Captains
Courageous
By Rudyard Kipling
Genre
- Adventure
- Classics
Themes
- Coming of Age
- Responsibility
- Understanding Self and Others
About the Author
Joseph Rudyard Kipling is considered one of the greatest English writers in history and is particularly renowned for his writings about India and the Raj. He celebrated the heroism of British colonial soldiers in India and Burma, and was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.
Rudyard Kipling was born December 30, 1865, in Bombay, India. The name Rudyard was taken from a lake in Staffordshire, England. At the age of six, he and his younger sister were sent back to England where they lived with separate families that took in children for hire. He returned to India at age sixteen.
Rudyard knew literary success at a young age and was able to travel. He married Carrie Balestier, an American, and moved to the United States. The Jungle Books were written in Vermont. He died January 18, 1936, in Middlesex, England during an operation.
Four questions to consider when reading this book:
1) What is the central theme of this book?
2) In the scene where Dan flogs Harvey, what do we learn about the nature of friendship?
3) Why do you think Kipling named the fishing boat the We’re Here? Why couldn’t one of the ocean liners been named that?
4) Some authors invariably portray wealthy businessmen in a negative light; does Kipling do that here? Site an example to support your answer.
Chapter 1 –THIS IS AN EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT CHAPTER 1. Note Foreshadowing and hints of Theme in your journal.
2. Describe Harvey Cheyne. Especially note what his relationship with his mother
and father is like.
3. How do others describe Harvey’s upbringing?
4. What kind of ship does Harvey fall from, and what kind of boat picks him up?
5. Describe Captain Disko Troop. What does he pride himself on? (“jedgment”=
judgment)
6. Describe the We’re Here. Include her business, home port, the size of its crew, and
any other preliminary information about the boat.
7. Are there any messages/stereotypes about America in this chapter? If so, what?
(Kipling said about Captains Courageous that he went about “changing his style to allegory, parable and metaphor” in this book.)
Chapter 2
1. Contrast the upbringing of Dan and Harvey.
2. What do you think about the change in Harvey?
3. Write down the page number(s) where Dan identifies and describes the We’re Here
crew when they’re out in their dories?
4. Discuss the work that Dan and Harvey do when and after the dories come in
for supper. (see historic photo online at literaturediscovery.wordpress.com)
5. List the various crew members of the We’re Here and the traits given thus far.
6. On page 27, what makes Harvey hang on when he is dead tired?
Chapter 3
1. What reputation does Disko Troop have among other sailors?
2. What happened to make Penn the way he is?
3. Why does Troop decide to move the We’re Here, and how does he do it?
4. What is the lesson Harvey learns from Long Jack and Tom Platt?
5. What do you learn about Harvey’s character and upbringing here?
Chapter 4
1. What do the sailors do for amusement when the weather is too bad to be out
fishing?
2. Describe and explain Troop’s reaction to Harvey’s attempt at singing “Skipper
Ireson’s Ride”?
3. What is a “jonah” and what are some of the different jonahs that the men
identify? Where do you think this name comes from? Why?
4. Who is Uncle Abishai, why are the men of the We’re Here dismayed to see him, and
what happens to him and his schooner?
5. What do you think Dan means by “progressive”?
6. What do you think a “toothpick” is?
Chapter 5
1. How does Harvey see his “former life,” now that he’s made a place for himself on the We’re Here, and what evidence is there that Harvey has changed?
2. What are the tools available to the men of the We’re Here to keep track of each other in the fog?
3. What kind of information does Disko record in his log book, “page after soiled page”?
Chapter 6
1. What is the story of Disko Troop’s name, and what does this suggest about his parents’ priorities? What do you think Kipling was saying about Disko when he used the allusion to Myron’s bronze statue “Discobolus”?
2. What things, in Disko’s judgment, ought to be kept separate? (Two of them cause an argument between Uncle Salter’s and Disko at the beginning of chapter 6, another is shown in chapter 4 when they come in contact with Abishai.) What are some of Disko’s reasons for thinking this way?
3. How do sailors on different ships relate to one another?
Chapter 7
1. What happens to the Jennie Cashman?
2. What impact does the accident have on Penn? Take time to think through this incident. What might Penn’s character represent? Uncle Salters? How does the accident affect Harvey?
3. What good news does the Carrie Pitman bring?
Chapter 8
1. Describe the community of fishermen that exists in the “town” the We’re Here encounters.
2. What is the “Virgin”?
3. What superstitions are revealed as a result of the death of the Frenchman?
4. What is the race that the We’re Here has with the Parry Norman and what is significant about the finish for the We’re Here?
5. What is Harvey’s reaction to arriving in Gloucester and why does he feel this way?
Lessons in Friendship:
Lesson #1 – He who walks with the wise grows wise. If you run with the right crowd they will be more likely to lead you down the right path. As C.S. Lewis says, “The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” Falling in with Disko and his crew was the best thing that could have happened to Harvey.
Lesson #2 – Friends speak the truth in love. Does the true friend tell you when we have spinach in your teeth? Of course. The people we really count as friends, that we know we can depend on, are more interested in seeing us live right than seeing us feel vaguely comfortable. It may initially embarrass us to hear about the spinach in our teeth, but it saves us much more pain than if we find out about it after the prom. Likewise, hearing that we’ve adopted a sinful attitude hurts no matter who tells us that truth. But real friends will hurt us in that way to save us the pain of reaping the harvest of that sinful attitude. Loving others sometimes means hurting them, gently, with the truth. We find Dan teaching Harvey this lesson to Dan on Harvey’s first “watch”. The spoiled rich boy has little interest in staying alert. Things seem calm, and he is sleepy. But Dan knows the dangers of shirking duty. He has heard the stories of fishing boats cut in two by wayward ocean liners. And because Dan knows the danger, he gently reminds his friend of his duty. “The moon, who sees many strange things on the Banks, looked down on a slim youth in knickerbockers and a red jersey, staggering around the cluttered decks of a seventy-ton schooner, while behind him, waving a knotted rope, walked, after the manner of an executioner, a boy who yawned and nodded between the blows he dealt.” True friends will help us live dutifully even if reminding us occasionally means using the “rope”.
Lesson #3 – True friends are more interested in giving than taking. How many times have you heard someone complain that they don’t have enough friends? The complaint itself betrays a mindset that disallows real friendship. By focusing on their need for more friends, people reveal that their greatest concern is themselves. They need more friends to feel more fulfilled. They are more interested in taking than in giving. As the old saying goes, “To have a friend be a friend.” People who constantly give of themselves never want for friends because they practice the art of friendship each day. This is the hardest lesson to learn, but it is also the most valuable. Harvey learns it slowly. It begins with the realization that both he and Dan have something to offer each other. Harvey has seen the world; he can tell Dan about far away places and the miracles of technology. Dan, on the other hand, understands life. In discussing their areas of expertise, both boys discover the benefits of sharing. This first step on the adventure of friendship leads, in turn, to a much greater sacrifice. Dan buys the knife of a dead sailor, a knife made all the more attractive because it is rumored to have killed a man, and willingly turns over this most prized possession to Harvey. Though he may never find another treasure like it, Dan gives the knife away because, well, because that’s what friendship is about. The friend who cannot give cannot long remain a friend. On the other hand, the friend who gives, who goes so far as to die to himself is to be esteemed among all men. “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Prov. 18:24) According to C. S. Lewis, natural life “has no better gift to give. Who could have deserved it?”
By Rudyard Kipling
Genre
- Adventure
- Classics
Themes
- Coming of Age
- Responsibility
- Understanding Self and Others
About the Author
Joseph Rudyard Kipling is considered one of the greatest English writers in history and is particularly renowned for his writings about India and the Raj. He celebrated the heroism of British colonial soldiers in India and Burma, and was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.
Rudyard Kipling was born December 30, 1865, in Bombay, India. The name Rudyard was taken from a lake in Staffordshire, England. At the age of six, he and his younger sister were sent back to England where they lived with separate families that took in children for hire. He returned to India at age sixteen.
Rudyard knew literary success at a young age and was able to travel. He married Carrie Balestier, an American, and moved to the United States. The Jungle Books were written in Vermont. He died January 18, 1936, in Middlesex, England during an operation.
Four questions to consider when reading this book:
1) What is the central theme of this book?
2) In the scene where Dan flogs Harvey, what do we learn about the nature of friendship?
3) Why do you think Kipling named the fishing boat the We’re Here? Why couldn’t one of the ocean liners been named that?
4) Some authors invariably portray wealthy businessmen in a negative light; does Kipling do that here? Site an example to support your answer.
Chapter 1 –THIS IS AN EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT CHAPTER 1. Note Foreshadowing and hints of Theme in your journal.
2. Describe Harvey Cheyne. Especially note what his relationship with his mother
and father is like.
3. How do others describe Harvey’s upbringing?
4. What kind of ship does Harvey fall from, and what kind of boat picks him up?
5. Describe Captain Disko Troop. What does he pride himself on? (“jedgment”=
judgment)
6. Describe the We’re Here. Include her business, home port, the size of its crew, and
any other preliminary information about the boat.
7. Are there any messages/stereotypes about America in this chapter? If so, what?
(Kipling said about Captains Courageous that he went about “changing his style to allegory, parable and metaphor” in this book.)
Chapter 2
1. Contrast the upbringing of Dan and Harvey.
2. What do you think about the change in Harvey?
3. Write down the page number(s) where Dan identifies and describes the We’re Here
crew when they’re out in their dories?
4. Discuss the work that Dan and Harvey do when and after the dories come in
for supper. (see historic photo online at literaturediscovery.wordpress.com)
5. List the various crew members of the We’re Here and the traits given thus far.
6. On page 27, what makes Harvey hang on when he is dead tired?
Chapter 3
1. What reputation does Disko Troop have among other sailors?
2. What happened to make Penn the way he is?
3. Why does Troop decide to move the We’re Here, and how does he do it?
4. What is the lesson Harvey learns from Long Jack and Tom Platt?
5. What do you learn about Harvey’s character and upbringing here?
Chapter 4
1. What do the sailors do for amusement when the weather is too bad to be out
fishing?
2. Describe and explain Troop’s reaction to Harvey’s attempt at singing “Skipper
Ireson’s Ride”?
3. What is a “jonah” and what are some of the different jonahs that the men
identify? Where do you think this name comes from? Why?
4. Who is Uncle Abishai, why are the men of the We’re Here dismayed to see him, and
what happens to him and his schooner?
5. What do you think Dan means by “progressive”?
6. What do you think a “toothpick” is?
Chapter 5
1. How does Harvey see his “former life,” now that he’s made a place for himself on the We’re Here, and what evidence is there that Harvey has changed?
2. What are the tools available to the men of the We’re Here to keep track of each other in the fog?
3. What kind of information does Disko record in his log book, “page after soiled page”?
Chapter 6
1. What is the story of Disko Troop’s name, and what does this suggest about his parents’ priorities? What do you think Kipling was saying about Disko when he used the allusion to Myron’s bronze statue “Discobolus”?
2. What things, in Disko’s judgment, ought to be kept separate? (Two of them cause an argument between Uncle Salter’s and Disko at the beginning of chapter 6, another is shown in chapter 4 when they come in contact with Abishai.) What are some of Disko’s reasons for thinking this way?
3. How do sailors on different ships relate to one another?
Chapter 7
1. What happens to the Jennie Cashman?
2. What impact does the accident have on Penn? Take time to think through this incident. What might Penn’s character represent? Uncle Salters? How does the accident affect Harvey?
3. What good news does the Carrie Pitman bring?
Chapter 8
1. Describe the community of fishermen that exists in the “town” the We’re Here encounters.
2. What is the “Virgin”?
3. What superstitions are revealed as a result of the death of the Frenchman?
4. What is the race that the We’re Here has with the Parry Norman and what is significant about the finish for the We’re Here?
5. What is Harvey’s reaction to arriving in Gloucester and why does he feel this way?
Lessons in Friendship:
Lesson #1 – He who walks with the wise grows wise. If you run with the right crowd they will be more likely to lead you down the right path. As C.S. Lewis says, “The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” Falling in with Disko and his crew was the best thing that could have happened to Harvey.
Lesson #2 – Friends speak the truth in love. Does the true friend tell you when we have spinach in your teeth? Of course. The people we really count as friends, that we know we can depend on, are more interested in seeing us live right than seeing us feel vaguely comfortable. It may initially embarrass us to hear about the spinach in our teeth, but it saves us much more pain than if we find out about it after the prom. Likewise, hearing that we’ve adopted a sinful attitude hurts no matter who tells us that truth. But real friends will hurt us in that way to save us the pain of reaping the harvest of that sinful attitude. Loving others sometimes means hurting them, gently, with the truth. We find Dan teaching Harvey this lesson to Dan on Harvey’s first “watch”. The spoiled rich boy has little interest in staying alert. Things seem calm, and he is sleepy. But Dan knows the dangers of shirking duty. He has heard the stories of fishing boats cut in two by wayward ocean liners. And because Dan knows the danger, he gently reminds his friend of his duty. “The moon, who sees many strange things on the Banks, looked down on a slim youth in knickerbockers and a red jersey, staggering around the cluttered decks of a seventy-ton schooner, while behind him, waving a knotted rope, walked, after the manner of an executioner, a boy who yawned and nodded between the blows he dealt.” True friends will help us live dutifully even if reminding us occasionally means using the “rope”.
Lesson #3 – True friends are more interested in giving than taking. How many times have you heard someone complain that they don’t have enough friends? The complaint itself betrays a mindset that disallows real friendship. By focusing on their need for more friends, people reveal that their greatest concern is themselves. They need more friends to feel more fulfilled. They are more interested in taking than in giving. As the old saying goes, “To have a friend be a friend.” People who constantly give of themselves never want for friends because they practice the art of friendship each day. This is the hardest lesson to learn, but it is also the most valuable. Harvey learns it slowly. It begins with the realization that both he and Dan have something to offer each other. Harvey has seen the world; he can tell Dan about far away places and the miracles of technology. Dan, on the other hand, understands life. In discussing their areas of expertise, both boys discover the benefits of sharing. This first step on the adventure of friendship leads, in turn, to a much greater sacrifice. Dan buys the knife of a dead sailor, a knife made all the more attractive because it is rumored to have killed a man, and willingly turns over this most prized possession to Harvey. Though he may never find another treasure like it, Dan gives the knife away because, well, because that’s what friendship is about. The friend who cannot give cannot long remain a friend. On the other hand, the friend who gives, who goes so far as to die to himself is to be esteemed among all men. “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Prov. 18:24) According to C. S. Lewis, natural life “has no better gift to give. Who could have deserved it?”