White-Jacket (1850)

Summary

London Sun, 28 January 1850.

Herman Melville is indefatigable. Hardly have we finished the perusal of one of his compositions before another is issued from the press. Unlike some writers, however, his activity in nowise impairs the interest of his “yarns” or the attraction of his style. From the imaginative to the practical is to the author of “Typee” but one step; he turns with facility from the description of the marvellous regions of Mardi, and the chronicle of the impossible adventures of the voyage thither, to detail with a minute fidelity the adventures of a sailor-boy (vide “Redburn”), or to exhibit the peculiarities of the world of a man-of-war (vide “White Jacket”). The Chapters contained in these volumes are the supposed revelations of a sailor in the American navy, yclept White Jacket, on account of his extraordinary outer-covering, of which we are told-

“It was not a very white jacket … alas!

it was foul weather with me.” [Ch. 1, paras. 1-9]

Without giving any continuous history, White Jacket skilfully contrives, by describing the characters of many of the officers and men on board the Neversink, and, by relating many incidents which occurred on board that vessel, to give (which is the avowed object of the work) an idea of the world of a man-of-war appertaining to Uncle Sam. [Summary]

Captain Claret, the lieutenants, two young lieutenants nick-named Selvagee and Mad Jack, the former a counterpart of “Sporus,” the latter a thorough sailor, who, in a moment of danger, did not hesitate to contradict the captain himself.