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Chapter 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Kidnapped, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Political Conflict and National Identity
Trust and Betrayal
Justice vs. Injustice
Coming of Age
Summary
Analysis
David wakes up early and reflects on his situation: he knows now that Ebenezer wants him dead, but feels he still has control over his uncle. David unlocks his uncle’s room and questions him directly about the lies and attempted murder. Ebenezer fumbles for excuses, claiming it was all in jest, but David sees through the act. Their tense exchange ends when a knock interrupts them. A ragged, half-frozen sailor boy, Ransome, delivers a letter from Captain Hoseason of the Covenant. After reading the letter, Ebenezer proposes that they visit the ship to handle business and stop by the office of a lawyer, Mr. Rankeillor, as well. David, still cautious, agrees to go, hoping the public setting will protect him.
David moves into this chapter with sharpened awareness. He no longer treats his uncle as a source of authority but as a dangerous opponent he must outmaneuver. By unlocking Ebenezer’s room and confronting him directly, he refuses to play the role of the obedient heir and instead acts like someone pressing charges. Ebenezer’s stammered excuse, that it was all a joke, only confirms his guilt and cowardice. But the arrival of Ransome breaks the tension and introduces a new layer of manipulation. David knows Ebenezer has something planned, but this time he plans to keep his eyes open.
Themes
As they walk, David questions Ransome, who brags about his life at sea and the brutality aboard the Covenant. He proudly shows off a wound he acquired from someone named Mr. Shuan and talks about “twenty-pounders”—people kidnapped or sold into slavery. Though Ransome tries to sound tough, David sees only a mistreated, deluded boy and feels deep pity for him. When they reach a hilltop, David spots the Covenant anchored offshore and recoils at the sight. He watches the sailors prepare the ship and hears their singing on the wind. David warns Ebenezer that he will not go aboard the ship. Ebenezer tells him that they will only need to go to Hawes Inn, which is nearby to where the Covenant is docked.
Ransome’s introduction exposes another kind of power structure, one built not on family but on fear and exploitation. The boy’s grotesque pride in his injuries, along with his talk of forced labor, unsettles David more than the sight of the Covenant itself. David sees a version of what he might become if he lets others dictate his fate—broken, loyal to cruelty, and robbed of self-respect. When David spots the ship and recoils instinctively, his reaction is to everything he has learned so far: the world outside Essendean rewards violence, and the sea—typically a symbol of freedom—now looks like a prison.
Themes
