Chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome. And I can look after my rights! I will show ’em!” All the heads turned towards him. Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.
Chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 35/89 · 5 reading units · Lines 171–175
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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.”
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.”
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “All the heads turned towards him.”
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading “Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.”
a judge of a probate court
From this reading “Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.”
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading “And I can look after my rights!”
a man who serves as a sailor
From this reading “Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.”
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “I will show ’em!””
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.
later than; following
From this reading And I can look after my rights!
(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 All the heads turned towards him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And I can look after my rights!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
impotence resulting from a man's inability to have or maintain an erection of his penis
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
a quad with a square body
From this reading I will show ’em!”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading All the heads turned towards him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading All the heads turned towards him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading And I can look after my rights!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
not any; not one
From this reading Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.
an announcement containing information about an event
From this reading Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
and nothing more
From this reading Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
a judge of a probate court
From this reading Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading And I can look after my rights!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bad or good, I can do it on my ’ed—s’long as I get ’ome.
a man who serves as a sailor
From this reading Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading I will show ’em!”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading All the heads turned towards him.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice.
in the direction of
From this reading All the heads turned towards him.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading All the heads turned towards him.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I will show ’em!”
Chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" by Joseph Conrad holds 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 1 holds 449 sentences of The nigger of the "Narcissus", unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The nigger of the "Narcissus" by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 1 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 nigger of the "Narcissus" by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3518 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17731 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17731, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 293 minutes of reading across 704 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The nigger of the "Narcissus" section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The nigger of the "Narcissus" 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 nigger of the "Narcissus", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
