A Night to Remember
Study Guide
Chapter 4 – 5
Chapter 4
1.What are some of the messages husbands’ shared with their wives? Which one did you find most touching or relate to the most? Why? Explain.
2.Why did some passengers refuse to get into lifeboats? What would you do if it were your family on the Titanic?
3. How many people were in lifeboat #1 as it was lowered into the ocean? How many could it have held?
4.What are some of the heroic things that people did to save other people? How did the third class deal with the disaster? Were they treated fairly?
5. Explain how 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class passengers were treated differently when it came to the use of lifeboats.
6.Which crewmember impressed you the most? Least? What did they do? Explain.
Chapter 5
1.What was the confusion other ships had in assisting the Titanic? Give two examples.
2.Was evacuation onto the lifeboats organized or chaotic? Explain and give examples.
3.What message did Benjamin Guggenheim send his wife? What was he wearing as the ship sank?
4.According to the story, “No men are allowed in these boats until the women are loaded first.” In your opinion, was this a “fair” way to evacuate the Titanic? Why or why not? What would have been a better way to evacuate the boat (be realistic)?
5. How many people remained to use the last lifeboat?
Chapter 6
1. What was Captain Smith thinking about as the Titanic continued to sink?
2. What was Thomas Andrews doing as the boat was sinking?
3.With the boats all gone, “a curious calm came over the Titanic…” Why do you think this is so?
4.What did Mr. Thayer think about as the ship sank? What would you think about or do?
5.When the captain says, “It’s every man for himself…” What does this mean?
6.How would you feel seeing men jump into the freezing ocean knowing you could not save them? What feelings would you have it you were the captain of the Titanic?
7. Name any six of the strange cargo items that the Titanic was carrying the night of the disaster.
8. What “crime” did Officers Phillips and Groves commit in the wireless shack just before they fled?
Chapter 7
1.How many lives were lost when the Titanic sank? How many people survived?
2. How many women in each class perished?
3.What was the response by the US and Britain to the sinking of the Titanic?
4.List the mistakes/flaws that could have been prevented with greater forethought and planning?
5.Why did people not care about the third class passengers? What does this teach us about the values of the society at this time?
6. How was racism brought out by the survivors’ stories?
7.How cold was the ocean? What did swimmers do after the Titanic sank and how were they treated by those in lifeboats? Give three examples.