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Chapter 13: Discovery
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hard Work, Perseverance, and Success
Safety and Responsibility
Risk and Reward
The Growth and Development of America
Courage and Grief
Summary
Analysis
A heartsick Nat rushes to Mary’s house, worried for his sister and feeling guilty for pressuring her to marry David. When she catches sight of Nat, Mary has tears in her eyes, but she embraces her brother and thanks her for encouraging her to marry David. Despite her current grief, their time together made her happier than she could have imagined. Then she invites him in and asks him to tell her all about his voyage. It takes hours for Nat to cover everything; he’s still talking when a knock at the door reveals Elizabeth Boardman, now 16 years old, who has to visit the recently returned Nat. Nat tells an abridged version of his story to Elizabeth and her friend and cousin Polly, then escorts them home and goes to visit Dr. Bentley.
In the wake of her husband’s death, Mary models the life-affirming courage that can allow people to face tragedy and suffering in their lives. Although she certainly regrets David’s death, she chooses to focus on their happiness during their time together rather than the pain she feels now. The happiness then tempers her grief and gives her the hope she needs to face the future. Nat feels the same way—and his hope for the future grows with a visit from Elizabeth, for whom he’s developing quite a fondness.
Themes
A few days later, Mr. Derby calls Nat and Captain Prince back to his office. Despite ongoing American troubles at sea, he wants the two of them to take another new ship in his fleet, the Astrea, on a record-setting trip all the way to Manila—halfway around the world—by way of Lisbon and Madeira. The Astrea carries 19 guns, so Mr. Derby recommends that Prince select sailors who have the necessary experience with them. Nat asks what language they speak in Manila, and when Mr. Derby answers, “Spanish,” he begins making plans to learn his fourth language. As soon as he gets his hands on a grammar, a dictionary, and a Bible, he concludes it will be the easiest one yet.
Mr. Derby and Captain Prince clearly noticed Nat’s hard work and success on the Henry, and this brings Nate more opportunities. Mr. Derby takes on great risks because they can yield great rewards, reminding Nat (and readers) of the value in taking chances. And, because a record-breaking trip will bolster his growing reputation as a navigator, this voyage places leads him further down the path toward his eventual success, born out of his hard work and persistence. And he continues to mirror and model the endless energy of the young country when he takes on learning Spanish for the voyage.
Themes
A few days before the Astrea is due to sail, Nat visits the ship to find Mr. Collins in a foul mood; Nat’s lessons allowed several of the more experienced sailors, including Dan Keeler, to ship as second mates on smaller vessels. Their replacements include even rougher characters, like Lem Harvey, whose experience with guns will outweigh his aggressive reputation. Or so Captain Prince hopes. The day before he leaves, Nat visits Elizabeth, who has discovered that the Astrea carries guns. She begs Nat to take care of himself, suddenly kisses him, and runs inside. Nat stands stunned for a moment, before getting ahold of himself.
On the Henry, Nat proved his skill as a navigator; in port, the desertion of Dan Keeler and others to better jobs showcases Nat’s skill as an educator. But, importantly, it also says something about Keeler himself: unlike men like Ben Meeker, Keeler chose to invest his time and energy into educating himself, and this allowed him to escape his narrow life for a better future. In the American ideal, the fact that everyone has an equal opportunity doesn’t mean that everyone takes it. Despite her worry for Nat’s safety, Elizabeth must, like everyone else in Salem, either choose to face the future with courage, or futilely try to hide from pain. She chooses the first path.
Themes
The distraction of his feelings for Elizabeth falls away as soon as Nat sets sail on the Astrea, however. First the crew must anxiously wait out days of ill winds before escaping the cape, then they immediately begin incessant drills with the guns. Lem Harvey spouts abusive language, but he knows what he’s doing. Nat feels relief when the ship hails in sight of Portugal. And although Mr. Collins teases him for not learning Portuguese, he discovers to his delight that the port of Lisbon conducts its business in French. Once again, he serves as Captain Prince’s interpreter. The Astrea’s brief stop in Lisbon still gives Lem the opportunity to escape—twice. Each time he’s captured and thrown in the ship’s brig.
This voyage immediately presents itself as more dangerous and challenging than Nat’s first, calling for ever greater safety-consciousness and cooperation among the crew. But although Lem Harvey has the necessary experience with the guns, he doesn’t know how to be a good member of the shipboard community. Bereft of the respect and opportunity given to men like Nat, Lem can’t see himself as a worthwhile human being and thus struggles to cooperate with others or respect his superior officers.
Themes
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When the Astrea finally reaches her second stop, Madeira, Captain Prince and Nat have dinner at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Pintard, the American consul and his wife. Nat impresses the couple with his superior mathematical skills, and Mr. Pintard tells him the romantic story of how the capital city, Machico, got its name. Nat thanks them, flushing red with embarrassment as they realize he plans to carry the story back to his sweetie.
Despite the distance between them, Nat can’t escape his growing feelings for Elizabeth. Yet, he feels unworthy of her love, despite his rising star in Mr. Derby’s fleet and the many ways in which he showcases his natural talents and hard work both on board the ship and on land.
Themes
