Summary “White pea coat”
In one of the harbors of the Pacific Ocean, the sailor – the hero of the novel “Taipi” comes to the service on the American frigate “Neversink.” For the new sailor on the ship there were no jackets, so he was forced to make himself a new pea coat of white cloth. For a jacket of the original style, the sailor received the nickname “White Pea Jacket”. During the swim, the pea coat becomes the cause of many troubles, he gave his master out of sailors dressed in dark jackets.
The frigate was already on the way to America. The ship had already passed Cape Horn and furrowed the expanses of the Atlantic, but still such a journey had to take at least a year. The White Pea jacket had time to study life on the ship, the relationship between the five hundred crew members. There is nothing personal here, everything is done in everybody’s mind. The only place where the sailor could feel himself apart from the crew was the hanging cots, which
The white pea jacket was in the sailors of the seamen. The Mars sailors carried service to the very tops of the mast and were considered the most privileged part of the sailors’ brotherhood. The eldest of these sailors was Jack Chase – an interesting and unordinary personality, besides one of the few sailors who actually participated in sea battles. The sailors loved Chase, the officers respected him, and even the commander, speaking to Chase, spoke respectfully to him. The sergeant-major was well-disposed toward the White Pea jacket and helped him many times in difficult situations. The white pea jacket hears an absolutely incredible story about the sergeant-major. During the civil war of Peruvians, the sergeant-general deserted from the ship and spoke on the side he considered fair. He was accidentally found on a Peruvian military ship and returned to Neversink.
This case seemed even more surprising, because the “Neversink” reigned a tough drill, and all the sailors lived in fear of waiting for punishment. The ship of US naval forces swims
In addition, the officers simply were not worthy of respect, to the manifestation of which the sailors were obliged by the naval regulations. Many officers at the Neversink were amateurs for a good drink, did not know the sea business and were not adapted to long-distance voyages. But even the most cunning officer, including the young cadets sent here to run errands of the frigate’s command, could not offend an elderly and respectable sailor without a thought, and the naval statute categorically refused to answer anything for insults. Thanks to the same arrogance, the commander of the ship was able to keep the crew on the deck all night without sleep and all in order to compete in speed with English and French warships. The arrogance and poor preparation of a ship surgeon, ignoring the opinion of other doctors, could lead to the death of a sailor. Life on the ship also complicated many meaningless establishments. During the day it was forbidden to spread bunks, and the sailor who kept watch all night, simply could not get enough sleep anywhere. The infirmary was on the lower deck of the ship. The sick sailors were categorically forbidden to leave it, so they succumbed there from stuffiness and thirst. The White Pea Jacket believes that the brutality and contempt of officers for sailors can only persuade the team during the war to the side of the enemy. The war can bring money to the officer, new ranks and rewards, and she does not bring even a raise to the sailor, but is threatened with mortal danger. And since many sailors do not even have US citizenship, only a sense of respect for command, not overwhelmed by obvious contempt and humiliation, can force them to fight them against the enemy.
The White Pea Jacket firmly promises himself that he will never let himself be flogged. He tries to perform service on the ship as best as possible. But the pea jacket after the sailing alarm takes up the wrong place due to the fact that the commander did not point him to the sailor on time. Despite the excuses, the commander orders to punish the White Jacket cats. He already wants to rush into the commander and fall overboard with him, preferring death to loss of dignity, but Jack Chase and a Marine officer intervene for the sailor, and for the first time the captain cancels the punishment!
Sailors look forward to return, grow “fashionable” beards, mustaches and curls. An attempt by the command to force the sailors to shave everything and cut it off almost leads to a real riot on the ship. However, one of the best sailors – Shalom Jack manages to convince sailors to obey the Naval Charter and bring themselves into the necessary order. Only the elderly sailor Ashant does not obey the order. Then the captain ordered to give the disobedient sailor of the weaves and imprison him in the punishment cell for the entire time until the end of the voyage. But the spirit of the old man is enduring. When the voyage was over and the roar of the anchor chain rang out, Ashanti jumped out onto the deck and shouted: “I have kept my beard at home!”.
Already close to the shore, the white jacket again almost killed the owner. The white pea jacket was tangled in the jacket’s layers and fell into the water, the jacket nearly carried the sailman to the bottom, but he managed to cut it with a knife. From the side, a white stain from the jacket was taken by the shark and thrown into this direction several serrated harpoons. Sharp harpoons punctured the pea coat and quickly dragged his master into the depths.
The White Pea jacket will no longer return to the fleet. Just as many other sailors are going to do, their feet will no longer be on the deck of the frigate. But after a while, the money spent on drinking in port taverns will run out. Once again, they will be in the barracks on the water, exposing themselves to humiliation and a plaitmaster drill.
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