White-jacket, or, The world in a man-of-war - Herman Melville

In 1843, after three years of voyaging in the South Seas, Melville signed up as an ordinary seaman on the man-of-war United States , and headed for home. What he observed on that trip formed the basis of White-Jacket , a success both as a story and as an expos 'e of certain naval practices of which the public was only dimly aware.;Melville's subtitle, `The World in a Man-of-War', points to its broad theme: the autocratic, male regime aboard the Neversink is perhaps no more than a microcosm of pre-Civil War America. But under his scandalized liberalism, his desire to expose and to reform a barbaric system which reflects badly on the Declaration of Independence, runs an unspoken connection. The treatment meted out to the white men on the man-of-war is the same as that experienced by black slaves in every state. With hindsight, Melville's novel is double-edged. This is the only paperback edition currently available.;This book is intended for general; students at undergraduate level following courses on American literature.;explanatory notes by: Dugdale, John;