- description
- # CHAPTER LXXVIII. DISMAL TIMES IN THE MESS.
## Overview
This entity is a chapter from the novel "White-Jacket." It is identified as "CHAPTER LXXVIII. DISMAL TIMES IN THE MESS." and covers lines 12734 to 12828 of the source file.
## Context
This chapter is part of the novel [White-Jacket](arke:01KG8AJ89Z18FKVJV5H0488ZAZ), which was extracted from the file [white_jacket.txt](arke:01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY). The novel itself is a component of the larger [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. This chapter follows [CHAPTER LXXVII. THE HOSPITAL IN A MAN-OF-WAR.](arke:01KG8AJVA0EMS3G19D4W00145P) and precedes [CHAPTER LXXIX. HOW MAN-OF-WAR’S-MEN DIE AT SEA.](arke:01KG8AJVA5ZZ974GX4DXFCSWXZ).
## Contents
The chapter details a period of misfortune within the narrator's mess. It begins with the news of a mess-mate named Shenly falling ill, which is attributed by a superstitious mess-mate, Priming, to the narrator's presence making the mess an unlucky "odd number." This incident, along with previous misfortunes involving another mess-mate, Baldy, and a buried sailor, creates a somber atmosphere. The chapter includes dialogue reflecting the crew's superstitions and tensions, particularly between Priming and the narrator, and the intervention of Jack Chase. The narrator expresses frustration with his "jacket" for seemingly bringing bad luck. The chapter is divided into two chunks: [Chunk 1](arke:01KG8AME7AW8316BXVT4T70KKB) and [Chunk 2](arke:01KG8AME7AD0NZW76AMJF3G9KT).
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:49:59.265Z
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- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- CHAPTER LXXVIII. DISMAL TIMES IN THE MESS.
- end_line
- 12828
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:39.667Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 12734
- text
- null
- title
- CHAPTER LXXVIII. DISMAL TIMES IN THE MESS.