Chapter 12 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mary was shocked. "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right? Is it fair? Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head? You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
Chapter 12 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
From this reading “You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."”
plural of “idea” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?”
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading “Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?”
a female domestic
From this reading “You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."”
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading “You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."”
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading “"But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?”
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “Mary was shocked.”
make a mess of, destroy or ruin
From this reading “Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?”
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 You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Is it fair?
a young female
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her 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 Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
plural of “idea” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?
a female domestic
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
engage in
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading Mary was shocked.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?
to a great degree or extent
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading You can make her a perfect maid, but she can never be much more in America."
past form of “protest” — utter words of protest
From this reading "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
precisely, exactly
From this reading "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading Mary was shocked.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
make a mess of, destroy or ruin
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But, Mrs. Vanderpool," she protested, "is it right?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mary was shocked.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Why should you spoil this black girl and put impossible ideas into her head?
Chapter 12 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 405 sentences of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8019 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15265 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15265, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1604 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel 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 Quest of the Silver Fleece: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
