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| Plot Summary of Master and Commander |
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"This 1970 novel introduced the pair of British characters whose early 19th century adventures at sea would eventually run to a series of 20 books: Jack Aubrey, the naval ship commander and Stephen Maturin, the ship's surgeon. It is April 1800, and on the Mediterranean island of Minorca Aubrey receives his first command, the small sloop "Sophie." Maturin is a penniless Irish physician, well read and multi-lingual, with a considerable interest in naturalism, who joins the ship because he has nothing better to do. The "Sophie" plies the western Mediterranean, looking for ships belonging to the enemy, France, and her ally Spain. Aubrey engages a number of enemy vessels, attacks shore installations, has an impolitic affair with his superior officer Captain Harte's lively wife Molly, and by the climax of the novel is facing a court-martial for losing his ship. Superbly written, quite erudite (a marine glossary or one of several books that have been published specifically to explain O'Brian's vast vocabulary would be helpful to have at hand), and most acute in its depiction of character and daily life aboard a man-of-war, this book partly inspired the hit 2003 movie, which takes a couple incidents from it but is mostly based on the 10th book of the series, _The Far Side of the World_. But it's a splendid opening to an unparalleled series."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Master and Commander |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- upbeat
Time/era of story
- 19th century
Training/promotions story
Yes
Life of a profession:
- sailor
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- navy soldier
Age:
- 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- bulging muscles
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 7 (a good amount)
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Spain
Water?
Yes
Water:
- warship
Island?
Yes
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Unusual Style:
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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