Research Proposal

How did the sinking of the Titanic affect the modern world?

The purpose of my paper is to explore the repercussions of perhaps the most famous disaster in modern history.  The ship's sinking echoed through time spurring more directly linked events and actions than any other event of it's kind. The paper will look at some of the more common questions to ensure the reader has a working knowledge of the sequence of events that took place leading up to the drowning and freezing of 1500 people. Questions as simple as "how did the ship sink" to "why weren't there enough life boats? More so than the retelling of this morbid tale, I want to answer questions more relevant to modern technology. Questions such as "Why weren't the telegraph signals answered by near by ships" and "how have modern nautical laws changed because of this event. A trasgedy so say the least, Titanic has shaped our world in more ways than most give her credit for. In this paper, I hope to find out why. I maintain that despite the sad over hang of the event, Titanic was a necessary happening. The ego of man was getting to big at the turn of the century and the industrial revolution, and certain precautions and safety nets were thrown to the wayside. If Titanic had not sank, what would be different?

I have had a bit of an obsession with Titanic from a very young age, long before the movie came out. Many people make fun of my intrigue because of the movie, but as I said, I had years of reading and watching videos about the ship before James Cameron ever put pen to paper on that script. It is very sad that such a somber event could turn into a sex symbol. I consider myself a bit of an expert, or at least I did when I was 14. I used to be able to spout out many random facts about the ship and it's fate. I could name every officer on the bridge and their positions. I knew exactly how many lifeboats she carried. I even knew the exact measurement of feet the ship was long.  Rather like a foreign language, if you don't use it you loose it. When I began high school I kind of let go my obsession with the ship, and though I lost some of the facts, I definitely did not loose my love and interest in the event. I look forward to writing this paper.