Chapter 12 of Tar and feathers is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Tar and feathers is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be. I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.” “Jews. Catholics barred.” His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.
Chapter 12 of Tar and feathers is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
preventing entry or exit or a course of action
From this reading “I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.””
past form of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading ““I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.”
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading “His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.”
plural of “catholic” — a member of a Catholic church
From this reading “I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.””
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading “His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.”
plural of “jew” — a person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious ties
From this reading “I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.””
a secret society of white Southerners in the United States; was formed in the 19th century to resist the emancipation of slaves; used terrorist tactics to suppress Black people
From this reading ““I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.”
preventing entry or exit or a course of action
From this reading I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.”
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
for the reason that
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
past form of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.
plural of “catholic” — a member of a Catholic church
From this reading I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
opinion or judgment
From this reading His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
plural of “jew” — a person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious ties
From this reading I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.”
a secret society of white Southerners in the United States; was formed in the 19th century to resist the emancipation of slaves; used terrorist tactics to suppress Black people
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading His eyes blazed and he shook his fist.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I thought Jews and Catholics were barred.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “I thought because you belonged to the Ku Klux Klan you couldn’t be.
Chapter 12 of Tar and feathers by Victor Rubin holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 12 holds 410 sentences of Tar and feathers, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Tar and feathers by Victor Rubin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 12 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Tar and feathers by Victor Rubin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6678 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73731 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73731, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 556 minutes of reading across 1336 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tar and feathers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Tar and feathers to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Tar and feathers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
