Two Years Before the Mast · Chapter
Ship's Duties—Tropics explained
The narrator describes the strict hierarchy and daily routines aboard an American merchant ship, detailing the roles of captain, mates, steward, cook, and crew, as well as the endless maintenance tasks that occupy sailors during long voyage
What happens
The narrator describes the strict hierarchy and daily routines aboard an American merchant ship, detailing the roles of captain, mates, steward, cook, and crew, as well as the endless maintenance tasks that occupy sailors during long voyages.
Themes in this chapter
Authority and Discipline
The captain's absolute authority and the strict hierarchy among officers and crew are central to the chapter.
Labor and Economy
The chapter details the endless physical labor required to maintain the ship, from rigging repairs to making spun yarn, highlighting the economic realities of a sailor's life.
Hardship and Endurance
Sailors endure cold, wet conditions and constant work, even in extreme weather, as illustrated by the description of working with numb hands.
Characters to notice
- Richard Henry Dana Jr.
Provides a detailed account of shipboard life and duties.
- Captain Thompson
Described as the supreme authority on board, with absolute power.
Key passages
“The captain, in the first place, is lord paramount. He stands no watch, comes and goes when he pleases, and is accountable to no one, and must be obeyed in everything, without a question, even from his chief officer.”
The captain is the absolute ruler of the ship, with no set schedule and unquestionable authority over everyone, including the first mate.
Establishes the captain's supreme power aboard the vessel.
“The second mate’s is proverbially a dog’s berth. He is neither officer nor man.”
The second mate holds a miserable position, respected neither as an officer nor as a common sailor.
Highlights the difficult role of the second mate in the ship's hierarchy.
“The 'Philadelphia Catechism' is, 'Six days shalt thou labor and do all thou art able, And on the seventh—holystone the decks and scrape the cable.'”
A sailor's work is never-ending, with even Sundays devoted to scrubbing decks and scraping cables.
Illustrates the relentless labor expected of sailors, with no true day of rest.