Public Speaking-4
Informative Speech Outlining Practice
Topic: The Titanic
General Purpose: To inform
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the Titanic.
Central Idea: The sinking of the Titanic was one of the largest non-war related disasters in history. It remains one of the most famous tragedies in history.
Introduction
A. Attention-Getter: An American writer named Morgan Robertson wrote a book called The Wreck of the Titan. The book was about an “unsinkable” ship called the Titan that set sail from England to New York with many rich and famous passengers on board. On its journey, the Titan hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sunk. Many lives were lost because there were not enough lifeboats. So, what is so strange about this? Well, The Wreck of the Titan was written 14 years before the Titanic sank.
B. Main Thesis: The sinking of the Titanic was one of the largest non-war related disasters in history. It remains one of the most famous tragedies in history.
C. Establish Credibility: I have been fascinated by the history of the Titanic for as long as I can remember, and I have conducted research to learn more about the topic in books and online.
D. Preview: Today, I will first discuss the Titanic itself; second, the sinking of the ship; and finally, the 1997 Oscar-winning movie, Titanic.
Transition: I will first discuss the ship Titanic.
Body
I. The Titanic was thought to be the largest, safest, most luxurious ship ever built.
A. At the time of her launch, she was the biggest existing ship and the largest moveable object ever built.
1. According to Geoff Tibbals, in his 1997 book The Titanic: The extraordinary story of the “unsinkable” ship, the Titanic was 882 feet long and weighed about 46,000 tons.
a. This was 100 feet longer and 15,000 tons heavier than the world’s heaviest ships of the time period.
b. Peter Thresh stated in Titanic: The truth behind the disaster, published in 1992 that the Titanic accommodated around 2,345 passengers and 860 crew members.
2. The Titanic was widely believed to be unsinkable.
a. Tibbals described the Titanic as having an outer layer that shielded an inner layer—a “double bottom”—that was created to keep water out of the ship if the outer layer was pierced.
b. The bottom of the ship was divided into 16 watertight compartments equipped with automatic watertight doors
c. The doors could be closed immediately if water were to enter into the compartments.
d. Because of these safety features, the Titanic was deemed “unsinkable.”
B. The accommodations of the Titanic were decorated and furnished with only the best items.
1. According to a quotation from Shipbuilders magazine that is included in Peter Thresh’s 1992 book Titanic, “Everything [on board the Titanic] has been done in regard to the furniture and fittings to make the first-class accommodation more than equal to that provided in the finest hotels on shore.”
a. The parlor suites located on the ship consisted of a sitting room, two bedrooms, two wardrobe rooms, a private bath, and a lavatory.
b. The first-class dining room was the largest on any liner; it could serve 500 passengers at one sitting.
c. Other first-class accommodations included a squash court, swimming pool, library, barber’s shop, Turkish baths, and a photographer’s dark room.
2. Only those passengers with first-class tickets were eligible to use these services. Accommodations for lower-class tickets were not as luxurious.
Transition: Now that I’ve discussed the Titanic itself, I will now discuss the shipwreck that occurred on its maiden voyage.
II. The Titanic hit disaster head-on when it ran into an iceberg four days after its departure.
A. The early portion of the voyage was, largely, uneventful.
1. Tibbals stated that the ship departed from Queenstown, Ireland at 1:30 p.m. on April 10, 1912, destined for New York.
a. The weather was perfect for sailing: Blue skies, light winds, and a calm ocean.
b. According to Walter Lord in A Night to Remember, published in 1955, on April 14, the Atlantic Ocean was like polished plate glass.
2. The journey took a deadly turn when the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink.
a. In the book Titanic: An Illustrated History, published in 1992, Donald Lynch explais that the collision occurred at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14.
b. According to Robert Ballard’s 1988 book Exploring the Titanic, the largest part of the iceberg was underwater.
c. Some of the ship’s watertight compartments had been punctured, and the first five compartments rapidly filled with water.
d. Tibbals wrote that the distress rockets were fired and distress signals were sent out, but there were no ships close enough to arrive in time.
B. As the ship went down, some passengers were rescued, but the majority of passengers had no place to go.
1. In his 1992 book Titanic, Peter Thresh stated that there were only 20 lifeboats on the ship.
a. This was only enough for about half of the 2200 people that were on board.
b. The lifeboats were filled quickly, with women and children loaded first.
2. Within hours, the ship disappeared from sight.
a. In his 1997 book The Titanic: The Extraordinary Story of the “Unsinkable” Ship, Geoff Tibbals explains that at 2:20 a.m. on Monday, April 15, Titanic broke in half and slowly slipped under the water.
b. At 4:10 a.m., the Carpathia answered Titanic’s distress call and arrived to rescue those floating in the lifeboats.
c. In the 1992 book Titanic: An Illustrated History, Donald Lynch reporter that, in the end, 1522 lives were lost.
Transition: Now that we have learned about the history of the Titanic, I will discuss the 1997 film depicting the Titanic disaster.
III. James Cameron wrote, produced, and directed the 1997 movie Titanic, which depicted the ship, some of its famous passengers, and included numerous fictional characters.
A. Before filming began, Cameron focused on researching and writing the script.
1. According to Ed Marsh in the 1997 book James Cameron’s Titanic, Cameron wanted to bring the Titanic disaster to life.
a. Cameron conducted six months of research to compile a highly detailed timeline so that the film would be realistic.
b. Cameron spent more time on the Titanic than the ships’ original passengers. He made 12 trips to the wreck site that lasted between 10 to 12 hours each.
2. Making Titanic proved to be expensive and difficult.
a. According to a 1998 article from the Historical Journal of Films, Radio, and Television, Peter Kramer stated that the film had a $250 million budget.
b. Cameron assembled an expedition to dive to the wreck on the ocean floor to film footage that was later used in the opening scenes of the movie.
c. A full-sized replica of the ship was constructed in Baja, California in a 17 million gallon oceanfront tank.
d. In James Cameron’s Titanic, Ed Marsh explained that Cameron paid attention to small details, such as imprinting the thousands of pieces of china, crystal, and silver cutlery used in the dining room scenes with the White Star’s emblem and pattern.
B. The movie was extremely successful.
1. Kramer reported that Titanic made approximately $600 million in the United States, making it, at that time, the highest-grossing movie of all time.
2. The movie made approximately $1.8 billion worldwide, a record at the time. Cameron’s 2009 film, Avatar surpassed Titanic’s record.
3. Titanic was nominated for a record eight Golden Globe awards only a few weeks after its release, and won four of them.
4. The film was also nominated for a record 14 Academy Awards, and it won 11.
Conclusion
A. Restate main thesis: In this presentation, I have discussed the Titanic, the sinking of the ship, and the 1997 film based on the Titanic disaster.
B. Anticipating the end: In conclusion, I hope you have learned more about the Titanic and why it remains one of the most well-known shipwrecks.
C. Application to the audience: Perhaps we will all now have a better understanding of the importance of ship safety and the consequences of not being prepared for disaster.
D. Summary: The Wreck of the Titan, a story written 14 years before the Titanic sank, now seems like an eerie prophecy, or a case of life imitating art. Whatever the case, the loss of lives on Titanic was tremendous, and the disaster will likely always have a place not just in the history books, but in pop culture as well.
References
Ballard, R. (1988). Exploring the Titanic. Toronto, Ontario: Madison Press Books.
Kramer, P. (1998). Women first: ‘Titanic’ (1997), action adventure films and Hollywood’s female audience. Historical Journal of Films, Radio, and Television, 18, 599-618.
Lord, W. (1955). A night to remember. New York, NY: Henry Holt and
Company.
Lynch, D. (1992). Titanic: An illustrated history. New York, NY: Hyperion.
Marsh, E. (1997). James Cameron’s Titanic. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
Thresh, P. (1992). Titanic: The truth behind the disaster. New York, NY:
Crescent Books.
Tibbals, G. (1997). The Titanic: The extraordinary story of the “unsinkable” ship.
Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest.