Chesapeake by James A. Michener
"Chesapeake" is a historical novel by James A. Michener that spans 400 years and chronicles the lives of four prominent families in Maryland's Eastern Shore. The narrative is uniquely structured into fourteen episodes, each focusing on different aspects of settlement and development in the region. The story begins with Pentaquod, a member of the Susquehannock tribe, and continues through the experiences of the Steeds, Turlocks, Paxmores, and Cates, illustrating the complexities of cultural interactions, social hierarchies, and the impacts of colonization.
Themes of decline and resilience are prevalent, as seen in the erosion of Devon Island, the challenges faced by indigenous tribes, and the moral struggles of characters like Rosalind Janney, who emerges as a feminist figure advocating for justice. Michener integrates historical figures and events into the narrative, providing a rich tapestry of American history, including the American Revolution and the Civil War. Additionally, the novel emphasizes the relationship between humans and nature, featuring nonhuman characters such as geese and crabs, thereby highlighting environmental concerns. "Chesapeake" offers readers a multifaceted exploration of history, culture, and ecology, making it a significant work in American literature.
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Chesapeake by James A. Michener
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1978
Type of work: Novel
The Work
In Chesapeake, another sprawling novel, this one covering four hundred years and four major families, Michener abandoned his usual narrative practice of providing several points of view and used the third-person omniscient point of view. He also shaped his novel by dividing it into fourteen “episodes” with their own chapters. The first seven voyages concern the settlement of the Eastern Shore, first by Pentaquod, a peaceful member of the warlike Susquehannock tribe who settles among the Nanticokes, and then by the three white families that dominate the remainder of the novel. The Steeds are Catholics who settle on Devon Island and eventually become landed gentry. The Turlocks are distinctly lower-class people who spring from indentured stock and adapt to the land. The Paxmores are peace-loving (“pax”) Quakers who have fled New England religious persecution. The fourth Family, the Cates, are the children of slaves. Michener uses the families and the landscape to demonstrate familiar themes. Devon Island, seat of the Steed family’s colonial power, erodes, despite humankind’s efforts to slow or stem the erosion, and finally disappears at the end of the novel after Pusey Paxmore’s funeral and the hurricane that follows it. Pusey—descended from the moral center of the novel, the Paxmores—has just finished serving time for involvement in the Watergate scandal. The Steed family also declines, much like the Southern families in the plays of Tennessee Williams. The Paxmores live, appropriately, at Peace Cliff. The Nanticokes, whom the Turlocks have assisted, eventually vanish when Tciblento dies, showing how the white man’s intolerance, exploitation, and racism have destroyed indigenous tribes.
There are so many characters that few are drawn in any detail. One exception is Rosalind Janney, who marries Fitzhugh Steed and finds that she must administer both the house and the plantation. She also is the driving force behind seeing that the infamous pirate Bonfleur (“good flower”), ironically named, is brought to justice and hanged. When “wayward” women are whipped, as is the custom, she bares her own back and effectively puts an end to the practice. She is perhaps the feminist in the novel.
As is his practice, Michener also includes historical characters (Thomas Jefferson, John Smith, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and George Washington make cameo appearances) and historical events. Teach Turlock, Simon Steed, and Levin Paxmore unite to take on the British, primarily at sea; and Michener tells his readers more than they want to know about boat building. Similarly, in the Civil War material, the intricate details of the Underground Railroad, particularly as it relates to the Paxmores, are given.
Michener also devotes chapters to nonhuman characters: geese and crabs, both identified with the Eastern Shore. The goose Onk-or, his mate, and their flock are threatened by the huge guns capable of killing several birds with one shot. Conservation is not an Eastern Shore practice, whether it concerns birds or crabs. Michener also personifies the crab as “Jimmy,” the name given by Shoremen to male crabs. While providing a wealth of detail about geese and crabs, Michener also demonstrates the interconnectedness between the human world and the world of nature.
Bibliography
Anthony, Arthur. “Avoiding Nostalgia: James Michener’s The Bridge at Andau.” Literature and the Arts 5, no. 1 (Spring/Summer, 1993): 47-53.
Becker, George. James A. Michener. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1983.
Beidler, Philip D. “South Pacific and American Remembering: Or, ’Josh, We’re Going to Buy This Son of a Bitch!’” Journal of American Studies 27, no. 2 (August, 1993): 207-222.
Bell, Pearl K. “James Michener’s Docudramas.” Commentary 71 (April, 1981): 71-73.
Grobel, Lawrence. Talking with Michener. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1999.
Hayes, John P. James Michener: A Biography. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1984.
Hines, Samuel M., Jr. “Political Change in America: Perspectives from the Popular Historical Novels of Michener and Vidal.” In Political Mythology and Popular Fiction, edited by Ernest J. Yanarella and Lee Seligman. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
Michener, James. “Historical Fiction.” American Heritage 33 (April/May, 1982): 44-48.
Osterholm, J. Roger. “Michener’s Space, the Novel and Miniseries: A Study in Popular Culture.” Journal of Popular Culture 23, no. 3 (Winter, 1989): 51-64.
Severson, Marilyn S. James A. Michener: A Critical Companion. New York: Greenwood Press, 1996.