Two Years Before the Mast · Question
How does Two Years Before the Mast develop the theme of Labor and Economy?
Answer
Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr. develops Labor and Economy across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The detailed descriptions of hide curing, stowing cargo, and shipboard work illustrate the grueling, repetitive labor that drives the global trade, and the economic pressures that shape the lives of both sailors and merchants.
The work and economic conditions of sailors are central to the narrative from the outset.
The chapter details the endless physical labor required to maintain the ship, from rigging repairs to making spun yarn, highlighting the economic realities of a sailor's life.
The chapter details the physical labor of surf landings and hide loading, highlighting the economic realities of the hide-droghing trade and the division of labor between officers, sailors, and Sandwich Islanders.
Evidence in the book
- Two Years Before the Mast
The work and economic conditions of sailors are central to the narrative from the outset.
- Ship's Duties—Tropics
The chapter details the endless physical labor required to maintain the ship, from rigging repairs to making spun yarn, highlighting the economic realities of a sailor's life.
- IX
The chapter details the physical labor of surf landings and hide loading, highlighting the economic realities of the hide-droghing trade and the division of labor between officers, sailors, and Sandwich Islanders.
- Southeaster and Passage Up the Coast
The chapter details the precise work of seamanship—loosing sails, manning sheets, and picking up cables—as essential to the ship's survival and the trade economy.
- XII
The crew's forced Sunday work and passive resistance highlight the dynamics of maritime labor, while the description of customs inspection and the absence of a Mexican working class illustrate the economic structures of California.
- XIII
Detailed description of the trading process, the cargo's variety, and the economic dependency of California on imported goods.
- XVIII
The hide droghing at San Juan illustrates the dangerous and physically demanding labor involved in the hide trade, central to California's economy.
- XIX
The chapter details the hard, monotonous work of hide curing and woodcutting, contrasting it with the independence and lack of hazing compared to shipboard life.
