Rites of Passage (To the Ends of the Earth, #1) in Reading 1001

Jan 02, 2017 Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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The year is 1815. Like thousands of other young men looking to start a new life, Edmund Talbot boards a ship destined for a British colony. With the help of his godfather patron he is to join the staff of the Governor鈥檚 office in Australia. To amuse his godfather he begins to write a journal. In it he records his impressions of the ship which is a creaking and ancient former warship, not affording the naive young man anything like the standard of accommodation he was expecting (his 鈥榗abin鈥� is mo The year is 1815. Like thousands of other young men looking to start a new life, Edmund Talbot boards a ship destined for a British colony. With the help of his godfather patron he is to join the staff of the Governor鈥檚 office in Australia. To amuse his godfather he begins to write a journal. In it he records his impressions of the ship which is a creaking and ancient former warship, not affording the naive young man anything like the standard of accommodation he was expecting (his 鈥榗abin鈥� is more akin to a hutch).

But this doesn鈥檛 curb the enthusiasm of this young dandy. He may be a novice in maritime life but Edmund is an enthusiastic student who wants to learn the ways of the men onboard.

I have laid my Marine Dictionary by my pillow; for I am determined to speak the tarry language as perfectly as any of these rolling fellows.

With wit and energy he describes daily life aboard ship, the disdain he feels for the bad manners of his fellow passengers (who are generally beneath him in the social hierarchy) and the mounting tensions between officers, crew and passengers. His observations are mixed with salacious gossip and details of his own sexual encounters.

His curiosity is awakened by one passenger in particular, the Reverend James Colley, who, for reasons we don鈥檛 discover until he end of the novel, is despised by the captain. Edmund initially tries to support the parson but is ultimately repelled by Colley鈥檚 over-eager attempts at friendship. Colley also falls foul of the sailors who, in the seclusion of the fo鈥檆astle, exact their revenge, delivering the parson into a 鈥渉ell of degradation鈥� involving a crossing-the-line ceremony. The shame Colley feels at his treatment is so deep he never recovers.

And it鈥檚 at this point that the light and frothy tone of the novel suddenly changes and it becomes a much more disturbing narrative. Golding, it鈥檚 clear, has led his readers up and down the garden path in the first half of the book. Talbot鈥檚 journal paints the parson as an absurd man with a hacked-about haircut and ill-fitting wig at whom we are invited to laugh. It鈥檚 hard not to when Colley is seen dead drunk, naked, 鈥渉is mind only lightly linked to his understanding鈥�, crying out 鈥渏oy, joy, joy鈥� and attempting to bless his fellow passengers.

But after his shaming, we get to read Colley鈥檚 own journal and slowly this young parson is transformed into a sympathetic, sweet-natured man. His wild haircut is explained by the fact that his sister tried to cut it one last time before he boarded ship and they parted, but was crying so much that she could hardly see what she was doing. All the laughs we鈥檝e had at Colley鈥檚 expense now seem hollow as we learn about the many other cruelties that Edmund failed to notice or failed to understand.

By the end of the novel, we like Edmund, feel complicit in Colley鈥檚 downfall. It was his own aggressive behaviour towards Colley which made others on board feel it was ok to bully this man. The truth of his death however never comes to light because the captain鈥檚 inquiry is a whitewash and Edmund is so compromised he鈥檚 left with no option but to hide the facts from Colley鈥檚 sister. The boy who ends the novel is a far wiser, more mature creature than the one we encounter at the beginning.

With lack of sleep and too much understanding I grow a little crazy, I think, like all men at sea who live too close to each other and too close thereby to all that is monstrous under the sun and moon.

There were many enjoyable features of this novel. Firstly Golding鈥檚 use of the two journals disrupted the trajectory of the novel and turned what could otherwise have been a pleasant, if unremarkable, tale about a young snob, into a fascinating narrative. Everything about this book feels authentic, from the language and the events described to the choice of typeface with cracked edge letters and slightly rough paper in my edition. And then we get the themes of shame and class consciousness which undercut the comedy of Edmund鈥檚 naivety. Golding shows that even within the confines of a ship that 鈥渟treams with sea water, rain and other fouler liquids鈥�, the British class structure prevails. For all the humour of the first half of the book, Rites of Passage is a quite disquieting novel. ...more

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Jan 29, 2015 Kristel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-challenge, booker-prize

This novel is a seafaring story that is told through a journal written by a young man, Edmund Talbott, off to serve in government in Australia. It also contains a letter written by the Parson Coffey, also a passenger to Australia.
Talbott, a privileged youth is remarkable for his extreme naivety and he is 鈥渇illed鈥� with himself. Talbott thinks he is going to be a seaman but suffers sea sickness, he thinks he is going to learn the 鈥渢arpaulin language鈥� and understand the life of a sailor. Coffey wa This novel is a seafaring story that is told through a journal written by a young man, Edmund Talbott, off to serve in government in Australia. It also contains a letter written by the Parson Coffey, also a passenger to Australia.
Talbott, a privileged youth is remarkable for his extreme naivety and he is 鈥渇illed鈥� with himself. Talbott thinks he is going to be a seaman but suffers sea sickness, he thinks he is going to learn the 鈥渢arpaulin language鈥� and understand the life of a sailor. Coffey wants to serve God but has found himself in a situation where is ostracized and tormented by those that hate him because he is a Parson, especially the Captain. It was enjoyable read, generally engaging story. I think, because I have read The Lord of the Flies I went into this book with a certain expectation which might of helped propel the reading (besides the challenge). Golding writes of how man together can be brutal beasts in The Lord of the Flies. He did not fail to follow through in this story. This is the first of a trilogy and has also was made into a BBC serial which, however not historically correct, was quite good according to wikipedia.

First Sentence: Honoured godfather, with those words I begin the journal I engaged myself to keep for you--no words could be more suitable!

Words:
Badger Bag: a term for hazing. Badger Bag is King Neptune's helper. As it relates to the hazing activites surrounding a ship's crossing of the equator, Badger Bag would be represented by a sailor (perhaps, in days of yore, dressed in mottle, or scraps and ends; hence the name) and would shave the "first timers" heads and other such activities.

Quotes:
鈥淗e demonstrates to the thoughtful eye how really irrational a rational philosopher can be!鈥� pg 73.

鈥淟ong live illusion, say I. Let us export it to our colonies with all the other benefits of civilization鈥� pg 123.

鈥渟uch are the varied fabrics of the human tapestry that surrounds me!鈥� pg 258

鈥淚 was the simple voice of Life mourning Death.鈥�

鈥淢en can die of shame.鈥�

Last Sentence: With lack of sleep and too much understanding I grow a little crazy, I think, like all men at sea who live too close to each other and too close thereby to all that is monstrous under the sun and moon.
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May 17, 2012 Rosemary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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This was just stunning. It draws you into a description of a voyage to Australia in the early 19th century, inviting you to laugh at the insecure arrogance of the protagonist with his titled godfather, and then reveals a devastating and deadly substory that upstages him completely.

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