# XIX explained — Two Years Before the Mast > Chapter companion for Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr.. ## What happens The narrator describes his transformation from sailor to beachcomber and hide curer at San Diego, living with a giant Frenchman named Nicholas and four Sandwich Islanders (Kanakas) in a hide house. He details the hard but independent work of curing hides, the weekly woodcutting expeditions, and the characters of his companions, especially the intelligent Tom Davis and the old patriarch Mr. Bingham, while reflecting on the Kanakas' language, customs, and history. ## Themes in this chapter ### Labor and Economy The chapter details the hard, monotonous work of hide curing and woodcutting, contrasting it with the independence and lack of hazing compared to shipboard life. ### Cultural Encounter and Otherness The narrator's close interaction with Sandwich Islanders, learning their language and customs, and the mixed beach language used between whites and Kanakas. ### Transformation and Identity The narrator's sudden transformation from sailor to beachcomber and hide curer, embracing a new, independent life. ## Character check-ins ### Richard Henry Dana Jr. Narrator describes his new life as a hide curer and beachcomber, living with Nicholas and the Sandwich Islanders. ### Nicholas A giant Frenchman, immensely strong and ignorant, with a past involving slave trading and a trial for his life; he works alongside the narrator curing hides. ### Tom Davis A Sandwich Islander who can read, write, and cipher; speaks English well and is described as intelligent and principled. ### Mr. Bingham An old Sandwich Islander, patriarch among the Kanakas, who lost two front teeth as a sign of grief at King Kamehameha's death; sensitive about jokes regarding Captain Cook. ### Mr. Russell Former officer of the Pilgrim, now in charge of the hide house, living alone in a room above the narrator's quarters. ## Key lines > Here was a change in my life as complete as it had been sudden. In the twinkling of an eye, I was transformed from a sailor into a 'beachcomber' and a hide curer; yet the novelty and the comparative independence of the life were not unpleasant. My life changed instantly and completely: I went from being a sailor to a beachcomber and hide curer, but the novelty and relative freedom made it bearable. _Narrator reflects on the abrupt shift in his circumstances and his acceptance of the new role._ > They were the most interesting, intelligent, and kindhearted people that I ever fell in with. I felt a positive attachment for almost all of them; and many of them I have, to this time, a feeling for, which would lead me to go a great way for the mere pleasure of seeing them. The Sandwich Islanders were the most fascinating, smart, and good-natured people I've met; I grew genuinely fond of nearly all of them, and still feel a strong affection that would make me travel far just to see them. _Narrator expresses deep admiration and lasting emotional connection to the Kanakas._ > He was once tried for his life in Charleston, South Carolina, and though acquitted, yet he was so frightened that he never would show himself in the United States again; and I could not persuade him that he could never be tried a second time for the same offence. Nicholas was once tried for a capital crime in Charleston and acquitted, but the scare was so great that he refused to ever return to the U.S., despite my assurance that double jeopardy protected him. _Reveals Nicholas's criminal past and his irrational fear of being retried._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/two_years_before_the_mast_se/chapters/xix - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/two_years_before_the_mast_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/two_years_before_the_mast_se/chapters