| Revision as of 03:51, 25 January 2006 editGeo Swan (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers112,843 edits 19th century nautical fiction | Revision as of 05:13, 19 March 2006 edit undo68.95.72.227 (talk)No edit summaryNext edit → | ||
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| By the time he is a teenager Easy has adopted his father's point of view, to the point where he no longer believes in private property. There are two very satiric short chapters | By the time he is a teenager Easy has adopted his father's point of view, to the point where he no longer believes in private property. There are two very satiric short chapters | ||
| Easy joins the navy, becomes friendly with a ] ] named |
Easy joins the navy, becomes friendly with a ] ] named Mesty, an escaped ], who had been a ] in ]. Mesty is sympathetic to Easy's philosophizing. Even though Marryat tries to render Mesty's speech in dialect, he portrays him sympathetically, allowing him dignity. | ||
| Easy becomes a competent officer, in spite of his notions. By the end of the novel both Easy and |
Easy becomes a competent officer, in spite of his notions. By the end of the novel both Easy and Mesty have come to a more conventional view of rights, and private property. | ||
Revision as of 05:13, 19 March 2006
Mr. Midshipman Easy is a novel by Frederick Marryat, a retired Captain in the 19th century Royal Navy. The novel is set during the Napoleonic Wars, in which Marryat himself served with distinction.
Easy is the son of foolish parents, who spoiled him. His father, in particular, regards himself as a philosopher, with a firm belief in the "rights of man". As he is a rich man, his belief, which the novel presents as very foolish, is never seriously contradicted.
By the time he is a teenager Easy has adopted his father's point of view, to the point where he no longer believes in private property. There are two very satiric short chapters
Easy joins the navy, becomes friendly with a lower deck seaman named Mesty, an escaped slave, who had been a prince in Africa. Mesty is sympathetic to Easy's philosophizing. Even though Marryat tries to render Mesty's speech in dialect, he portrays him sympathetically, allowing him dignity.
Easy becomes a competent officer, in spite of his notions. By the end of the novel both Easy and Mesty have come to a more conventional view of rights, and private property.
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