Foreshadowing In Captains Courageous

In the novel, Captains Courageous, Rudyard Kipling uses the elements of an adventure tale to give an essential life lesson to the reader. Harvey Cheyne, Jr., the son of a rich businessman, falls of a luxury liner during a storm. He is picked up by a fishing crew who teaches him how to be responsible and good-mannered. In this story, Kipling uses simile, foreshadowing, and characterization to draw the reader into an extraordinary story. Firstly, the author uses simile to help the reader understand what the author is saying. For example, “By now the sun was sinking, changing the green water to purple and pink with golden lights. The dories were heading to their schooners, looking like tiny toy boats in the distance” (48). This shows the dories were tiny compared to the large schooners. This also shows the dories fish off in the distance, which makes them look even smaller. Furthermore, “ ‘There’s Manuel. He ain’t got room for another fish. See how low he is in the water, just like a lily pad’ ” (48). This shows the boat had a large catch, so it is low in the water from the weight of the fish. This also shows the reader that Manuel is probably a good fisherman, which is why his boat is low in the water from the weight of the fish. In summation, the literary element of simile is used to portray what the author is trying to say. Secondly, the …show more content…
The development of the book is well formed and uses literary elements to advance the plot. One of the strengths of this book is that it teaches a great life lesson, to be responsible and good-natured. The book also has some weaknesses, such as some parts of the book aren’t well formed due to the reader not knowing what might have happened before the time of the book. In conclusion, this tale of adventure mixed in with a great life lesson will draw the reader into an extraordinary