Chapter 4 of The iron heel is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The iron heel is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was. I was confronted by the concrete. For the first time I was seeing life. My university life, and study and culture, had not been real. I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
Chapter 4 of The iron heel is here in full — 201 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary
From this reading “I was confronted by the concrete.”
past form of “confront” — oppose, as in hostility or a competition
From this reading “I was confronted by the concrete.”
a particular society at a particular time and place
From this reading “My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.”
possessive form of “jackson” — English film actress who later became a member of British Parliament (born in 1936)
past form of “print” — put into print
From this reading “I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.”
disturbed psychologically as if by a physical jolt or shock
From this reading “SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.”
plural of “theory” — a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena
From this reading “I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.”
the body of faculty and students at a university
From this reading “My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading I was confronted by the concrete.
capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary
From this reading I was confronted by the concrete.
past form of “confront” — oppose, as in hostility or a competition
From this reading I was confronted by the concrete.
a particular society at a particular time and place
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading For the first time I was seeing life.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For the first time I was seeing life.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
possessive form of “jackson” — English film actress who later became a member of British Parliament (born in 1936)
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading For the first time I was seeing life.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
past form of “print” — put into print
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading For the first time I was seeing life.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
disturbed psychologically as if by a physical jolt or shock
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
plural of “slave” — a person who is owned by someone
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
plural of “theory” — a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For the first time I was seeing life.
the body of faculty and students at a university
From this reading My university life, and study and culture, had not been real.
precisely as stated
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading SLAVES OF THE MACHINE The more I thought of Jackson’s arm, the more shaken I was.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading I had learned nothing but theories of life and society that looked all very well on the printed page, but now I had seen life itself.
Chapter 4 of The iron heel by Jack London holds 201 sentences, grouped into 41 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 4 holds 201 sentences of The iron heel, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The iron heel by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 201 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 4 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 The iron heel by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5889 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1164 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1164, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 490 minutes of reading across 1178 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The iron heel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The iron heel 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 The iron heel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
