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# Section from "White Jacket" ## Overview This section is a segment of text extracted from the file `white_jacket.txt`, which is part of the larger collection "[Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW)". It is contained within [Chapter XLII. KILLING TIME IN A MAN-OF-WAR IN HARBOUR.](arke:01KG8AJS2XNNYG8VJ0DMZ113C3) and follows the section titled "The truth of this was curiously corroborated by a rather equivocal acquaintance of mine, who, among the men, went by the name of “_Shakings_.”" (arke:01KG8AKVR3MNFD15JGRMFDQ3H8). ## Context The text discusses the anecdote of a former convict named Shakings, who found comfort and familiarity in his prison experience at Sing Sing. Shakings' story is presented as a reflection on the human tendency to seek camaraderie, even in confinement. The narrator draws a parallel between Shakings' perspective and the social dynamics within a man-of-war, suggesting that such institutions, like prisons, foster a unique sense of community. The passage also touches upon the practicalities of shipboard life, specifically the process of replenishing water supplies in port, using the example of the ship "Neversink" in Rio. ## Contents This section recounts Shakings' narrative about his time in Sing Sing prison, where he felt secure and provided for, even expressing a preference for it over life outside. He describes his cell, the security measures, and the presence of a watchman. Shakings' anecdote is used to illustrate a broader point about the nature of institutions and the human desire for social connection. The text then shifts to describe the logistical task of filling the ship's water tanks, noting the large volume of water taken aboard and comparing the ship to a continent with its own internal sea.

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2026-01-30T20:49:50.647Z

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gemini-2.5-flash-lite

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Section from "White Jacket"

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6751

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2026-01-30T20:48:16.646Z

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structure-extraction-lambda

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01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY

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6709

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The substance of his story was as follows: Shakings, it seems, had once been a convict in the New York State’s Prison at Sing Sing, where he had been for years confined for a crime, which he gave me his solemn word of honour he was wholly innocent of. He told me that, after his term had expired, and he went out into the world again, he never could stumble upon any of his old Sing Sing associates without dropping into a public house and talking over old times. And when fortune would go hard with him, and he felt out of sorts, and incensed at matters and things in general, he told me that, at such time, he almost wished he was back again in Sing Sing, where he was relieved from all anxieties about what he should eat and drink, and was supported, like the President of the United States and Prince Albert, at the public charge. He used to have such a snug little cell, he said, all to himself, and never felt afraid of house-breakers, for the walls were uncommonly thick, and his door was securely bolted for him, and a watchman was all the time walking up and down in the passage, while he himself was fast asleep and dreaming. To this, in substance, the _holder_ added, that he narrated this anecdote because he thought it applicable to a man-of-war, which he scandalously asserted to be a sort of State Prison afloat. Concerning the curious disposition to fraternise and be sociable, which this Shakings mentioned as characteristic of the convicts liberated from his old homestead at Sing Sing, it may well be asked, whether it may not prove to be some feeling, somehow akin to the reminiscent impulses which influenced them, that shall hereafter fraternally reunite all us mortals, when we shall have exchanged this State’s Prison man-of-war world of ours for another and a better. From the foregoing account of the great difficulty we had in killing time while in port, it must not be inferred that on board of the Neversink in Rio there was literally no work to be done, at long intervals the _launch_ would come alongside with water-casks, to be emptied into iron tanks in the hold. In this way nearly fifty thousand gallons, as chronicled in the books of the master’s mate, were decanted into the ship’s bowels—a ninety day’s allowance. With this huge Lake Ontario in us, the mighty Neversink might be said to resemble the united continent of the Eastern Hemisphere—floating in a vast ocean herself, and having a Mediterranean floating in her.