The Finest Hours

Michael Tougias & Casey Sherman

Characters:

Bernie Webber - Bernie Webber was the first class mate of a small life boat that saved 32 men from the Pendleton.
Captain Paetzel - Paetzel was the captain of the Yakutat which saved most of the Fort Mercer's men.

Setting: The date was set in Febuary 1952 in Cape Cod, Massachussets. They sailed the Atlantic Ocean near Chatham Harbor and the Coast Guard Station.

Plot:

In the beginning of the book, the author introduced Bernie Webber and Captain Paetzel. Then, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer split in two in the same night. After that, they were stranded on the boats while a massive storm was coming their way. Bernie Webber and Captain Paetzel were on a journey to go save the Fort Mercer and Pendleton. Bernie and his crew went to go save the men on the Pendleton and it was successful, but had a death of one man. Captain Paetzel saved the Fort Mercer and also had a successful save with few casualties. After that, Bernie Webber's crew got medals for their bravery and saving the stranded crew.

Point of View:

The point of view in The Finest Hours was third person limited. In the book, the author didn't talk about the characters' feelings. Plus, in the text, it said "they," "he," and other signs that lead up to this point of view.

Theme:

The theme of The Finest Hours was most likely "don't leave anyone behind." In the book, Bernie Webber didn't leave Tiny Myers to die in the ocean. Instead, he tried to save him. Also, when Bernie was awarded the gold medal while his crew was going to get the silver medal, he said that he didn't want the gold if his crew didn't get the gold as well. On the Yakutat, there was a person sliding off of the ship and three men saved him.