Charlotte Doyle Theme Of Trust

In the story The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi, the theme of the novel is to trust in yourself, then you will be able to trust in others. George Macdonald once said, “To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.” MacDonald suggests that trust is a far rarer thing and is difficult to attain. Trusting in oneself, therefore, is even more difficult because people are generally filled with self-doubt. This self-doubt can lead to mistrusting oneself during crucial moments.
As Charlotte sets sails on The Seahawk she doesn’t know who to trust. The crew makes her feel unsafe. When she meets Captain Jaggery, he describes them in a harsh way, “They are godless men, I fear. Most sailors are.” (page 47) Jaggery describes them as men who don't have a belief and are rough. This scares Charlotte and now she definitely doesn’t want to trust the crew. She sees the captain as a friend and the crew as a foe because of how the captain has described them. Captain Jaggery explains to Charlotte that even though he would like to treat them with kindness but, he tells her, “Alas, I would gain no respect. They don’t understand kindness. Instead the demand a strong hand, a touch of the whip, like dumb beasts

She had to trust Zachariah and the crew members to save her life although she trusted Keetch and he betrayed her “You knew I was coming,” I whispered, finding it impossible to raise my voice. “Of course.” “How?” There was a slight smile on his lips and he said, “Mr. Keetch.” “Keetch?” I echoed lamely. “Exactly. Who from the start kept me well informed about the crew; how they threatened passengers so they would not sail. He informed me about Cranick. About Zachariah…”( page 197) Charlotte is betrayed by Keetch because he has been playing along with the rebellion and he was really just telling the Captain all that has been going on while on the