How does line 398 square with lines 173, 174? What had been the
Captain’s state of mind during Alden’s absence? What effects measure
to us the degree of his anger after having listened to Alden’s report?
What motives induced the Captain to start in pursuit of hostile Indians
(486)? Hoes this expedition seem to have been most likely to insure the
safety of the colony? What evidence have we later on of the Captain’s
magnanimity? As he is not in the conventional sense the hero of the
story, what purpose, from the point of view of the action, does he
serve?