Two Years Before the Mast · Chapter
XXXII explained
The chapter describes the ship's approach to Cape Horn, the sighting of Staten Land, and the crew's struggle with ice fields and severe weather.
What happens
The chapter describes the ship's approach to Cape Horn, the sighting of Staten Land, and the crew's struggle with ice fields and severe weather. After multiple attempts to double the Cape, they finally succeed and enter the Atlantic, facing harsh conditions and a reduced crew.
Themes in this chapter
Hardship and Endurance
The crew endures extreme cold, ice, storms, and physical exhaustion, with reduced manpower and dangerous conditions, yet perseveres to round the Cape.
Isolation and Longing
The sighting of land after weeks at sea brings immense joy and relief, highlighting the crew's longing for home and connection to the outside world.
Authority and Discipline
The captain's absolute authority is evident in his refusal to delay for the passenger and his decision to have the watch furl the mainsail without calling all hands, prioritizing the ship's progress and crew's stamina.
Characters to notice
- Richard Henry Dana Jr.
The narrator describes the crew's joy at sighting land, the dangerous ice encounter, and the harsh Cape Horn life, including his own physical health and silent recitations.
- Captain Thompson
The captain is decisive and determined, ordering the ship to wear to avoid ice, refusing to delay for the passenger's wish to land, and managing the crew's fatigue during severe weather.
- Mr. N⸺
The passenger emerges from seclusion upon sighting land, expressing a desire to go ashore, but is rebuffed by the captain.
- Mr. H⸺
The mate calls out to the steward to learn the cause of the commotion when land is sighted.
Key passages
“Even the roughest and hardest face acknowledged its influence.”
Even the most hardened sailors were affected by the sight of land.
Describes the universal emotional impact of seeing land after a long voyage.
“It was a place well suited to stand at the junction of the two oceans, beyond the reach of human cultivation, and encounter the blasts and snows of a perpetual winter.”
Staten Land was a desolate, icy island perfectly positioned at the meeting of the Atlantic and Pacific, untouched by humans and battered by constant winter storms.
Evokes the harsh, isolated nature of the island near Cape Horn.
“The accustomed cry of “Ice ahead!”—“Ice on the lee bow!”—“Another island!” in the same tones, and with the same orders following them, seemed to bring us directly back to our old position of the week before.”
The familiar shouts of ice sightings and the subsequent commands made the crew feel as if they were reliving the previous week's dangerous encounters.
Highlights the repetitive and stressful nature of navigating through ice fields.