Previous
Chapter 2: The Privateers
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
Weeks and months pass without word of the Pilgrim. Nat and Hab start school in Salem under the harsh and demanding eye of Master Watson, who immediately decides that the small-framed Nat is too young for instruction. He sits Nat with the younger children and ignores him while Nat desperately tries to answer the schoolmaster’s questions. Just as the sound of another drum and fife parade distracts Nat’s attention, Master Watson asks what happened on April 19, 1775. Nat’s hand shoots into the air and when Watson calls on him, he says that’s the date on which his father’s ship ran aground and sank.
The fact that Father’s ship sank on the same day that the war began inextricably links the two events in Nat’s mind. The book leverages this convergence as an example of working hard and succeeding despite obstacles—in a way, the book suggests, Nat’s story and the story of the country reflect each other. And, as Master Watson will soon learn, it’s a mistake for a man (or a colonial power like England) to make assumptions about a small child’s (or country’s) lack of skill or willpower.
Themes
Master Watson grabs Nat by the shoulders and starts shaking him while Hab leaps to his brother’s defense. Later, after school, Nat asks Hab why he got in trouble. He had answered the question correctly. Hab explains that Master Watson expected the children to answer about the Battle of Lexington, no matter what else might have happened on that day. Nat prefers arithmetic since no one can argue with the answer to a math problem. But Master Watson never gives arithmetic questions to the little boys.
The colonial militia and British forces first engaged at the Battle of Lexington; it thus marks the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. And while, from a historical perspective, readers can doubtlessly see the relative importance of this event compared to Father’s shipwreck, as a small child, Nat focuses almost solely on the concerns of the family he’s part of and responsible for.
Themes
The next year, Hab leaves school to make barrels with Father. The family’s luck hasn’t changed. Master Watson still refuses to give Nat arithmetic questions until Nat complains to Father, and Father writes the schoolmaster a polite note about it. In response, Master Watson writes Nat a problem that he thinks will stump the boy. When Nat works it quickly and correctly, Master Watson accuses him of cheating and lying and threatens to beat him unless he confesses.
In the absence of improving luck, the various members of the Bowditch family step up to support their common good, starting with Nat’s joining the family business. Nat, still young enough to be left at school, does his part less directly by working hard at his studies. Master Watson’s reaction points to Nat’s mathematical genius; Nat’s correct answer strains belief.
Themes
At supper that night, Nat explains the situation to Hab, who marches to school the following morning with his brother. He reasonably points out that Master Watson can give Nat another, equally difficult problem, then watch him work it. If Nat gets it right, Watson will know he hadn’t cheated the day before. Master Watson agrees. At first, Nat feels nervous being watched so closely, but soon the joy of working the arithmetic problem—and his certainty that it will come out right, as figures inevitably do—take over. When he finishes, Master Watson expresses amazement and gives him another. Then he tells Nat that if he knew half as much Latin as he does arithmetic, he could go straight to Harvard.
Hab gives his brother a clear demonstration of what it means for people to support each other when he stands up to Master Watson on his brother’s behalf. Hab’s example teaches Nat to stand firm on the truth as he knows it, even when others disagree. And, on a small scale, this interaction teaches Nat something about risk and reward: although he risks a beating from the schoolmaster if Watson discovers any cheating, it’s worth the risk to show off what he can do and earn the schoolmaster’s respect. And, showing intelligence and ability opens up opportunities to Nat, like college, despite his family’s poverty.
Themes
Get the entire Carry On, Mr. Bowditch LitChart as a printable PDF.
That night at supper, Nat asks “What’s Harvard?” Granny explains it’s the country’s oldest and most prestigious college. Nat tells them what Master Watson said, and Mother embraces him proudly, expressing her certainty that he will be a Harvard man someday. She promises times will get better when the war ends. Nat and Lizza lock eyes; they’re both thinking about Tom Perry’s expectation, and how it could pay for Nat’s tuition.
Nat’s family expresses pride in his intelligence and academic ability, yet they all seem to worry that their unfortunate circumstances will dictate Nat’s future far more than his own raw intellectual talent. Suddenly, too, Nat and Lizza realize exactly how much rides on Perry’s expectation—it’s not just a change of familial fortune for the family that’s at stake, but Nat’s educational career.
Themes
Later that spring, when Nat is eight, Granny sends him to the apothecary, Dr. Stearns, to get medicine for Mother’s failing health. While he waits for the apothecary to mix the tonic, Nat learns that the Pilgrim has returned. The auction for her seized bounty will take place later that month, and Dr. Stearns plans to attend. He promises to bring Nat word of his friend, Tom Perry, afterwards.
That his family’s ill luck and unfortunate circumstances continue should warn Nat not to expect much from the returned Pilgrim. Yet, even in this moment of uncertainty, he learns a key lesson for his future success: many people in Salem can and will support and help him out, if only he asks.
Themes
The day after the auction, Nat and Lizza rush to Dr. Stearns’ shop, where they find him arguing with the Reverend Dr. Prince and Dr. Holyoke over the fate of some books he purchased at the auction. When Dr. Stearns sees Nat and Lizza, he informs them that Tom Perry died heroically while boarding the British vessel. Dejectedly, Nat and Lizza return home, still penniless. On the way, they tear up the expectation receipt and scatter it, like flowers, on the water in Perry’s honor. As they whisper “Good-by,” Nat knows he’s bidding farewell not just to the sailor but to Harvard, and a lot of other things.
The argument over the books points toward the scarcity of both common items (like paper) and more precious ones (like scientific treatises and textbooks) during the Revolutionary War period. These books will reappear later at a pivotal moment in Nat’s life, but for now, Perry’s death seems to have denied Nat any reward from the successful seizure of a British ship and its cargo. Perry’s death (and the children’s memorialization) points toward the omnipresent nature of grief at a time and in a place where illness, death, and suffering lurk everywhere. Yet, despite the loss he feels acutely, Nat knows he must gather the courage to face whatever the future holds.
Themes
