First Subgenre
Adventures – High Seas
Adventures is already a subgenre of realistic fiction. High
Seas is thus a sub-subgenre. The genre usually involves sailor’s life, naval
rules and hierarchy, violence like wars between nations or piracy, treasures,
adventures around the world, etc. The Prezi graph points out that the Napoleonic
Wars are a popular setting for the High Seas genre, but it’s certainly not set
in stone. The pacing could change significantly, just like the life at sea.
It’s could be all quiet, which often give the author a chance to explain naval
life and its specificities, or it could be a torrent of adventures one after an
another. There is often one main character and around him/her a panoply of
secondary characters, often presenting some sort of peculiarities. Language could
also greatly vary. It can go from technical naval terms to vulgar sailor
dialogue, and everything in between. Like the pace, the tone varies between
exciting and detail-oriented. But most of the time there is a suspense because
adventures can come and characters can do an about-face at any moment.
Example:
The Dark Frigate by
Charles Boardman
A young orphan, Philip, left London in a hurry to escape
death. He signs on with a boat leaving for the English Colony of Newfoundland.
At sea, pirates seize the boat and force our hero to participate to their
violent expeditions. Against his will, Philip is now a pirate and must deal
with the consequences.
Typee: A Peep at
Polynesian Life by Hermann Melville
Moby Dick would have been a good example, but Typee is less
known. Also Typee include something else about the High-Seas Adventures genre:
the crash of civilization. The nineteenth century was the age of the Pacific
Ocean discovery and colonization. Melville went there as a young man and
discovered the Polynesian simple and happy way of life. The cultural
differences led to a series of reflection on good and evil, on nature and
culture, on sexuality and frigidity. Typee explains very well this anthropological
aspect of the genre.
The Caine Mutiny by
Herman Wouk
Set during WWII, The Caine Mutiny describes the
(not-violent) mutiny abroad a destroyer during a horrible storm. Still at sea,
the martial-court that follow occupies most of the plot of the book. Instead of
pirates and adventures, this book focuses on the ethical dilemma that occur
when a group of people live and work inside a small nut of wood in the middle
of the ocean. Basically, things are not always the same at sea than on land.
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