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Due to their importance in celestial navigation—the “book sailing” Nat Bowditch practices—the stars in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, represent the ability of people to find their way and understand their place in the world. When Nat is still young, Mother takes him on a walk at night and tells him how she looks up at the stars when she needs to shrink her own troubles into perspective. The stars help her understand her life in the context of the universe and its mysteries. Later, at times of trouble for himself and others, Nat will look to the stars for answers. Often, this does give him the perspective he needs. And looking at the night sky also helps him discover an easier, more accurate way to calculate a ship’s position at night. While the stars don’t always have answers for him, their presence in his life—and his ability to use them to calculate his literal position on the earth at any point in time—ends up guiding him on a path toward happiness and realizing his full potential.
Stars Quotes in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
The Carry On, Mr. Bowditch quotes below all refer to the symbol of Stars. 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:
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Chapter 4: “Boys Don’t Blubber”
Quotes
She and Nat went out into the dark, moonless night, and walked down Turner’s Lane and out on the wharf. Mother helped Nat find the North Star, and told him how the Big Dipper swung around it, and how to tell time by the Dipper. Then she was silent, standing with her hand on Nat’s shoulder, looking up at the stars.
Boys don’t blubber. He must remember that. Finally, Nat said, “It’s all right about school, Mother. When times are better, I’ll get to go back.”
Mother did not answer. She was still gazing up at the sky. After a while she said, “I made up a sort of saying for myself, Nat. I will lift up my eyes unto the stars. Sometimes, if you look at the stars long enough, it helps. It shrinks your day-by-day troubles back down to size.” She smiled.
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Chapter 12: Down to the Sea
Quotes
Why, [Nat] wondered, had he ever wanted to come to sea? Why did any man choose this life?
It was all right maybe for a man who became a captain—but what about men like Keeler and Jensen—who spent their lives before the fo’c’sle? Why would they live like this for salt beef, hardtack, and twelve dollars a month?
The sixth night, just before midnight, Nat went on deck for his watch. The storm had ended; the sky was glittered with stars.
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Get the entire Carry On, Mr. Bowditch LitChart as a printable PDF.
Stars Symbol Timeline in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
The timeline below shows where the symbol Stars appears in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: “Boys Don’t Blubber”
...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...
(full context)
Chapter 9: Anchor to Windward
...the words on the page. He goes to the window and looks up at the stars, remembering his mother’s long-ago words. He considers the heavens until he feels that he can...
(full context)
...his eyes towards the sky. Nat cries out that he sees no help in the stars. Then he hears David calling out his name—Mary sent her husband to check on her...
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Chapter 10: Freedom
...Dipper and the North Star and teaches her how to tell the time by the stars. Although it takes her a little while, she grasps his patient lessons. Finally, after looking...
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Chapter 12: Down to the Sea
...abates, and Nat goes on deck for his watch to find the sky glittering with stars. Their beauty catches him off-guard; they look much more brilliant and clearer in the middle...
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...the location of the moon as it crosses the paths of a few, bright, noticeable stars. In theory, it’s not much harder than if one has a chronometer, although the calculations...
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...learn about astronomy. Even the ship’s cook joins the group, observing that learning about the stars makes him forget about his troubles. Nat assures all the men that they can learn,...
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Chapter 13: Discovery
...returns to the deck to take a lunar reading. And as he looks at the stars, he suddenly realizes that he can take a more efficient, easier lunar reading if he...
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Chapter 18: The Astrea to the Rescue
...local observatory, and Nat wishes he could tell Elizabeth how the powerful telescope made the stars seem so close he could touch them. He adds this experience to his ongoing letter.
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