White Jacket
White Jacket by Herman Melville is available here as the complete text, split into 1071 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
White Jacket by Herman Melville. Complete source text from Project Gutenberg eBook #10712.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
White Jacket
Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.
0 of 1056 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.
- Chapter I
- Chapter II Jack Chase
- Chapter III Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper
- Chapter IV Of the Pockets That Were in the Jacket
- Chapter V The Pursuit of Poetry Under Difficulties
- Chapter VI A Draught in a Man-of-War
- Chapter VII General Training in a Man-of-War
- Chapter VIII A Man-of-War Full as a Nut
- Chapter IX How They Sleep in a Man-of-War
- Chapter X Theatricals in a Man-of-War
- Chapter XI The Dog-Days Off Cape Horn
- Chapter XII Some Thoughts Growing Out of Mad Jack’s Countermanding His Superior’s Order
- Chapter XIII A Peep Through a Port-Hole at the Subterranean Parts of a Man-of-War
- Chapter XIV A Dish of Dunderfunk
- Chapter XV Some of the Evil Effects of Flogging
- Chapter XVI Flogging Not Necessary
- Chapter XVII The Frigate in Harbour.—the Boats.—grand State Reception of the Commodore
- Chapter XVIII A Man-of-War Library
- Chapter XIX Smuggling in a Man-of-War
- Chapter XX
- Chapter XXI Purser, Purser’s Steward, and Postmaster in a Man-of-War
- Chapter XXII The Bay of All Beauties
- Chapter XXIII
- Chapter XXIV Midshipmen Entering the Navy Early
- Chapter XXV The Emperor Reviews the People at Quarters
- Chapter XXVI A Man-of-War Button Divides Two Brothers
- Chapter XXVII A Consultation of Man-of-War Surgeons
- Chapter XXVIII Man-of-War Trophies
- Chapter XXIX Fun in a Man-of-War
- Chapter XXX Prayers at the Guns
- Chapter XXXI The Genealogy of the Articles of War
- Chapter XXXII Night and Day Gambling in a Man-of-War
- Chapter XXXIII The Chains
- Chapter XXXIV Dismal Times in the Mess
- Chapter XXXV The Last Stitch
- Chapter XXXVI What Remains of a Man-of-War’s-Man After His Burial at Sea
- Chapter XXXVII The Great Massacre of the Beards
- Chapter XXXVIII Old Ushant at the Gangway
- Chapter XXXIX The Social State in a Man-of-War
- Chapter XL The Last of the Jacket
This edition of White Jacket by Herman Melville carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #10712, divided into 40 chapters and 1071 reading sections of 5 sentences each. Every sentence of the source is kept, and each chapter records which sentences cover which part of the story. Any word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Where can I read White Jacket in full?
The complete text of White Jacket is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #10712 and divided into 1071 sections.
This page carries the whole of White Jacket by Herman Melville, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #10712, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 5354 sentences across 40 chapters. Each chapter stores a record of which sentences cover which part of the work, so nothing is quietly dropped between the source edition and the page you read.
How is White Jacket divided for reading?
White Jacket is presented in 40 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting White Jacket as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 1071 sections of 5 sentences each. A section is short enough to hold in mind at once, which suits a reader working in a second language or returning to a long work in short sittings. The sections are gathered into 40 chapters.
Can I hear White Jacket read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of White Jacket can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of White Jacket can be played aloud, and so can any single word within it. Tapping a word plays it on its own and opens its dictionary entry, with the pronunciation shown in IPA alongside the part of speech and meaning. The reading voice uses United States English. This matters most for a work of this period, where a reader meets vocabulary and turns of phrase that are no longer in daily use and cannot be guessed reliably from spelling alone.
Questions about reading White Jacket
Common questions about reading White Jacket by Herman Melville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of White Jacket?
Yes. All 5354 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10712 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of White Jacket is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #10712, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does White Jacket take to read?
About 446 minutes of reading across 1071 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read White Jacket section by section
How to work through White Jacket section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 40 chapters of White Jacket to begin.
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Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Listen and tap
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Vocabulary met early in White Jacket
Words and structures a reader meets early in White Jacket, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Homeward
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of White Jacket; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Bound
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of White Jacket; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Hands
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of White Jacket; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Anchor
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of White Jacket; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.