White jacket :
or, The world in a man-of-war /
by Herman Melville.
Description
- Language(s)
-
English
- Published
-
New York : Russell & Russell, 1963.
- Summary
-
Based on Melville's experiences as a common seaman aboard the frigate USS United States from 1843 to 1844 and stories that other sailors told him, the novel is severely critical of virtually every aspect of American naval life. The novel takes its title from the outer garment that the eponymous main character fashions for himself on board ship, with materials at hand, being in need of a coat sufficient for the rounding of Cape Horn. Due to a ship-wide rationing of tar, however, White-Jacket is forever denied his wish to tar the exterior of his coat and thus waterproof it. This causes him to have two near-death experiences, once when he is reclining among the canvases in the main-top and, his jacket blending in with the surrounding material, he is nearly unfurled along with the main sail; and once when, having been pitched overboard while reeving the halyards, he has to cut himself free from the coat in order not to drown. He having done so, his shipmates mistake the discarded jacket for a great white shark and harpoon it, sending it to a watery grave. This book is credited with helping influence Congress to abolishing flogging in the U.S. Navy.
- Note
-
Reprint of the 1922 ed. published by Constable, London.
- Physical Description
-
xi, 504 p. ;
23 cm.
Viewability
| Item Link |
Original Source |
|
Full view
|
Harvard University
|