Roughing It · Chapter
Bound for Hawaii explained
The narrator sails from Honolulu to the island of Hawaii aboard the schooner Boomerang, enduring cramped and unsanitary conditions with cockroaches, rats, and a noisy rooster.
What happens
The narrator sails from Honolulu to the island of Hawaii aboard the schooner Boomerang, enduring cramped and unsanitary conditions with cockroaches, rats, and a noisy rooster. He describes the beauty of the moonlit sea, the arrival at Hawaii with views of Mauna Loa and Hualaiai, and a horseback ride through the Kona region's orange groves and sugar plantations.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the story's dramatic climax because it presents the ultimate psychological peak of fear and vulnerabil…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Colonialism and Cultural Change
The narrator's observations of native Hawaiians (Kanakas) and the sugar plantations reflect the colonial transformation of the islands.
- Humor and Exaggeration
The exaggerated descriptions of the rooster's crowing, the cockroaches, and the cramped schooner highlight Twain's characteristic humor.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Describes his uncomfortable voyage and the scenic beauty of Hawaii.
- Mr. Billings
The narrator's comrade on the voyage.
Key passages
“The Boomerang was about as long as two street-cars, and about as wide as one.”
The schooner was extremely small, roughly the length of two streetcars and the width of one.
Twain uses a familiar comparison to emphasize the vessel's tiny size.
“I could reach the water when she lay over under a strong breeze.”
When the ship heeled in a strong wind, the narrator could touch the ocean.
Illustrates the precarious closeness to the sea.
“He could see all the climes of the world at a single glance of the eye, and that glance would only pass over a distance of four or five miles as the bird flies!”
From Mauna Loa's summit, one could observe every climate zone within just a few miles.
Highlights the dramatic vertical climate variation on Hawaii's mountains.
