A Sailor's Story
The term "before the mast" refers to the quarters of the common sailors — in the forecastle, in the front of the ship. His writing evidences his later sympathy with the lower classes; he later became a prominent anti-slavery activist and helped found the Free Soil Party.
Dana did not set out to write Two Years Before the Mast as a sea adventure, but to highlight how poorly common sailors were treated on ships. It quickly became a best seller.
Read more about this topic: Two Years Before The Mast
Famous quotes containing the words sailor and/or story:
“Captain Bligh: Mr. Byam, you’re up late.
Byam: It’s very warm below, sir.
Captain Bligh: I hadn’t noticed it. A true sailor can sleep in an oven, if need be, or in a keg of ice.”
—Talbot Jennings (1896–1985)
“Our ancestors were savages. The story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf is not a meaningless fable. The founders of every state which has risen to eminence have drawn their nourishment and vigor from a similar wild source. It was because the children of the Empire were not suckled by the wolf that they were conquered and displaced by the children of the northern forests who were.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)