Carry on Mr.Bowditch Chapter 4

1)What kind of ship was Freedom? Why did Hab show her to Nat?

A: Freedom was a cargo ship Hab wanted to show Nat a different kind of ship that he had never seen before.

2)Why had Hab lied about being cold the previous winter?

A: Hab had lied about not being cold because 1) they didn’t have enough money to buy a new coat and 2) he covered it up by saying only coats are for sissies.

3)Why did the ship owners think that the war was almost over?

A: They thought that the war was almost over because there wasn’t that many privateer ships out.

4)What caused the commotion in the middle of the night? Who was John Derby?

A: A bunch of people were running around yelling that they had won the war. John Derby was the man to sail to England to tell the king that the war had started.

5)What is the peace announcement?

A: The peace announcement  is when two or three countries kind of call a truce.

6)What was “crowding sail”? Why was it dangerous?

A: Crowding sail was when you put up a big sail to get you somewhere faster, but you also have the risk of it snapping.

7)What does it mean to “loose your anchor to windward”?

A:”loose your anchor to windward” means that the wind blew your anchor away.

8)Why did Nat have to leave school? How did Mother comfort him?

A: Nat had to leave school because his father needed help building barrels.

Thought Questions:

1)Why did Hab think boys shouldn’t blubber? What does that statement tell you about his character? What does Nat’s response tell you about his relationship with Hab?

A: Hab said that  boys shouldn’t blubber because they should be able to be stronger than that. That statement tells me that Hab doesn’t like being called a wimp and that he didn’t bring up the coat scenario so that his parents wouldn’t feel bad.

2)How does inflation work? What are products really worth? Why is paper money less stable than precious metals?

A: inflation is when people raise the price a lot. Products are worth what they are made from. I think that back then metal was more expensive to make than paper, so they had metal be worth more.

3)Are peace and the absence of war the same thing? Why or why not?

A: I think that peace is when war is totally done, but absence of war is when they aren’t having war at the time, but it could happen any time.

4)Mother said “If you look at the stars long enough, it helps. It shrinks your day-to-day troubles down to size.” What does looking at stars actually change?

A: I think that stars just distract you from what’s going on.