Human kind has existed on this earth for more than two millennia, and has managed at points to thrive in peaceful, un-ambitious eras. There are other times however, that man gets overly ambitious and decides to take on forces much more powerful than his own. This is usually brought on by man's need to display strength or advances in technology, and one adversary to these testaments would be nature. The tragedy of the White Star Liner “Titanic”, in April 1912, was one of the most tragic days in sea-faring history. This date marked the death of a leviathan, and signified to humanity that despite mankind's vain attempts nature and its wrath can not and will not be conquered. Unfortunately it took the death of more than a thousand innocent souls for this to be realized, as a result of arrogance and human stupidity at its highest form on that fateful night. Because of this the “Titanic” will always have a notorious place in seafaring history, no matter how time progresses.
With the introduction of the industrial age in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the world was poised to explore its further potential at a much more rapid rate than had been seen before. Man could now stretch itself to its limits, and experiment what could and couldn't be done. In the early nineteen hundreds the Cunard Line, a wealthy and powerful cruise ship company, released the Lusitania from its docks. The “Lusitania” was the largest and most luxurious ships ever to be built, and certainly caught the attention of the general public. After the party celebrating the successful completion of the Lusitania, Lord Pirrie and Bruce Ismay, executives of Cunard's rival White Star Line, conceived a plan that would encompass the construction of three ships that would surpass the Lusitania in both luxury and size. These ships would then be named “Olympic”, “Titanic”, and “Gigantic”, soon to be renamed the “Britanic”.(R. Ballard 3)
The construction of the “Titanic” emphasized the arrival of the industrial age, as no other ship her size had ever been constructed. The “Titanic's” birthplace was the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Ireland.(R. Ballard 5) It was to be constructed alongside her sister ship the “Olympic”. The shipyard was one of the largest in the world, but none of its slips were big enough to hold the two new titans, so three old slips were combined to create two new monster slips. And so the construction of the ships began, and would go on for quite some time. “Olympic” was the first to be completed, and was soon after set out onto the ocean. “Olympic” would be the only ship of the three to survive long enough to be scrapped. The Titanic followed without delay. If placed upright, “Titanic” would stretch taller than the tallest builings in the world of the “Titanic's” time. Newspapers often referred to “Titanic” as “The Millionaire's Special”, “The Wonder Ship”, and most frequently “The Unsinkable Ship”, a reputation that would soon spell the end of her.(D. Lynch 8-9)
Just as the ship's designer, Mr. Andrews, had emphasized size, he certainly did not forgo the stateliness of his new project, which would soon give the “Titanic” international acclaim. In a single person first class stateroom, there was a bed, a large sofa, a wardrobe, wash basin and dressing table. The first class smoking room was brandished with stained glass windows and mahogany paneling inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Small wooden tables with raised edges to prevent sliding glass were surrounded by green leather chairs. The first class lounge was constructed as to emulate the Palace of Versailles, and had a fireplace on which stood the statue called “Artemis of Versailles”, along with elaborately carved paneling.(R. Ballard 14) A quintet orchestra performed in both first class and second class dining saloons. Another elegant and extremely unique feature was the Café Parisien which was designed as a real sidewalk café would have been portrayed in Paris. It's function was as a popular dinner hub for first class passengers as well as used for in-between meal relaxation.
Segregation was no issue to cast aside in the remembrance of the Titanic. The ship was divided amongst First-Class, Second-Class, and Third-Class. The top decks were shared between the first and second class passengers.(D. Lynch 18) In contrast, the third class bunkrooms were located towards the bottom of the ship, whether they be in the front of the back. Both of the locations were near the engine room, which roared day in and day out. The forward deck or promenade was reserved for First-Class, as the back was reserved for Second-Class. Because of this fact the first and second class passengers had a much easier time accessing the lifeboats should there be an emergency which required the evacuation of the Titanic.
