Captains Courageous essays

Captains Courageous essays Certain situations require specific character traits and personality types in order for success and survival. In many cases if these traits arent present, the individual must change their mind-set in order to suit the situation. This is the case in the novel Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling. Harvey Cheyne was forced to change his mind-set and frame of reference from that of a spoiled child to a honest hard working man, as the journey which lay before him catered not to a gentle hand but to a callused one. Factors that affected his change of outlook were the other fisherman onboard, the setting, and the workload of which Harvey was handed. The characters in the story brought about a great change in the development of Harvey Cheynes character. The fisherman on the Were Here wouldnt allow Harvey a free ride. They treated Harvey like a fisherman, and favoured him no more than anyone else on the vessel. They forced Harvey out of his spoiled mentality and made him work for his supper and bed, a new concept for Harvey Cheyne. Harvey was assigned all of the same chores as Dan, the skippers son, and it was expected of Harvey to do the work without hesitation and of equal quality as Dan. ItS ten an a haaf a month, ez I said, an, o course, all fund same ez the rest o us. Do you mean Im to clean pots and pans and things? said Harvey. An other things. Youve no call to shout young feller. (p. 9). The fisherman showed Harvey the ropes on the boat, a type of initiation that was not gentle by any means. The fisherman would never hesitate to use physical force to keep Harvey in line. He did not exactly remember what followed. He was lying on the scuppers, holding on to a nose that bled, while Troop looked down on him serenely. (p. 10). The characters in the story left Harvey no choice but to chan...