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Chapter 3: Word from the Pilgrim
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 few days later, Hab picks Nat up from school and takes him to the wharf to see the Freedom, a brand-new, American “letter of marque ship” that can fight as well as carry cargo. Hab proudly explains that he’s signed on to her crew. He comes from a long line of sea captains and he’s big enough now to be a valuable crew member.
A life at sea calls to Hab despite its dangers—dangers that generations of Bowditch men and their ancestors have already faced. The letter of marque ship fills an important precursor role in the development of the U.S. Navy, which won’t kick off properly until 1794.
Themes
Nat protests that he’s growing too. He expects to be too big for his coat by the winter. He asks if Hab felt cold last winter when he outgrew his coat and feels surprised when Hab says yes. After all, Hab spent the winter telling other boys that only sissies needed coats. Hab explains that “Boys don’t blubber”—even when things hurt, Nat shouldn’t admit it. Nat tries to shrug off his grief over Hab’s impending departure.
In this exchange, Hab gives Nat one of his foundational life lessons: “boys don’t blubber,” by which he means that everyone has to face pain and suffering in life, so it’s important to develop the courage and strength to face trial without complaint. And although Hab specifically notes this as a masculine trait, women in Nat’s later life will show that males have no monopoly on the courage that’s necessary to face life’s trials.
Themes
Hab leaves in the middle of the night a few days later, when favorable conditions allow the Freedom to slip out of the harbor without being spied by the British blockade. He leaves a note for Nat reminding him not to cry, especially since he’s now the oldest boy in the family. Nat runs to the wharf and looks out to sea. He can’t see the Freedom and he knows it may be years before he learns about Hab’s fate. Back at home, everyone tries to sound cheerful at breakfast. Father eagerly predicts the end of the war and the change of everyone’s fortunes.
The need to sneak from the harbor under cover of fog reminds Nat—and readers—that Hab leaves in the thick of the Revolutionary War, which heightens the already-present dangers of a life at sea. With his elder brother gone, Nat assumes a greater sense of responsibility for the wellbeing and care of his family. And while Father tries to downplay and avoid the risks Hab faces by eagerly anticipating the end of the war, Nat realizes he must find a way to go on living despite the weight of his worries. Thus, Hab’s lessons teach Nat to practice a courage that Father lacks.
Themes
But the war continues through the summer and food prices continue to soar. Early in the fall, Hab returns for a short visit before setting sail yet again. Then, one October morning, Nat wakes to the sound of bells ringing and people shouting. The British have formally surrendered and ended the war! Father takes Nat and Lizza to see the celebrating crowds near the wharves. They catch sight of Captain John Derby, who carried the news of the Battle of Lexington to England in a daring race against the British envoy.
Although Nat learns a lot about courage and responsibility from his immediate family, other examples abound in Revolutionary War-era Salem. Captain John Derby models the seaman’s courage when he sets sail and crosses the Atlantic in record time; in taking on such an important mission, he also shows willingness to take responsibility for the needs of the rebelling colonies. And for these actions, everyone in Salem reveres him as a hero.
Themes
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Although the war has ended, inflation and food prices continue to soar. By winter, Nat has outgrown his coat and there’s no money for a new one. When other boys tease him, Nat shivers and remembers Hab’s words: “Boys don’t blubber.” One day, he asks Father why things haven’t improved even after the war. Father explains that the British and Americans have yet to formalize their peace terms. That finally happens in the spring of 1783. John Derby brings the news across the Atlantic from England to America, again in record time.
Instead of facing his problems with courage and equanimity—or possibly changing the course of his life by embracing the riskier but more rewarding life at sea—Father passively hoped for a change of luck with the end of the war. And when this fails to materialize, he continues to struggle. In contrast, Nat remembers Hab’s lesson and chooses to accept suffering and privation with grace. Learning to do so now in small steps, like enduring winter’s temporary coldness, will prepare Nat to face far greater challenges in adulthood.
Themes
Nat and Lizza ask Father about John Derby’s record crossing, made under crowded sails. He wants to know if that’s how Father’s ship, the Polly, sank. Father explains that a storm drove her dangerously close to a shore. He tried to hold the ship in place with the anchor, but she ran aground on a reef after the anchor line broke. With a sigh, Father stands and returns to work. Granny sends Nat and Lizza outdoors, where they run down to the wharves to watch the celebrations.
In “crowding sail” Captain Derby demonstrated a willingness to take risks if they will potentially bring big rewards, and in this case, that decision paid off. Father’s ship sank under different circumstances, and his shipwreck points to the role that luck (in this case, bad luck) plays in life. It wasn’t Father’s fault that his ship sank. Yet, he can’t summon the courage to face his fears and accept the risks of seafaring again, and this leaves his family vulnerable to poverty and suffering.
Themes
Still, the end of the war fails to bring much relief to the cash-strapped Bowditch family. Nat spends the summer helping Father with the exhausting work of making barrels. Then, the night before school starts again, Father tells Nat that he won’t be going back. He needs Nat’s help in the cooperage. Then Father goes out drinking. When he hasn’t returned hours later, Mother takes Nat for a little walk in the fresh air. She shows Nat the Big Dipper and the North Star and teaches him how to tell time by their positions. Then she teaches him the words she lives by: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the stars.” Sometimes, she explains, looking at the stars helps her day-by-day troubles shrink back down to a manageable size.
With Hab at sea, Nat must assume further responsibility in Father’s business. He dislikes the work but does it willingly, even when it suddenly stops being temporary. And when that happens, his mother teaches him to look outside of himself when he needs to regain perspective on the size and importance of his own struggles. His problems may seem big, but they are finite, unlike the heavens. Her equanimity—and even Nat’s, despite his young age—contrasts sharply with Father’s inability to face the facts of his life and decision to drink to drown his sorrows.
Themes
