EM and SDs

Apart from earlier analized stylistical peculiarities of the given text I`d like to draw you attention to some other expressive means and stylistic devices which are not of less importance (I wonder if you`ve noticed the use of litotes here).

To make the image more vivid the similies 

...and the ugliest man aboard, instead o' being grateful, behaved more like a wild beast than a Christian;

For ten minutes he was as peaceful as a lamb;

Joseph... was staring at Bert Simmons as though he could eat him, -

are used.

To emphasize the idea, metaphors are implied in the following examples: 

It would ha' made a cat laugh;

Everybody was 'arf crazy at the idea o' going ashore agin.

The metaphor: 

Thank your stars you don't 'ave such dreams, - 

is implied to emphasize the burden of having dreams that come true.

The images became brighter thanks to the metonymy: 

Ted Jones started playing catch-ball with another chap and a empty beer-bottle, and about the fifth chuck Ted caught it with his face. 

(in this example the phrase "started playing catch-ball with another chap and a empty beer-bottle" can be also treated as zeugma)

and periphrasis: 

...cookie, being no fighter, 'ad to cook with one eye for the next two or three days, -

(here one may notice the diminutive of the word "cook", used for underlying his helplessness). 

The choice of such epithets as: a pure accident, a firm believer, a quiet talk, a choking noise, 'orrible black thing, the way he went on was alarming, - is employed by the narrator to convey more vivid description.

To underline the amount of people who surrounded Billthe senecdoche and the polysyndeton  are used:

The skipper and the fust officer and most of the hands set 'is leg between them.

Several graphical means of stylistics are implied in the text, esp. italics which is used to add more logical and emotive significance to the words in the following cases:

"But I did see it," ses the cook, drawin' 'imself up. "Wot?" ses Ted, starting.

"Thank goodness, you didn't 'ear the worst of it," he ses. "Worst!" ses Bill. "Wot, was there any more of it?"

...but, of course, he 'ad to say that if they wasn't married the other part couldn't come true.

To emphasize character`s irritation the epiphora is used: 

"That's my gal; that's my Emily".

The use of the parenthesis in such cases:

He said that as he 'ad never told 'is dreams before--except in the case of Bill's leg--he couldn't say for certain that they couldn't be prevented by taking care (represented speech);

Aunt Emma--pore Aunt Emma, I should say--died while you was away (direct speech), -

enlarges the thought.

Emphatic constructions give more prominence to the ideas in the following examples:

...on'y three days arterwards pore Bill did fall out o' the foretop and break his leg;

But I did see it;

It was an unlucky v'y'ge that, for some of 'em.

To add the informality and emotiveness to the character`s speech such colloquialisms are used: 

Nobody else knew it, but he told the cook all about it on the quiet (privately);

old Bill's leg was getting on fust-rate (excellent, fine);

He said it was all the cook's nonsense, though 'e owned up that it was funny that the cook should know about the wedding and Emily's name (confess, avow).

The use of idiom contribute to the figurativeness of language:

Little bits that you couldn't make head nor tail of.

To create the atmosphere of a dialog such expressive means are implied:

• Nominative sentences:

Pore things. 

Never.

Certan sure.

Stuff and nonsense.

• Elliptical sentences:

Horrible things to us, slushy?

Lot`s more.

• Exclamations:

Ow awful they look! 

Oh! oh! o-oh!

Worst!

Ah!

Look here!