PDA

View Full Version : Journey Without Maps; Graham Greene



Sham Bapat
03-27-2015, 04:12 AM
I am reading a book 'Journey Without Maps' by Graham Greene.
I came across some passages in this book that I can't understand. Can anyone help? In case, this is not the right forum, can anyone guide me to the right forum. The passage is as under:

“‘Yes,’ they were saying in the smoking-room, ‘you won’t find a tougher man than Captain W.’ They all knew of him because they all belonged to the Coast: the captain, the doctor, the shipper.

‘If he ran into a broken bottle,’ the doctor said, ‘his face wouldn’t look any different.’

‘He’d take a tug round the world as soon as look at you.’

‘He doesn’t insure his cargo. He bears the risk himself. That’s why his freight-rates are so cheap.’”

What is the meaning of:
‘If he ran into a broken bottle,’ the doctor said, ‘his face wouldn’t look any different.’
and
‘He’d take a tug round the world as soon as look at you.’

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Sham

Whifflingpin
03-27-2015, 12:53 PM
‘If he ran into a broken bottle,’ the doctor said, ‘his face wouldn’t look any different.’

In this context it means that Captain W's face looked so tough that it could not be cut by a broken bottle. The sentence should be taken figuratively. The face, roughened and hardened by a long life at sea, is a symbol of the man, whose nature and experience enable him to stand up to any situation, however harsh or dangerous.

‘He’d take a tug round the world as soon as look at you.’
Normally a tug stays in or near a harbour and is unsuitable for a long sea voyage. To say that Captain W would take one round the world is to say that he would face up to and succeed in any task, even those other people might consider impossible. The phrase 'as soon as look at you' means 'without having to stop and think about it.'

Sham Bapat
03-30-2015, 03:25 AM
Thanks Whifflingpin for your help.
Regards,
Sham