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.
A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night. The nigger seemed not to hear. He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time. After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.” “Oh!” said Mr. Baker.
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 67/89 · 5 reading units · Lines 331–335
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.
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading ““Oh!” said Mr. Baker.”
being in a state of proper equilibrium
From this reading “He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.”
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.””
sing with closed lips
From this reading “A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.”
talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.”
kept from public knowledge by various means
From this reading “A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.”
to walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others
From this reading “He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
later than; following
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
someone who bakes commercially
From this reading “Oh!” said Mr. Baker.
being in a state of proper equilibrium
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading The nigger seemed not to hear.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
sing with closed lips
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
a particular point in time
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading “Oh!” said Mr. Baker.
talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The nigger seemed not to hear.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh!” said Mr. Baker.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The nigger seemed not to hear.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
kept from public knowledge by various means
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
to walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The nigger seemed not to hear.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading After a moment he said calmly:—“My name is Wait—James Wait.”
in or at the place that
From this reading He balanced himself where he stood in a swagger that marked time.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading A surprised hum—a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed mutter of the word “Nigger”—ran along the deck and escaped out into the night.
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.
