Essay Questions

What role does the character Captain Giles play in the narrator's life?

The narrator is a young man having worked with various ships before meeting the seaman, Captain Giles. The narrator starts getting closer with Captain Giles, and they gradually become good friends. The narrator's prowess in sea activities spreads very fast, and the big ship wants to recruit him. The ship management sends the narrator a letter for interviews, but the sea steward tries to hide the letter because the narrator is better than him for that position. Fortunately, Captain Giles discovers the steward's plan and asks the narrator to launch an investigation. After the successful investigation, the narrator attends the interview, and he is recruited as the new captain. Therefore, Captain Giles is a significant character because he plays a big role in shaping the narrator's life.

What happened to the initial captain of the ship, which is appointed to the narrator?

The narrator learns a bad experience about the previous captain of his ship from Mr. Barns. According to Mr. Barns, the previous captain became insane while on duty, and he made up his mind to kill himself and every other person in the ship during that time. Fortunately, Mr. Barns was in that ship, and when he realized the captain was sinking it intentionally, he struggled and rescued the ship from sinking. Unfortunately, the captain died of insanity.

What are the main challenges facing ship captains on the high seas?

After reading the book, the reader realizes that the main challenges facing ships on the high seas are storms and disease outbreaks. While on duty, Mr. Barns is attacked by a disease outbreak, and he hands over all his duties to the narrator. The situation gets worse with time because all the crew is affected by the same disease. The only person who is safe on the ship is the captain. Besides the disease, the sea storms intensify, and the ship is barely moving. Fortunately, the captain is experienced, and he managed to bring the ship to the shore without any causalities.