Chapter 1 of White Jacket is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of White Jacket is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOMEWARD BOUND. “All hands up anchor! Man the capstan!” “High die! my lads, we’re homeward bound!” Homeward bound!—harmonious sound!
Chapter 1 of White Jacket is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
a mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving
From this reading ““All hands up anchor!”
confined by bonds
From this reading “HOMEWARD BOUND.”
a windlass rotated in a horizontal plane around a vertical axis; used on ships for weighing anchor or raising heavy sails
From this reading “Man the capstan!””
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading ““High die! my lads, we’re homeward bound!””
musically pleasing
From this reading “Homeward bound!—harmonious sound!”
toward home
From this reading “HOMEWARD BOUND.”
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading ““High die! my lads, we’re homeward bound!””
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading “Homeward bound!—harmonious sound!”
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 “All hands up anchor!
a mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving
From this reading “All hands up anchor!
confined by bonds
From this reading HOMEWARD BOUND.
a windlass rotated in a horizontal plane around a vertical axis; used on ships for weighing anchor or raising heavy sails
From this reading Man the capstan!”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “High die! my lads, we’re homeward bound!”
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading “All hands up anchor!
musically pleasing
From this reading Homeward bound!—harmonious sound!
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading “High die! my lads, we’re homeward bound!”
toward home
From this reading HOMEWARD BOUND.
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading “High die! my lads, we’re homeward bound!”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Man the capstan!”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “High die! my lads, we’re homeward bound!”
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Homeward bound!—harmonious sound!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Man the capstan!”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “All hands up anchor!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “High die! my lads, we’re homeward bound!”
Chapter 1 of White Jacket by Herman Melville holds 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 87 sentences of White Jacket, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of White Jacket by Herman Melville exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 White Jacket by Herman Melville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5391 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10712 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10712, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 449 minutes of reading across 1079 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through White Jacket section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of White Jacket 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 White Jacket, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
