Richard is the protagonist of this short story. Some day in September 1805, three weeks after his 25th birthday, he arrives in Plymouth when the night has fallen, after a long and exhausting coach trip.
He is a young officer destined to be in charge of the artillery on “The Temeraire”, a ship anchored in the port. He is the youngest of five siblings, and a single man because he is completely dedicated to the Navy.
Due to his arriving in town very late, he must stay overnight in a hotel near the harbour and wait a few hours until he can meet his crew. During this time, he can do nothing but wait and think.
He remembers one day in his life when his father seemed to suggest him that, although he considered him as one of the members of his family, he was not his son, so he should always be aware of his conduct: “know your place”, he said. Although his father didn’t openly tell him he was his bastard son, he interpreted it from his gestures, but he kept it in secret for his own interest and for being grateful to his mother and sisters.
Despite having chosen the Navy as a profession and been already quite familiar with the sea when on board, he still often feels homesickness and several days’ seasickness, depending on the route and the weather.
He is aware that the nostalgia he feels would only be cured when he’ll get on the ship and join his crew on “The Temeraire”.
The story of this ship is very similar to his story in the Navy. Although he had practised a lot with guns, the ship, like him, had never gone into action, it had only experienced a mutiny on board. But this time, he has the feeling that they’re both going to fight against the French in a not-too-distant future.
He is convinced that he is ready for the battle and that he knows how to command his crew, firmly but without brutality. Only with words of encouragement, he will instil the energy to move them forward. And when the action starts, he mustn’t lose his voice, he must remain calm and give good example to his people.
“He trusted, simply, that he would do his duty. As he had done his careful, grateful, unmutinying duty to his father and (if such she was) his mother.”
QUESTIONS
What was the British situation in 1805?
Talk about the protagonist’s family.
He was the last in his family. Do you think your
position among brothers or sisters (e.g., being the last, the first, the “unexpected
addition” …) can influence your character?
What can “patient height” mean? (page 231, line 21)
Does everybody have a place, their place, in the
world?
What can you say about the Temeraire?
“He preferred blue to red, and preferred either to the
black and white absurdity of being a parson in a pulpit”. What did these colours
represent? What do you know about “The Red and the Black”, by Stendhal?
What is the meaning of “men had dangled from its
yardarms”?
What can you say about “Jonah going down to Joppa”?
Have you read “Moby Dick”?
Why is that waiting for a horrible experience is sometimes
worse than the experience in itself?
How do you think he is going to do on board? Is he
going to be staunch? Will he be able to command over his sailors? Will he be
the object of a mutiny, or will his ship enter into action? Will he survive?
Jane Austen novels are situated in the beginning of
the 19th century. Have you read them? Did she mention the Navy or
the Napoleonic Wars in her novels?
Ships and the sea are good themes for a novel. What
novels of this kind can you recommend us?
What do you think of the discipline on board or in the
army?
VOCABULARY
drizzle, shrouding, stooks, sodden, bidding, pitching,
unwillingly, skulking, mince, dire, conundrum, unmanning, shore-bound, rag-doll,
rasp out, probe, nagging, milksop, fitz, disobliging, limbo, retching, innkeeper,
Second Rate, yardarms, timbers, blockade, Fourth Rate, forebodings, spleen, heaving,
cocked-hatted, articles of war, kinship, splinters, flinch
Some films about "Men of War"