MASTER AND COMMANDER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MASTER AND COMMANDER - Essay ExampleStephen Maturin and their prototypic adventures. At the same age, at that place is a historical element to the novel since the backdrop of the story is the war between England and France known as the Napoleonic wars which took place sometime after the French revolution1.In this context, the novel brings together the culture and the account statement of the times when it starts by placing the action in Port Mahon in 1800. Of course the world was a precise different place then and the culture of the time is easily observed in the opening where the first meeting between Aubrey and Maturin is certainly less than ideal. At a Royal Navy base in Port Mahon, Minorca, Jack Aubrey is nudged by Maturin at the governors ball during a musical performance. They niggle with each other, but before it can get really serious, Jack is informed that he is most to be given the command of his own ship and he seeks out Maturin to join him on his voyage2.The histo rical background here is plainly obvious since the cultural elements of challenging someone to a duel and imagined slights at being nudged could certainly not take place in this day and age. At the same time the quick about turn shown by Jack also has its basis in historical incident as it was often difficult to recruit individuals for the hard life of the naval forces. In fact, Jack has to convince the unsex/scientist/philosopher that the Mediterranean is an excellent place to do research and read3.Of course the place where he conducts this research and study is the HMS Sophie of which the master and commander is Jack Aubrey. The ships physician also acts as a honorable mention point for the reader since other characters in the novel explain things to him as the voyage progresses. This explanation of marine matters is also useful for the readers since they also gain awareness about the ship and the manner in which the navy conducts its business4.In the historical context, sai ling in the 1800s was quite a different matter as