Richard Dana’s “sole literary work of note” was Two Years Before The Mast, and it “enjoyed enormous success.” The movie based on this book concentrated on the sailor’s life in the first half of the 19th century, a life that was cruel and hard. However, Dana’s book discusses a broader range of topics. In the 21st chapter of his book, he discusses the history about the relationships between Indians, Mexicans, presidios, and missions.

The beginning of the 21st chapter discusses how the presidios and missions came into existence. Something to note for later on is Dana’s statement: “…laws are made and unmade at the caprice of the legislature, and are as variable as the legislature itself”(160). Then Dana delves into the double standard of how authorities passed out justice to Indians vs. Whites. He backs up his theory of double standards with two examples of unequal distribution of justice. Though one has some hearsay in it, the example should still hold some merit. The following quote summarizes his basic thesis: “When a crime has been committed by Indians, justice, or rather vengeance, is not so tardy”(162). The movie also revealed double standards for sailors, showing that a theme in Dana’s book was most likely about the fairness of American laws, whether on land or on the ocean (for American ships).

Dana’s book seemed to be “Hollywoodized” in the movie “Two Years Before the Mast.” The main character was a stereotypical drop-dead gorgeous actor (by standards back then) who found every opportunity to take off his shirt. The movie never resolved the relationship status between Stewart and the lead actress, nor explained why the “struggle” to pass a bill for the protection of sailors only took two or three minutes to cover. We understand that the movie’s focus was on the cruel lives that sailors led, but this is the clincher for the theory that the story is “Hollywoodized”: the movie only concentrated on drama rather than on justifying a policy, on which Dana might have wanted the movie to focus. Picking up the quote from page 160, “…laws are made…,” Dana’s statement can apply to how the captain was law on the ship in the movie. His authority is comparative to the legislature derided by Dana in the book. The parallel between the captain’s dictatorship and Dana’s view the American legislature is “variable” is obvious.

When the crew finally decides to commit mutiny on the captain because of his brutality and misuse of power, this uprising shows Dana’s attempt to show how a revolution against authority is not necessarily “bad.” It is only in the third person, “their rebellion,” when a revolution is considered treason. Once again, perception is key, especially when it comes to who’s writing history. Getting back to the point, the movie changed perceptions, and showed the mutiny in the first person, thus getting the audience to cheer for the mutineers.