The captain is a man of quiet authority, never harshly demanding anything of his crew, but calmly giving orders that encourage a certain comradeship among his men.“The hurt captain, lying against the water-jar in the bow, spoke always in a low voice and calmly, but he could never command a more ready and swiftly obedient crew than the motley three of the dingey.” (Pg. 962)He maintains this air of authority when they are all taking their orders from him. His command is shown by the way the crew all still call him captain, although they refer to each other by name. His role in the story is to sit back in the boat and give the orders while the others do the work. The correspondent and the oiler are the rowers, and even the cook has a turn at the end, but the captain never rows the boat. He does all this without seeming arrogant or pushy, and the others all do what he tells them, never questioning his directions. The correspondent and the oiler take turns rowing, while the cook’s job is to bail out the boat. They all assume responsibility for their jobs without much complaint. Even when their muscles are sore and they desperately want to quit, they keep going, not so much for themselves, but for the entire people on the boat....
