier
regarding the frozen waters they were approaching.

II. Summary of sos Titanic

Even though crew members were desperately trying to turn the ship in the other direction, when
the ship collided with the berg a massive rip was torn parallel across the ship's bulk. The Titanic
sinking began almost immediately, as the ship began to take on water.
Surprisingly, many of the passengers remained unaware of this fact. Some passengers reported
hearing and feeling a strange quivering in the ship; however, they did not attribute this to any potential
problem and went on about their business.
Others had seen the iceberg has it passed their window and hurriedly donned dressing gowns and
robes, anxious to discover whether or not they had truly hit the berg. At first, passengers were assured
that there would only be a slight delay and were given no indication of the true severity of the
situation.
Passengers located at strategic points in the ship already knew the devastating truth however: the
Titanic was sinking and sinking fast. An SOS was sent out to neighbouring ships.
The Carpathia picked up the ship's distress call and radioed back to let the ship's crew know they were
on their way. It would be too late, however. By the time the Carpathia arrived, all that remained of the
Titanic was a handful of lifeboats filled with shocked survivors.
Since the ship sank to her watery grave, almost one hundred years ago, a number of theories have
been put forth to explain how in the year of 1912 the sinking of the Titanic could have occurred.
Some theories suggest that had the ship's crew not attempted to turn the ship in the opposite direction of
the iceberg and instead took the blow head-on, the collision would not have resulted in such
catastrophic disaster. Consequently, neighbouring ships in the area had reported earlier in the evening
that the waters ahead contained numerous masses of solid ice and that approaching ships should
proceed with caution. The Titanic, however, thought to be unsinkable, ploughed full speed ahead. This

proved to be a fatal mistake and is certainly one of the factors that led to the disaster.

II. 1. Investigations into the disaster

Even before the survivors arrived in New York, investigations were being planned to discover what
had happened, and what could be done to prevent a recurrence.
The United States Senate initiated an inquiry into the disaster on
19 April, a day after Carpathia arrived in New York.
The chairman of the inquiry, Senator William Alden Smith,
wanted to gather accounts from passengers and crew while the
events were still fresh in their minds. Smith also needed to
subpoena all surviving British passengers and crew while they
were still on American soil, which prevented them from returning to the UK before the American inquiry
was completed on 25 May. The British press condemned Smith as an opportunist, insensitively forcing an
inquiry as a means of gaining political prestige and seizing "his moment to stand on the world stage".
Smith, however, already had a reputation as a campaigner for safety on U.S. railroads, and wanted to
investigate any possible malpractices by railroad tycoon J. P. Morgan, Titanic's ultimate owner.
Lord Mersey was appointed to head the British Board of Trade's inquiry into the disaster, which took
place between 2 May and 3 July. Each inquiry took testimony from both passengers and crew of Titanic,
crew members of Leyland Line's Californian, Captain Arthur Rostron of Carpathia and other experts.
The recommendations included major changes in maritime regulations to implement new safety
measures, such as ensuring that more lifeboats were provided, that lifeboat drills were properly carried
out and that wireless equipment on passenger ships was manned around the clock. An International Ice
Patrol was set up to monitor the presence of icebergs in the North Atlantic, and maritime safety
regulations were harmonised internationally through the International Convention for the Safety of Life at
Sea; both measures are still in force today.

II. 2. Titanic alternative theories

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Many alternative stories to the sinking of the super liner Titanic have been put forward. The accepted
reason for the sinking, which resulted in the death of 1,503 passengers and crew, is that the ship struck
an iceberg at 11:40 PM on 14 April 1912, buckling the hull and allowing water to enter the ships first five
watertight compartments (one more than the Titanic was designed to survive), and sank two hours and 40
minutes later. Hypotheses which have been suggested as the cause of the disaster include unsafe speed, an
insurance scam, an ice-pack rather than an iceberg, and even a curse on the ship by the Unlucky Mummy.

The Titanics mummy curse is an urban legend, possibly based on the Priestess of Amen-Ra who lived
in 1050. According to legend, after her discovery in the 1890s in Egypt, the purchaser of the mummy ran
into serious misfortune. The mummy was then reportedly donated to the British Museum where it
supposedly continued to cause mysterious problems for visitors and staff. The mummy was eventually
purchased by journalist William Thomas Stead, who dismissed the claims of a curse as quirks of
circumstance. The legend claims that he arranged for the mummy to be concealed on the underside of his
car for fear that it would not be taken aboard the Titanic because of its reputation. He reportedly revealed
to other passengers the presence of the mummy the night before the accident.
Official records state that the British Museum never received the mummy, only the lid of
its sarcophagus (which is on display at the museum and known as the "Unlucky Mummy"). Additionally,
except during war and special exhibits abroad, the coffin lid has not left the Egyptian room.

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II. 3. The Titanic movie

In 1997, the world fell in love with Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio in James Cameron's
epic disaster movie, Titanic.
The main (fictional) story is of course the love story between Jack and Rose, two passengers from
entirely different social classes.
Jack Dawson (played by Leonardo DiCaprio): Jack is a poor man from
Wisconsin who has been travelling in Europe (mainly Paris). He wins 2 third
class tickets for the Titanic in a poker game and boards the ship with his friend
Fabrizio.
Rose DeWitt Bukater (played by Kate Winslet): Rose is a 17-year old
woman from Philadelphia. Rose boards the ship
with her fianc Cal (played by Billy Zane) and her mother Ruth. Rose is
pushed into a marriage by her mother for financial reasons. Rose is not
happy with that and attempts to commit suicide. Jack saves her and there
the romance and stories begin...
Of course Cal forbids Rose to see Jack, but of course she doesn't listen
and falls in love. The romance goes on until the Titanic collides with the iceberg. They want to warn
Cal and Rose's mother, but Jack gets framed by Cal and is imprisoned. While the Titanic is sinking,
Rose helps Jack to escape and they return to the top deck.
Cal manages to persuade Rose to get in a lifeboat for a short while until she realizes she can't leave
Jack. She leaves the lifeboat and meets Jack in the first-class stairway. Jack and Rose are being chased
by Cal, who has a gun. Cal runs out of ammunition and manages to board a lifeboat.
Jack and Rose take refuge on the vertical stern, but eventually they are washed into the freezing
Atlantic Ocean. They manage to grab a floating door, which unfortunately has only space for one
person. Jack dies from the cold in Rose's arms. Rose is picked up by the RMS Carpathia, where she
names herself Rose Dawson. There she sees Cal for the last time, looking for her.
One of the major conflicts in the film centres on the location of an expensive diamond necklace,
referred to as the 'Heart of the Ocean'. In the Titanic movie, the gorgeous jewel was presented to Rose
by her fianc. The necklace had never been recovered and one of the last scenes in the movie reveals a
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much older Rose (the older Rose is played by Gloria Stuart), returning the necklace of the depths of
the ocean.
In reality, while such a necklace did actually once exist, its location has remained a mystery since
the one time owner of the necklace, King Louis XVI, died. There are no reports to indicate that the
original Heart of the Ocean necklace wound up on board the Titanic.
The Titanic earned its place as the most nominated movie in film history. In total, the film was
nominated for a whopping 14 Oscars and managed to bring home 11 of the coveted awards. No other
film in history had won that many award.

Conclusion

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Some people think that the sinking of the Titanic showed the end of one part of history and the start
of another. Before the Titanic sank, it was a time of greater hope. People felt good about the world's
future. Buildings were becoming bigger and bigger. Anything seemed possible.
When the news about the disaster was finally known, sadness and surprise were felt around the
world. Ten thousands people were waiting when Carpathia arrived in the New York on the evening of
Thursday, the ocean. In the next six
weeks, 328 bodies were found. When
his body was found, John Jacob Astor
IV was crying a big gold ring, a gold
watch, and a lot of money when he
died. None of it helped him. In 1987,
the ship was visited by tem with a
different idea. This time the scientists
went down in the down in the
submarine. They brought 1.800 things
up from the Titanic. A sad thing said Robert Ballard, scientist.
What will the future of the Titanic be? One business man wants to sell trips to the ship. Will anyone
ever bring the ship back up from the bottom of the ocean? Survivor Eva Hart hoped not. Before her death
in 1996, she said, "Leave it there.

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Bibliography

1) Charles Pellegrino, Her name, Titanic-The untold Story of the Sinking and Findimg of the
Unsinkable ship, Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication-Data, 1988
2) Don Lynch and Ken Marshall, Titanic-An Illustrated History, 1992
3) English magazine: Easy English-nr.4, Titanic-the facts and the figures
4) http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic

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