Life lessons from the story
Every member of the crew faces new and difficult situations, with few clear choices and consequences both good and bad. Young people in every generation face dilemmas like these. The author drew these 16 lessons from the story to help you think through your own.
Lesson 1: Sage Advice
The motto that runs through the whole story
People usually don’t look past what is immediate and obvious. What sets a person apart is looking beneath the surface at what most people miss, and then acting on what they find.
Lessons 1–10
Lesson 1
See what others don’t see, learn what others don’t learn.
People usually don’t look past what is immediate and obvious. What sets a person apart is looking beneath the surface at what most people miss, and then acting on what they find.
Lesson 2
Neglecting it limits one’s destiny; pursuing it opens great vistas.
Our story begins with a loving grandfather’s worry that technology is wearing away certain basic skills that are essential for success in life. Reading is one of them. The written word carries thoughts, passions, goals and hopes.
Lesson 3
They form us into networks in many different ways, with many different end results.
“Just came together; loose strings into a knot.”
Lesson 4
Towards the horizon with a weathered eye opened for opportunities and wary of threats.
As the crew trade gossip, Alan asks, “Who are the enemies?”
One of the men“Who are your enemies?”
Alan“I have never in my life had an enemy.”
A second man“Have you never been exploited? Do you know what is happening in these colonies?”
Alan“I know only the world that I see. That is all that I can handle.”
Lesson 5
Many times true ownership lies not in the title to something but in the commitment to its values.
Adam“Family with money?”
Alan“No.”
Adam“Then whose boat?”
Alan“Given to me for all of us to make our way.”
Bud“You mean to make your way.”
Alan“Nay. I mean our way. Can’t do it alone. I think we are meant to find our futures together.”
Lesson 6
It has been said that money amplifies what is in one’s heart.
[A scene from the story for this lesson, to be supplied by the author]
Lesson 7
A fair day’s wages for a fair day’s work… but not always.
The COMMERCE will be paid for its services, but not with money. Instead, a seaman will be placed in Alan’s service. The crew realize that the new man is being traded like a slab of meat. Na asks, “Are we doing wrong?” And who decides?
Lesson 8
The colonies hosted great diversity in people, but also a range of attitudes and perceptions about that diversity.
Ordinary people tend to know little about international or European affairs, and most believe the new society in the colonies can manage on its own. Everyday life is narrowly focused on trade and making money. The towns along the bay are crowded, hectic and full of people from many places. Many languages fill the air, and from the kitchens come the smells of every corner of Europe. All of this makes for communities that either ignore or embrace the differences among people.
Lesson 9
No man is an island.
Sailors and their ships learn to trust one another only after hard trials, and sometimes after desperate, intimate and raw conversations.
Lesson 10
We are all in the same boat, in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.
Storms at sea are frightening. The sky turns a thick, dark gray. The sea shows its overwhelming, unyielding strength. The wind blows in the face of every crew member as if to say, “You’re an unwelcome guest in my place.” Surely it is Neptune dealing with trespassers on the great seas, people who may not be suited to the vastness of the water world.
Lessons 11–16
Lesson 11
The health and well-being of a community, or threats against these, take collective action.
The crew and its leaders quickly discover that “independent action” is an illusion. Information, money, technical help and a view beyond the immediate moment are all critical to surviving a war, and they are valuable in every part of life.
Lesson 12
A team maximizes its ability to get things done when it finds the means to solidify diverse characters.
The PYGG’s crew come together without any plan. Most join for their own reasons, and they quickly realize how much they depend on one another. To survive, the crew must become more than the sum of its parts.
Lesson 13
The will to win must be preceded by the will to commit to prepare to win.
Almost everyone in the crew has a lot to learn before they can do their job. They combine routine with new ideas, and they keep a sharp focus on their goals.
Lesson 14
War is always ugly and awful. It puts regular and thoughtful people in situations that are uncomfortable or traumatizing.
The crew wrestle with the fact that in war, success is measured crudely. You either win or you lose. A healthy life, by contrast, looks for compromises that leave everyone with some comfort or reward.
Lesson 15
Conflict of the most enduring sort is often fought in the arena of ideas.
The PYGG’s exploits help the rebellion in ways nobody planned. The crew were focused on survival, but without meaning to, they become a major influence on public opinion in the colonies. Rose writes pamphlets that bring the violence to life and spur people to act, especially women. The pamphlets’ loose relationship with the facts is a key lesson about information in wartime.
Lesson 16
War and its sacrifices do not guarantee the outcomes that were built into the causes and justifications for the conflict.
After the privateering battles, the members of the PYGG’s crew share very different views about what the end of the war may bring. They doubt how the story will be told, who will benefit, and whether the promises used to rally the fighters will be kept. Will women, Indigenous people and other exploited peoples find new rights and protections in the new society?