Continue, Mr Bowditch is a novel by Jean Lee Latham who was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1956.
This book is a biography of children Nathaniel Bowditch, a sailor and mathematician who publishes mammoths and comprehensive references to seafarers: The American Practical Navigator . This is an epic story of adventure and learning.
Video Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
Plot summary
This novel introduces readers to the young Nathaniel "Nat" Bowditch, son of a cooper (wooden barrack).
Nat loves school, especially math. She dreamed that she would one day study at Cambridge Harvard University, but was forced by the state of the economy to quit school and help her father make a barrel. Finally, he ends up as a waiter obliged to a chandler ship. Still determined to continue his education, and forced to work for the hangman for nine years, he began teaching himself Latin. After being granted access to a local private library, he continued to study and master mathematics at night after work.
When his contract is over, he gets a chance to go overboard. There, he discovered that many of the navigation sources used at the time contained widespread and dangerous errors. He was asked to compose a new book of navigation information. This book, The American Practical Navigator , is still in use today. Under Captain Prince, Nat learned how to work at sea. He created a new way to work on the moon, increasing the accuracy of the calculations used to locate the ship. He also taught the crew on board about navigation. It took a while for the men to understand, but when they understood, people, like Lem Harvey, crew troublemakers, felt smart and important. He also let Little Johnny look through the sextant and search for Polaris. Eventually Nat became his own captain. In the course of the book, Nat received a degree of honor (Master of Arts) from a school he always wanted to attend, Harvard.
Maps Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
Deaths
Nat's grandmother and her mother died early in the book (on the same page). Lizza, Nat's closest sister, died when she tripped and fell down the stairs. Mary (Nat's oldest sister) married a sailor named David Martin. David and his entire crew died of fever during their journey at sea. Nat's brother, Samuel, died of fever in the West Indies. Nat meets Elizabeth Boardman, and comforts her when her father, a sea captain, dies. Years later, they got married. On the next voyage, when Nat meets a Salem captain at the harbor during the voyage, he discovers that Elizabeth has died of Consumption. Later in the story, he also discovers that Hab and William are lost in the ocean for sailing books. Lem is said to be dead, but he survived. Then, when she will return her dowry, Elizabeth's mother invites Nat to stay with her and she marries Mary Ingersoll (known as Polly), Elizabeth's cousin and trusted friend. Near the beginning of the book when Nat was six, he met a sailor named Tom Perry. Nat invests shillings (which he owns) on the Tom Perry ship (which is a privateer), but Tom Perry died saving a friend from attack during the voyage.
Further reading
Aimed at young readers, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch includes many dramatically and fictitious components. A serious modern biography is Robert E. Berry Yankee Stargazer, published in 1941. This book is a true story.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments