Kon-Tiki chapter 8

As the final chapter proceeds and the voyage of Kon-Tiki comes to an end, the crew members travel to a different island in Polynesia where they are welcomed with open arms. They eat and dance till the morning. When they finally get the radio repaired from the Kon-Tiki's crash they use it to get an escort home. But, before they leave they help the tribe with illnesses that they have with the medicine that they have in their supplies for the trip. When high tide comes in they are able to pull the Kon-Tiki wreckage from the coral. Finally, the six crew members are picked up from the island. All of the Polynesians came to say good bye and it was a scene of mixed emotions. There was sadness because new friends were parting, but their was happiness because of all the good that came of the journey and the union of two cultures.

Before the crew leaves the Polynesian islands they are told to throw wreathes into the reef if they wish to come back. All of the crew desire to come back and this is proven when Thor writes,"And in the lagoon at Tahiti six white wreaths lay alone, washing in and out, in and out, with wavelets on the beach."

Chapter 7

The mood of the narrative changes when they see land from adventurous to excitement. They try to navigate the currents and reefs to approach the island. They look towards the island and see two canoes coming towards the boat.  They meet the natives that come to greet them and the crew decide to send Knut to the island to request help to get the boat to the island. While Knut is away the remaining crew realizes that the raft is going to be destroyed on a reef if it is not pulled in. Knut comes back and the crew and him decide it would be best to go into the island and bring the supplies with them. After they reach the island they pass out asleep. It is a beautiful place and Bengt even says, "Purgatory was a bit damp, but heaven is more or less as I'd imagined it." No one disagrees.

Kon-Tiki chapter 6 part 2

To the excitement of the crew ,especially the two radio opporators, they make contact with people on land. As a result they are able to send weather reports and able to tell their families that they are safe and well. Unfortuantely, they were only temporarily safe. Soon after they were hit with brutal storms. During one of these episodes a sleeping bag flew over the sides. Herman saw this and leaned over to get it. Herman slipped and fell into the surf and he got dragged out to sea. This lead to the other crews to panic to recover their  friend. After and intense struggle,they save Herman. But, when looking to make sure all of the crew is there they find that they are missing a parrot. The death of their parrot reiterated the fact that if something is left behind it stays there.

Later in the chapter they see a promising sight in the sky. Suprised, they look into the horizon and see birds. This means that they are close to land. They follow the birds in the evening because they will lead them to land but later the narrarator, Thor Heyerdahl, says "Next day there were still more birds over us, but we did not need to wait for them to show us our way again in the evening." He thinks this because he sees stationary clouds that indicate land.

Kon-Tiki chapter 6 part 1

I think this chapter is very meaningful for the crew because they start taking short excursion from their raft on the dingy. It is significant because they realize how insignificant their raft is and how crazy their journey has been and will be. They realize that their raft is pathetic compared to the magnificence of the open ocean and the waves. Heyerdahl says, "The situation looked bad, and we could not realize that things had gone so well on board the zany craft." After they realize this they laugh at themselves and the madness of this voyage.

Later in the chapter a lesson is taught to the crew of the ship. A group of the crew goes out in the dingy to explore but can not get back to the raft. They eventually arrive back to the raft but they have learned a very dangerous lesson. The lesson they learned is that if one has gone out far they may not be able to get back. The author adds this anecdote to demonstrate that even with the enjoyment of the trip there can be severe consequences. He also adds this to portray that the journey is very dangerous and can be very frightening.

Another dangerous experience told in this chapter has to do with sharks. Knut was taking a break to go swimming and didn't realize that he was swimming with a dangerous marine organism. He calmly swam back to the boat and made it out safely. This actually lead to a game that the explorers would do. They started to grab sharks by the tail and pull them out of the water for both sport and food.

Kon-Tiki chapter 5

The narrative continues when they are out at open sea surrounded by miles of water. The crew of the Kon-Tiki witnesses many new and exciting fish and other organism during this leg of the journey. Just a few of these organisms include dolphins, sharks, turtles, and other fish in many assortments. They even caught some of these organisms including some sharks! Thor states, "...Later we caught shark after shark by the same method, and every time it went just as easily." Another discovery made was that they have a "garden" filled with a plethora of edible barnacles and seaweed. Plankton is also used as food and as a source of entertainment. The voyage continues on the track without a hitch or problem. This chapter is mainly about the interesting events that the crew experienced.

Kon-Tiki chapter 4 part 2

While out at sea the crew experiences many things. Whether it was sea sickness or strange organisms the crew of the ship had many surprises. On the unlucky side, Knut and the parrot given to them experienced sea sickness that left them incapable of helping on the ship. After recovering from the ailment the sea experience was not over. The crew finds many exciting organisms of sea life including flying fish, sharks, squids, and crabs. They are also privileged to seeing a whale shark. Sightings of whale sharks are very rare and when they are seen it is a magnificent sight. Another spectacular organism they saw is a Gempylus. This "snake mackerel" had not been seen alive until then.

Kon-Tiki chapter 4 part 1

On the day of departure several events occur to shake up the crew. First off, the tug boat arrives early to the Kon-Tiki and creates an odd situation for both Heyerdahl and the rest of his crew. The boat takes Kon-Tiki out to sea without half of its crew members leaving them bewildered standing on the docks. After a long struggle with a language barrier, Heyerdahl gets them to go back to the dock to get the rest of the crew. The struggles did not end there, it continues when the boat almost smashes the raft several times. The waves almost completely destroy the raft tossing it to and fro. The tug finally lets go and they say their final goodbyes to humanity for a while or maybe even forever. Torstein ends the scene with a sarcastic remark, "Now we'll have to start the engine, boys!

Kon-Tiki chapter 3 part 2

The objective for Lima, get a sight to create the balsa raft, was still yet to be completed. They could not use the beach because, "... it swarmed with bathers to such a degree that inquisitive people would pull the raft fittings to pieces as soon as our backs were turned." Therefore, the only option was to get clearance to create the raft inside the safe stone walls of the naval base nearby. The way they obtain this is by asking permission from the President. Since Peru has an interest in this endeavor the President permits access to the naval base. After this, Heyerdahl meets the sixth addition to their crew. Bengt Danielson, a Swedish scientist who was also beneficial because he spoke Spanish, joined the expedition.

The raft has now been created and the six crew members bring in experts to assess the raft. All of them condemn the boat as going to break and all infer  that the crew will perish out at sea. This doesn't weigh on the minds of the crew and they plan to go forward as if nothing had happened. A day before they set off is the christening of the boat. As a coconut is smashed on the raft, it is christened the Kon-Tiki.

Kon-Tiki chapter 3 part 1

Arriving in South America, Heyerdahl and Herman start their journey to find suitable balsa for their future raft. Unfortunately, there is no way to get to the balsa trees they need due to unfavorable conditions. As a result, they request and receive an army escort to the balsa trees through the Andes Mountains. Heyerdahl describes the sight in this simile, "...thick cloud banks rolled around us like steam from a witch’s cauldron." After the decent down the Andes Mountains, they arrive in the rainy jungle filled with vegetation and their precious balsa trees. Not before they had their fair share of encounters with jungle wildlife such as scorpions, poisonous snakes, giant lizards, and a Kongo, the two explorers find their desired balsa trees.



After they obtained the necessary balsa wood, Heyerdahl goes to find a good place to build the raft, and Herman stays behind.

Kon-Tiki chapter 2 part 2

Heyerdahl then decides that the only way to get the attention and support he wants is to create an expedition to prove his work valid. Then as a surprise to me, he finds someone who is just as crazy as him. Herman Watzinger, the second to join the voyage, volunteers himself so he can take measurements. After he joins the party they obtain prototype equipment from a supplier. Thor then explains the next objective in this declarative sentence, "This was a good start. Our most important tasks were now, first of all, to find four suitable men who were willing to go with us on the raft and to obtain supplies for the journey." They do just that. They send a letter out to Erik, Knut, and Torstein, all of them replying with a yes. Half way through their new objective, they head to get their supplies. After they obtain the supplies they fly to South America to obtain the necessary Balsa wood to create their raft.

Herman really likes Pineapple.

Kon Tiki Chapter 2 part 1

Thor then creates his master peice manuscript, "Polynesia and America; A Study of Prehistoric Relations.", containing his proof and theory of how the Polynesians came to the islands. He sends his manuscript to many people and talks to some as well, many replying with, "your wrong, absolutely wrong." while others dont reply at all. But, Thor demonstrates the cliche "if at first you don't succeed try try again." very well. He always keeps trying due to the mind set that he is one hundred percent confident in his idea. While he was talking to a skeptical scientist, something the scientist said rang in his brain. He said, "Well, you can try a trip from Peru to the Pacific islands on a balsa-wood raft." He said this sarcasticly, but it planted a seed in the head of Heyerdahl.

Kon-Tiki

Kon-Tiki begins with the author, Thor Heyerdahl, and his five "pirate" looking companions out at sea miles away from any form of land. Reminiscing about his initial reasoning for beginning this expedition, he remembers that it originally began as a way to disprove a theory and prove that it is true that the Polynesians came from South America. Heyerdahl explains his voyage best in this argument, "If, for example, you put out to sea on a wooden raft with a parrot and five companions, it is inevitable that sooner or later you will wake up one morning out at sea, perhaps a little better rested than ordinarily, and begin to think about it." I myself do this quite often. During one of my classes last year I thought to myself, "What in God's name made me take this class." After that you realize that the objective of what you started is a good reason for the current madness.

Thor then goes on to talk about how the cultures of the Peruvians and Polynesians are similar. The main similarity pertains to the god Kon-Tiki or Sun-Tiki. The two cultures had this god in common which lead to Heyerdahl to hypothesize about their cultural similarities. He also compares their statues in this phrase, "Have you noticed that huge stone figures of Tiki in the jungle are remarkably like the monoliths left by extinct civilizations in South America?" Heyerdahl asked himself this very question while in the Marquesas triggering his theory of the exodus of the South Americans to Polynesia.