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Mr. Jonathan Hodges
Ben Meeker is an older man who works for Mr. Ropes and Mr. Hodges at the chandlery. In his youth, he was widely acknowledged to be a bright and intelligent boy, but his family withdrew him from school and indentured him with an unnamed chandlery, and he remains in the chandlery business for the rest of his life. By the time Nat meets him, Meeker has become a bitter and idle middle-aged man.
Ben Meeker Quotes in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
The Carry On, Mr. Bowditch quotes below are all either spoken by Ben Meeker or refer to Ben Meeker. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6: “Sail by Ash Breeze!”
Quotes
Ben yawned, stretched, and led the way through the shop to where huge coils of rope were stashed. He leaned against a barrel. “Nat Bowditch, eh? I’ve heard of you. Master Watson’s brightest student you were.” He shook his head dolefully. “And now you’re becalmed. Just like I was at your age. Wouldn’t think to look at me I was bright as a dollar once, would you? But I was. Wanted to make something of myself. But I didn’t have a chance. Taken out of school, I was. Just like you. When I look at you, I can see myself as I was thirty—forty years agon. Becalmed I was. Just like you.”
Behind Nat a deep voice rumbled, “Avast there, Ben Meeker! Stow that gab about being becalmed! […] Only a weakling gives up when he’s becalmed. A strong man sails by ash breeze!”
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Chapter 11: What Next?
Quotes
Dr. Bentley shook his head. “No, Nat. We can’t have freedom—unless we have freedom.”
Nat stiffened. “Does that mean the right to tell lies?”
Dr. Bentley smiled. “It means the right to have our own opinions. Human problems aren’t like mathematics, Nat. Every problem doesn’t have just one answer; sometimes you get several answers—and you don’t know which is the right one.”
Nat felt his face get hot. “But people don’t have the right to talk against the president, do they? That’s going too far!”
“Years ago,” De. Bentley said, “before we won our independence, the Essex Almanac published something about freedom of the press. It was true then; it’s just as true now [and …] went something like this: […] If we argue against any branch of liberty, just because sometimes people abuse that liberty, then we argue against liberty itself. In a free country, the press must be free.”
Chapter 24: Man against the Fog
Quotes
[Polly] looked at Nat with glowing eyes. “It’s really you! Captain Bowditch, F.A.A. and A.M., I’m very proud of you!” She blinked back sudden tears. “Oh, Nat, it’s been so long!”
Nat’s arm tightened around her. Somewhere out of the past a voice whispered, “A long time to sail by ash breeze.”
“Was it awfully hard?” Polly asked.
“Not too bad, Nat told her. “Rough weather sometimes. But I’ll say this for it—I was never becalmed!”
Get the entire Carry On, Mr. Bowditch LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ben Meeker Quotes in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
The Carry On, Mr. Bowditch quotes below are all either spoken by Ben Meeker or refer to Ben Meeker. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6: “Sail by Ash Breeze!”
Quotes
Ben yawned, stretched, and led the way through the shop to where huge coils of rope were stashed. He leaned against a barrel. “Nat Bowditch, eh? I’ve heard of you. Master Watson’s brightest student you were.” He shook his head dolefully. “And now you’re becalmed. Just like I was at your age. Wouldn’t think to look at me I was bright as a dollar once, would you? But I was. Wanted to make something of myself. But I didn’t have a chance. Taken out of school, I was. Just like you. When I look at you, I can see myself as I was thirty—forty years agon. Becalmed I was. Just like you.”
Behind Nat a deep voice rumbled, “Avast there, Ben Meeker! Stow that gab about being becalmed! […] Only a weakling gives up when he’s becalmed. A strong man sails by ash breeze!”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11: What Next?
Quotes
Dr. Bentley shook his head. “No, Nat. We can’t have freedom—unless we have freedom.”
Nat stiffened. “Does that mean the right to tell lies?”
Dr. Bentley smiled. “It means the right to have our own opinions. Human problems aren’t like mathematics, Nat. Every problem doesn’t have just one answer; sometimes you get several answers—and you don’t know which is the right one.”
Nat felt his face get hot. “But people don’t have the right to talk against the president, do they? That’s going too far!”
“Years ago,” De. Bentley said, “before we won our independence, the Essex Almanac published something about freedom of the press. It was true then; it’s just as true now [and …] went something like this: […] If we argue against any branch of liberty, just because sometimes people abuse that liberty, then we argue against liberty itself. In a free country, the press must be free.”
Chapter 24: Man against the Fog
Quotes
[Polly] looked at Nat with glowing eyes. “It’s really you! Captain Bowditch, F.A.A. and A.M., I’m very proud of you!” She blinked back sudden tears. “Oh, Nat, it’s been so long!”
Nat’s arm tightened around her. Somewhere out of the past a voice whispered, “A long time to sail by ash breeze.”
“Was it awfully hard?” Polly asked.
“Not too bad, Nat told her. “Rough weather sometimes. But I’ll say this for it—I was never becalmed!”
