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Ayoub: My personal take on the tragedy of the Titanic

Samar Ayoub, Columnist

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One hundred and four years: a hundred and four years since the Titanic made its iconic journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States of America.

 

When most people think of the Titanic movie, two quotes typically come to mind: “draw me like one of your French girls” and “I’ll never let go.” I believe the movie Titanic was a true representation of what truly happened on that ship. It’s crazy to think that in two days, Jack and Rose fell in love and decided to get off the ship together.

 

Do you remember the scene when Rose told Jack she wanted to be with him romantically and how they sealed the deal with a passionate kiss at the railing of the Titanic? I always thought that two weeks had passed when the screen slowly faded to black. But it was only a day. I should have known though. There wasn’t a colorful background with the words “two weeks later” engraved in the center with the famous SpongeBob narrator stating it in what seemed to be a French accent to me when I was eight.

 

Nevertheless, the movie depicted the real-life experiences of each social class, from the coal-throwing workers at the bottom of the ship to the cigar lighters that bickered over who was richer in the snake pit. We should all take a minute to think about what it would have been like to be in the passengers’ shoes during those few days when the ship was sinking. Would you have been the person that allowed others to take your spot on the lifeboat? Or would you be the brute that forces their way to the front to situate yourself on a nice, spacious area of wood, whilst watching others jostling their way aboard the ship to say goodbye to their loved ones for good?

 

To my dismay, there was not actually a romance on the RMS Titanic that was as beautiful and meaningful as Jack and Rose’s. However, there still could be a Rose Bukater out there that altered her last name as Rose Dawson and changed her last name to her husband’s whilst keeping it all to herself. If this were the case, it’s no wonder that the survivor had kept it to herself because “a woman’s heart is a deep ocean of secrets.”

 

Next time I’m diving under the Atlantic Ocean, I’ll be sure to keep it on the DL if I find the heart of the ocean or Jack’s drawing of Rose in a safe box. If I did broadcast it to the world, I’m sure it would be selling for millions on Ebay so maybe I would sell it — just to pay off my tuition. Then again, I wouldn’t want Caledon Hockley to get their hands on it, so I’d probably just stow it away in an old jewelry chest.

 

There are, however, other artifacts of the Titanic that can be purchased at auctions ranging from mere lunch menus to pieces of wood that may or may not have been a part of the ship. I can only hope that the celebration of the 104th anniversary of the Titanic was not about establishing back-to-back auctions of these artifacts to make money. It should be about remembering the people that jumped off the ship or died in the frigid water because of the upper class’ fear of having their authentic leather coats touched by another human being in the life boats.

 

I suggest that when we celebrate the 105th year of this unfortunate part of our history next April, we just sit on the couch with an elaborately styled China tea cup and matching plate and watch Titanic to obtain the mutual feelings that others aboard the ship had had. The romantic, yet tragic story of Rose and Jack may inspire us to find our own love story as beautiful as theirs.

Samar Ayoub is a second-year student in pre-med concentration.

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Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.
Ayoub: My personal take on the tragedy of the Titanic