White-Jacket

White-Jacket (1850) is an adventure novel by American writer Herman Melville. Based on the author¿s personal experience as a seaman in the United States Navy¿Melville spent fourteen months aboard the USS United States¿the novel was both commercially successful and influential for reforming US Naval policy. Following its publication, and aided by advocacy from journalists and politicians, flogging was banned as a punishment in the navy. The novel is seen as a precursor to Melville¿s masterpiece, Moby-Dick (1851), and is often compared to his posthumous novella Billy Budd (1924).

White-Jacket is the name given to the novel¿s protagonist, a young seaman who embarks on the USS Neversink hoping for brotherhood and adventure. As he grows accustomed to the duties and indignities of naval life, he becomes the target of ire for most of the crew and officers. His jacket, the only one of its kind on board, not only causes him to stand out, but is a sour