How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
In this breathless pause at the threshold of a long passage we seemed to be measuring our fitness for a long and arduous enterprise, the appointed task of both our existences to be carried out, far from all human eyes, with only sky and sea for spectators and judges. (1.2)
The narrator of this story has an intimate sense of the nature around him. But why would a guy spend so much time thinking about nature? Oh yeah, because he doesn't have any friends to talk to.
Quote #2
And suddenly I rejoiced in the great security of the sea as compared with the unrest of the land, in my choice of that untempted life presenting no disquieting problems. (1.17)
Even though the captain is a lonely dude, he enjoys being out on the open sea. He finds it peaceful because it's simple. City life is complicated and filled with all kinds of twists and turns. But on the sea, all you have to do is get where you're going.
Quote #3
And to find him sitting so quietly was surprising, like something against nature, inhuman. (2.138)
When it comes time for Leggatt to leave the ship, the narrator finds him sitting in a way that seems totally unnatural to him. All through this book, Leggatt has always seemed to be not quite there, and his unnatural appearance often makes you wonder whether he's even real.