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.
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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.
What do you mean, coming shouting here?” The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb. The men had approached and stood behind him in a body. He overtopped the tallest by half a head. He said: “I belong to the ship.”
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 69/89 · 5 reading units · Lines 341–345
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.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading “The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.”
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “He said: “I belong to the ship.””
make calm or still
From this reading “The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.”
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading “The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.”
encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators
From this reading “What do you mean, coming shouting here?””
of surpassing excellence
From this reading “The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.”
superlative of “tall” — great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading “He overtopped the tallest by half a head.”
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
From this reading “The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.”
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 The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
past form of “approach” — move towards
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading He said: “I belong to the ship.”
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He overtopped the tallest by half a head.
make calm or still
From this reading The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading What do you mean, coming shouting here?”
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What do you mean, coming shouting here?”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading He overtopped the tallest by half a head.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He overtopped the tallest by half a 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 He overtopped the tallest by half a head.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading What do you mean, coming shouting here?”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He said: “I belong to the ship.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading What do you mean, coming shouting here?”
the force of workers available
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He overtopped the tallest by half a head.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He said: “I belong to the ship.”
transport commercially
From this reading He said: “I belong to the ship.”
encouragement in the form of cheers from spectators
From this reading What do you mean, coming shouting here?”
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The men had approached and stood behind him in a body.
of surpassing excellence
From this reading The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.
superlative of “tall” — great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading He overtopped the tallest by half a head.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He said: “I belong to the ship.”
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
From this reading The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What do you mean, coming shouting here?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What do you mean, coming shouting here?”
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.
