What does the term "court-martial" mean?
Why was Nolan being court-martialed?
What "Fatal Wish" did the young Phillip Nolan make at his trial?
What sentence was handed down and carried out by the military court?
During his first sea voyage, Nolan at one point was reading aloud from a long poem by Sir Walter Scott. Why do you think he choked on his words and threw the book into the sea? What does this reveal about his "sentence"?
On his second voyage, he encountered a lady he had known in Philadelphia. What did he do that made her cut short their conversation and walk off?