Analysis Of Ordeal By Hunger By George R. Stewart

Ordeal by Hunger, written by George R. Stewart, expediently illustrates the extreme conditions that the Donner Party had to endure in order to survive and conquer the drastic expedition that was embedded with adversity and death. It (the novel) tells the tale of the ill-fated pioneers while simultaneously epitomizing the great lengths that some will go to, and the sacrifices some will have to make, at the mercy of survival. Stewart was an American historian, and an English Professor (among many other things) who taught at the University of California, Berkeley for nearly forty years. He published twenty-six works of fiction and nonfiction which was a result of his lifelong passion for American history. Ordeal by Hunger (1936) is still one of …show more content…
Such circumstance was a result of bad luck, poor leadership, and an overall bad decision. It details the tales of basic instinct/survival and is a story wrought with “great heroism”, and “heartbreaking tragedy”. It’s an epic of despair that serves as an example of how crucial maintaining a certain dynamic is towards survival in any society. Every time the travelers seemed to encounter yet another inconvenience, it seemed to raise the common question : "What would I have done if I had found myself in the same situation? Stewart's style, while it's “searching” and “quiet”, epitomizes the stress on fact. Yet there are passages in "Ordeal" that are so “delicately humane”, so “generous and compassionate”, that reading this will evoke a feeling of gratitude, as if to thank Stewart for writing this in such a delicate way. Countless times, he emphasizes what should be obvious--that cannibalism was only a part of the ordeal, a symptom of that place in human experience where only will, and willpower stand between life, and oblivion. He explains the story in such a manner, that the reader isn't appalled or disgusted, but rather understanding when they learned of the pioneers having to resort to cannibalism. While reading this, it becomes …show more content…
This book is very apt for comprehension as it explains the history of the Donner Party in a way that the reader can understand, but without simplifying all the misery that the pioneers had to endure. The way this story is told is through a tone of spirit, filled with almost a passionate curiosity. The words and story flow in such a manner, that it makes you want to keep reading; he writes with such a triumph of tone that puts the story together and makes it a very enthralling