WHITE-JACKET – A Man at War – A Filmscript - 7. White-Jacket Appendices

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White-Jacket Appendices

 

Many of the noms de mer listed below are never used to the person’s face, but are nevertheless how the crew knows them. In terms of officer clothing, there are ample sources online showing U.S. Navy and Marines uniforms from the 1840s, so I will rarely go into detail concerning them in the Costume Notes. The times were whiskery ones in the Navy, so I provide excerpts from Melville’s chapter concerning onboard hair and beard styles. The updateable nature of the internet means some material documented here may have been moved or deleted. If so, copy the name of the content & content-creator and search online. Alternates will most likely be easy to find.

White-Jacket Script Notes

 

1) Settings: April to September 1845 (on ship)

September 1845 to April 1846 (at home).

 

2) Character and Costume Notes:

 

On the USS Neversink

 

REDBURN: (aka White-Jacket, crewman number four-seventy-eight) From the Hudson River Valley; 25-26 years old. Redburn lands on a Naval vessel as an inexperienced and deeply troubled soul. Bridewell immediately picks up on this, but only warns the young man that no one cares. Tellingly, he hints that even if Redburn IS an extraordinary person (in intellect, in education, in his reading), he is still a dime a dozen on this “Sing Sing afloat.” And soon the young man finds out the First Lieutenant is right. Although, emotionally, Redburn is tantamount to the walking-dead, he is soon confronted with a host of fellows who have talent both as seamen and as expressive individuals. Jack Chase quotes 16th century poets Shakespeare and Camoes at will; Nord is an extremely fine watercolorist; Lemsford is poet laureate of the ship; while Rosewater is taken to reciting large sections of the verse of the then-living poet Thomas Moore. Perhaps Redburn’s natural tendency to wallow in the pity of his losses, feeling he goes home a disgrace, is knocked down by these extraordinary men. His arc as a character is to decide if he will become the permanent man of his sorrows, or slough them off by slow degrees to return to his old self. Wulu reinforces the notion that white in Polynesian cosmology is the symbol of purity and sacrifice. The young man’s jacket, he says, is not white by accident. This sets Redburn on his journey back to himself.

 

CLOTHES: Redburn’s clothes are scant hand-me-downs. He lost practically everything with the death of his husband at sea, and the sinking of the Pequod. The clothes he has are wrinkled and worn items he could beg or borrow from seamen on his rescue ship, or those he could get for a few pennies on the Neversink. It seems at the time, the U.S. Navy was not issuing clothes to sailors, nor mandating that they buy them from the Purser. Thus, American ships must have been colorful affairs to see. Redburn makes his own coat, the namesake white jacket, out of heavy cotton duck. It is described as being mid-thigh in length, outfitted with a draw at the waist, and supplied with ample pockets – a perfect version of the shooting jacket he first went to sea with the first time. Its ‘white’ grows dinger and dinger the closer to New York they get.

 

SUNSHINE, MAYDAY and ROSEWATER: (aka Cook’s Mates) Three young Black men from differing backgrounds. They are all in their early 20s, reliable to the ship’s cook, and generally enjoy their job. What they do not like is the use of them ‘for the Captain’s pleasure.’ They are compelled to physical contests of a demeaning nature while the ship’s officers make bets on a victor. Mayday and Rosewater capture the Captain’s attention the most for their contrast. Mayday is naturally tough, tall and has a well-built physique; he also has fairly dark skin and is from New York, thus speaks like a Bowery boy. Rosewater, on the other hand, is reserved of nature, average in height and build, and rather slender; he has light skin and was raised as a freed young man in Virginia. Sunshine is good-humored, and from the Dominican Republic. As is often the case in the dynamics of ‘threes,’ he shuffles between being on Mayday’s side, and that of Rosewater. He loves to sing and has a strong voice that intrinsically makes people want to join in with him. They work together flawlessly as a team, and no matter how rough they get with one another, regard each other as closer than brothers.

 

CLOTHES: As cooks first and sailors second, they basically have a uniform: an indigo-colored chef’s jacket and floppy dark-blue beret. They wear aprons when cooking. The cook wears the same, with the exception of a large and floppy white chef’s toque.

 

SCRIMMAGE: From Brooklyn, New York; 48 years old. In charge of Mess No. 15, he’s a scoundrel out for himself. Thoroughly reprehensible, opportunistically preying on life aboard this floating Petri dish of human malcontent, he makes a perfect partner for the Master-at-Arms’ criminal moneymaking racket. Scrimmage views every petty interpersonal disagreement as a matter of turf to be fought for viciously. He takes an instant dislike to Redburn, perceiving in the young man both a lit fuse and a penchant for truth and honesty. Neither of these traits he wants gathered around his mess cloth to possibly influence the other men. In terms of his physical appearance, he has graying ‘prison head,’ meaning the sweaty, closely cropped hair of penal institutions worldwide.

 

CLOTHES: Like his bully protector, Scrimmage lets his dress go; he usually looks sloppy in dirty and worn work clothes. While in port, he pulls out his better uniform to wear.

 

SHAKINGS: From the Bronx, New York; 27 years old. He’s the subject of Pert’s bad-boys infatuation and falls victim to the cruel teen’s sadism. Confident and a very decent man, he is hampered in some quarters by his status as an ex-con. However, this reputation serves him in others, like keeping small-time thugs away from his possessions. This same reputation turns out to be bad for him when the middie takes a mind to seduce the sexy, prime-of-life sailor. In actual truth, Shaking’s personality is open and outgoing. He’s the type who found life behind bars unbearably lonely, and is now gregarious in telling others how time “inside” makes a man forgive others’ faults readily. It’s Redburn’s interactions with him that stirs the author to relate his own fellow-feelings to Shakings’ statement that the Neversink is like a prison afloat. In terms of appearance, as he’s a man of the Hold, his complexion is fair and strikingly unlike the bronzed skin of most of the ordinary seamen. He has sandy, somewhat shaggy hair and blue eyes. An adept at bandanna code, he knows the color he chooses to display on any particular day – and whether it’s arranged around his neck, on his arm or in a pocket – signals to others what type of sexual play he’s in the mood for.

 

CLOTHES: His appearance and clothes are always immaculate, which naturally highlights his inherent sexual appeal. Bandanas in a variety of colors are a must. ^[16]

 

 

LANDLESS: From Leeds, England; 32 years old. In many ways, he represents a ‘typical case’ of what can happen to a man drawn into, and locked in place by, a naval career. He’s served on the Neversink for 10 years, and by it is now comprehensively demoralized. Turned into a functioning alcoholic, he shows an exterior demeanor of lighthearted cheerfulness despite being frequently beaten at the mast. Although his back is “cross-barred and plaided” with the scars of these innumerable acts of so-called discipline, when able to obtain the sufficient quantity of daily medicine, he strikes an affable chord with the ship’s company and sings Dibdin songs (The English Sailor; All Weathers, all Times, Tides and Ends; The King, God Bless Him). The Neversink officers can’t help but wish every man was like him, despite knowing – as Melville puts it – that the traits they admire in Landless go to make a seaman “without shame, without a soul, [and] so dead to the least dignity of manhood that he could hardly be called a man.” In terms of appearance, he has that overly slender body type frequently seen in people with an alcohol problem; his face is gaunt, conflicting with the applied smile usually seen there. His hair is a nondescript color, longish and disheveled.

 

CLOTHES: Not having another soul in the world to impress, his clothes are serviceable but shoddy, and he wears the same work clothes whether in port or at sea.

 

WULU: (aka Commodore’s Valet) Polynesia-born man; 27 years old. He is fascinated by the way ‘things work in the Navy,’ but soon dreams of returning home to settle down. He pities the Commodore, but enjoys being that functionary main support on the Neversink, because it affords him opportunity to be anywhere on ship the Commodore’s business may take him. He is instantly drawn to Redburn, and sees a man unlike the other Americans; one changed and charged by a Polynesian world-view. He feels safe with Redburn and tells him his opinion on the spiritual ties that seem to have tethered themselves to the young man and his sorrows. He hates bigotry because it is arbitrary and feels closer to the men of color onboard ship due to the common prejudice shared against them.

 

CLOTHES: As is common for stewards, he wears hand-me-down suits from the man he serves. These are old-fashioned swallowtail coats in various colors, which he wears with long white trousers. He has porpoise teeth earrings and wears a choker of worked cowry shells at his Adam’s apple. His forehead has a delicate line of figural tattoos.

 

COMMODORE: Boston-born senior officer; 63 years old. He is a veteran officer of the War of 1812, and has a musket ball lodged in his left shoulder to prove it. His appointed task as leader of a mission is severely negated by being on the homeward bound leg. He cannot ‘relax,’ but must maintain dignity, although it only serves to isolate him from all the others. When he grows tired of his cabin fever, and his conversations with Wulu, he heads on deck. His appearance however has a way of forcing the other offices on duty to drift away. He is mostly alone with his station and his gold trim and epaulettes, and thoughts of his soon-to-be Washington fetes and accolades for a job well done. After that, retirement. This is the man’s last voyage at sea.

 

CLOTHES: The best access to his uniform is to google “Commodore Matthew Perry.” Although most photos celebrate his 1852 mission to open Japan to American trade, you can get a complete sense of the dignity and gold-lace-wearing aloofness American commodores copped at the time.

 

CAPTAIN CLARET: (aka James) Baltimore-born senior officer; 55 years old. The Captain is “a large, portly man – a Henry the Eight afloat; bluff and hearty – and as kingly in his cabin as Harry on his throne.” He has salt-and-pepper hair, which is growing thin on top, and an overbearing way about his personality that he thinks effectively masks his dependence on hard liquor. In this regard, his love for Bland is mixed in an unhealthy codependency, but nonetheless, he loves the man who loves in him in return, and who supplies his ‘daily medicine.’ The reliance on alcohol to steady his nerves leaves him in a needless state of barely-suppressed paranoia. He feels the officers, the Commodore, and the crew, could be secretly laughing behind his back, so he over-compensates with tough-as-nails orders and preemptive punishment for ‘the people.’ He grows to rely on Bridewell’s compliance with his orders, no matter how unfair, and then is shaken to his core by Pert, a teenage version of himself who willfully exercises his nascent power in imitation of the Captain. This shock ultimately knocks some sense into him, which we witness as a reunion with Bland at the end of the film.

 

CLOTHES: The best visual to access the look of his uniform and dementor as an office is “Captain George Washington Storer.” ^[17]

 

Lieutenants on the USS Neversink

 

BRIDEWELL: (aka the First Lieutenant) New York-born senior officer; 37 years old. He is tired of waiting, and after the end of this rather pointless mission, he hopes to receive his own ship as her captain. He must keep his nose down, and placate the whims of the Captain and Commodore. Thus, he betrays Redburn and sets him up for a flogging because the Captain was itching to have a man whipped. This single blemish tarnishes an otherwise sympathetic reading for the character. He has his suspicions that the Captain is a functioning alcoholic, but keeps them under wraps. Like all the officers, he is polite and to the point, and came up in rank from a teenage middie like the kind now on board.

 

CLOTHES: He wears the latest Navy-issued uniform, but after three years at sea, these looks worn and faded.

 

MAD JACK: (aka the Second Lieutenant) Kentucky-born officer; 36 years old. Melville lavishes more statistics on him than on anyone else. He is lean, taut and broad-shouldered. As far he lets crewmembers see, he is hardscrabble, short-tempered and loud. He takes no guff, but dishes none either. He is also a functioning alcoholic but keeps his imbibing mostly below decks. The only sign that he might have a problem with drink is the somewhat deplorable state of his clothes in comparison to the other officers on board. The men begrudgingly adore him, and would rather stand a thousand watches with him and feel safe than a dozen with men less capable of making life and death decisions in crisis. I picture him with fair skin, that due to his alcohol use, is splotchy in exposure to sunlight. He has dark and curly hair that lays flat on his head and forehead. It is pressed that way from the hat he almost always wears. About him, Melville makes the remarkable statement that Jack is the type of man who “keeps his effeminacy ashore.”

 

CLOTHES: He wears the latest Navy-issued uniform, in roughshod fashion. And after three years at sea, these looks worn and faded. He has a broad-brimmed panama hat for daytime duty on deck.

 

OTHER LIEUTENANTS: Non-speaking roles, but the ship will have four others besides Bridewell and Mad Jack. The Third Lieutenant is described as “a good-natured Virginian.” The fourth is a dandy who thinks his uniform makes him as vital as the Commodore. The Marines Lieutenant is called “dried up,” cross and irritable.

 

Six Junior Officers or Midshipmen (aka middies; reefers) on the USS Neversink

 

PERT: (aka Mr. Pert) From an aristocratic Maryland family of high-ranking naval officers; 17 years old. Full of himself, and corrupted by the undisciplined life of entitlement, Pert annoys all. The crew is not alone in thinking the childish young man needs a severe lesson from the cat-o-nine-tails, for the officers look at him with a head-shaking contempt that our republic is nonetheless infected with inbred ‘royalty’ to beat the stagnant English genetic backwaters. They dread the system that will make a commissioned officer of Pert in the near future. Already at sea for three years now – meaning all the middies originally shipped on the Neversink at ages 14 or 15 – such an outcome is inevitable. His personality makes him want the other midshipmen to consider him their ‘leader,’ which most of them are happy enough to let the boy have. Montgomery has played along with this conceit too, but now sees a danger in flattering Pert’s sense of self-worth. As for how Pert sees Montgomery, he doesn’t get him; does not understand when Monty treats the ship’s men like human beings. In appearance, Pert’s hair is dark, glossy and worn in the Regency style of a comb-forward. He is trying to grow a mustache, so has peachy fuzz over his top lip.

 

CLOTHES: All the midshipmen must maintain ship-shape uniforms and personal grooming habits. As for the clothes, they have full-grown men assigned to them to do their mending and laundry.

 

MONTGOMERY: (aka Monty, Mr. Montgomery) From a humble farming town in Pennsylvania; 18 years old. A quick learner, he is now an experienced sailor as well as an accomplished officer-in-waiting. The ship’s men admire that immensely, gladdened that he’s a nice person to boot. In contrast to Pert’s appearance, Monty is fair-skinned with ashen hair, which he wears longs and tied into a neat ponytail.

 

Messrs. ‘BOAT PLUG,’ DASH, SLIM and BROWN: All in the age range of 17 to 18 years old. Young Master Dash is described as a Virginian. Boat Plug is described as “a small youth beloved by the men,” and therefore will have extra items of apparel made and decorated with embroidery by his would-be suitors.

 

Police Force on the USS Neversink

 

MASTER-AT-ARMS: (aka Jonathan Bland) 45-year-old Bowery Boy from New York City. Within this floating jailhouse, there have to be those who game the system’s systemic cruelty / inequity for personal gain. Bland is such a one because cops are more susceptible to this crime than others, as great personal power is placed in their hands to use as they see fit. A lifelong sailor, Bland sees little hope for retirement on his official salary, so seeks means to profit on the sly. Does he care that he beats and humiliates his clients for their alcohol abuse? The alcohol that he provides and enriches himself off of? That is something an actor of the role will have to decide for himself. His personal appearance should reflect the advantage he takes with the Captain for his lack of self-discipline: greasy hair; untidy clothes; two or three days’ worth of stubble. The only thing he is fastidious about is polishing his oversized brass badge of office.

 

POLICE CORPORALS: In their mid-30s, Legs and Pounce are black-toothed, oily-skinned enablers of Bland’s shipboard reign of terror. But as the Master-at-Arms trusts them as far as he can throw them, they were kept out of the smuggling ring entirely. Therefore, Legs can take over as Master-at-Arms while Bland is in disgrace with the Captain. He is described as a former “turnkey from The Tombs,” meaning he was once a guard at the county jail serving Manhattan, and presumably Legs is tall and slender. Pounce is mentioned as having been a constable in the city of Liverpool. I imagine he’s the mirror opposite of Legs and is short and squat. Bland insists – in total contrast to himself – that his corporals always appear neat and together, so as to project the façade of professional law and order.

      

Redburn’s mates on the USS Neversink

 

JACK CHASE: From Cardiff, Wales; 43 years old. He is a “frank and charming” man, made all the more so for his voracious reading habits and on-the-spot ability to quote Homer, Byron or Camões. With his free and easy politeness he is regarded as unpretentious, and sometimes as something of an oracle on all things seamanship. Many also come to him with their personal quandaries. A friend to all, the senior officers stand in awe of his good graces, and in a bit of fear at his power to influence the crew, while even his enemies hate themselves for hating Jack. If he has one flaw, it’s a vociferous abhorrence for whaling and walers, which makes Redburn keep that part of himself a secret from the urbane Welshman; otherwise, Redburn’s adulation for the man shows itself readily in approbations such as “my matchless Jack Chase”; “my noble Jack Chase”; “my peerless Jack Chase”. No doubt owing to the honored position he holds among the Neversink’s men, he’s partnered with arguably the most handsome and talented singer among the ordinary crew – one Patrick Flannigan. In terms of appearance, Jack’s well matched to his partner’s beauty, being described as “tall and well-knit,” presumably meaning he possesses an athletic build. He has clear blue eyes, a noble, broad brow and “nut brown” hair, which on top of his head is wavy; and which on his face forms a well-trimmed but “abounding” beard.

      

CLOTHES: As Captain of the Top, and leader of Mess No. 1, he is proud of his “band” of fellows and commanding on their appearance. Not only must they be neat and clean at all times, they must sport the “42-Pounder Club” look – hats kept at a particular angle; scarves around necks tied into bows; and absolutely no jeans – or “those vulgar dungarees” – at any time!

 

PATRICK: (aka Patrick Flannigan) From County Cork, Ireland; 18 years old. The ship’s reigning “handsome lad,” he is well cared for by Jack Chase’s protection and love. That being said, Jack gives the boy room to explore sexually as he sees fit, as long as he returns promptly and guilt-free to Jack’s affections. He has an incomparable lyric tenor voice and brings the ship’s entire company to tears when he sings “Tom Bowling” on the 4th of July. Tall and athletic, he’s also a good match for Jack physically. His appearance strikes Melville as that of a “gentle youth,” who is “very handsome” and blessed with “starry eyes.” The writer further says the boy has “curly hair of a golden color, and a bright, sunshiny complexion,” adding wryly that he must be “the son of some goldsmith.”

 

CLOTHES: As Jack’s belovèd boy, he’s dressed like other youthful members of the crew, but his attire is further accented with accomplished embroidery from Jack’s needle and vibrant French silk thread.

 

TAWNEY: Freeborn African American from Annapolis, Maryland; 48 years old. Captain of Gun No. 5 and naval vet of the War of 1812 serving onboard the Neversink. The war ship rescued him from British enslavement after English marines boarded a US merchant ship and ‘impressed’ all the able-bodies they fancied, and the effort to end such enslavement was the main reason the US declared war on the British Empire in 1812. After his rescue, the English navy attacked the Neversink, and Tawney witnessed the scenes he relays to Redburn. We are told Tawney is a “fine” man and “the best sailor on the ship.” His expression is fixed and solemn, with eyes that are hollowed out but shine like “blue lights.” His hair and beard is described as grizzled.

 

CLOTHES: To the same high degree of spit-polish he keeps Black Bess, he keeps his uniforms, head coverings and neckerchiefs.

 

PELICAN: (aka the Surgeon’s Mate) From the backwoods of Maine; 35 years old. Tall, lanky and pale from below-decks employment, he never seems to tire of offering healthful ‘adjustments’ to the ship’s supply of government-issued chicken. Melville says he wears “that particular Lazarus-like expression so often noticed in hospital attendants.” He has fine, fair hair, a whiskerless face and light-colored eyes that only sparkle with the grin accompanying his going down on his knees before a handsome young seaman.

 

CLOTHES: Apart from his junior officer’s uniform, when he’s in the Neversink’s pharmacy, he wears a transparent green accountant-type visor. ^[18]

 

COLBROOK: (aka Marines Corporal Colbrook) From Camden, New Jersey; 23 years old. Like Nord and Jack Chase – and Toby, and Jarl, and Queequeg before him – Redburn is drawn to the self-contained man. Such people inevitably prove hero to Melville’s fictional persona as protagonist, and the Marines Corporal is no different. The young writer’s interest appears to be fully returned, as Melville says “Every time he passed me, he would heave a sentimental sigh, and hum to himself The Girl I Left Behind.” In terms of appearance, we are told Colbrook possesses “fine black eyes, bright red cheeks, glossy jet whiskers, and a refined organization of the whole man.” In addition, when in full uniform, he must be irresistible and strike one as the “complete lady’s man,” that Melville calls him. ^[19]

 

CLOTHES: When promenading on the gun deck, he always arrays “himself in full regimentals,” meaning his dress uniform right down to white gloves and his be-plumed hat tucked in the crook of his arm. This is how the young man is dressed when Redburn first sees and falls for him. I imagine when on duty, or when relaxing on the 4th of July, he’ll be in his more comfortable work uniform. ^[20]

 

LEMSFORD: From New York City; 32 years old. The gregarious half of a bohemian couple afloat, Lemsford – like Nord – draws Redburn’s interest for his self-contained spirit. As a poet snatching precious moments to sit on an ammo box between cannons, we’re told that when Lemsford is “inspired by divine afflatus,” no amount of grime or backbreaking toil can desiccate his need to create. He uses his wit, imagination, feelings and humor to deflect some of the ridicule the non-thinkers aboard the Neversink hurls at him. But, being a patron of the arts, Jack Chase defends Lemsford, telling the naysayers to leave off when the poet is in “a fine frenzy rolling” “devoted to the Nine [Muses].” Concerning his looks, he has an average height and build, with full, rosy lips, wire-rimmed glasses he uses only when writing, and fine wavy hair. He sports a beard that’s like a pair of muttonchops meeting up and continuing under his chin; but he keeps clean-shaven above and below his lips. ^[21]

 

CLOTHES: As a non-conformist sometimes lost to deep mental focus, his appearance can be a bit roughshod, but Nord tried to keep him at least clean and properly mended.

 

NORD: From Hartford, Connecticut; 25 years old. As the other half of the floating bohemian couple, Nord’s watercolors are more difficult to keep under wraps than Lemsford’s notebook and scraps of paper. Having to destroy three-years’ worth of work before the other men is something he will never get over. Reserved to the point of being taciturn, Redburn suspects Nord has been “bolted through the mill of adversity” like himself. The artist keeps to himself, and thereby finds the officers respect him, and the men fear him. Physically, he strikes a “tall, spare, upright figure,” with dark eyes and raven hair. He keeps a youthful mustache.

 

CLOTHES: Like most Gay sailors, his personal hygiene and attire is fastidious to a fault. He assists Lemsford to do the same.

 

SHENLEY: From Portsmouth, New Hampshire; 58 years old. He’s the superstitious one while Parrie is the practical one in their relationship. He perused Parrie twenty years ago, and neither have looked for another ‘chicken’ since then. At first, their union assumed the typical older / younger sailor form, with Shenley shaping the greenhorn 20-year-old hotshot to be a true sailorman. As time went on, and it became clear Parrie had no desire to find a protégé of his own to protect, the couple’s roles gradually switched functions. The older and less capable Shenley became, the more Parrie acted as his guardian, mender of trousers, and all-around ‘older hand.’ Shenley knows how unusual their partnership is, even among Gay, steadfast sailors, and cannot properly express to Parrie how much he loves him. More so, how much he respects him as a man of honor. In terms of appearance, Shenley is medium height, lean but muscular, and has a clean-shaven face with chestnut hair on top of his head.

 

CLOTHES: They must be neat, tidy, spotless and on holidays show off choice vignettes of Parrie’s accomplishment with embroidery needle and thread.

 

PARRIE: From a large family of poor children in Lowell, Massachusetts; 43 years of age. Not having grown up with anything to call his own, Shenley’s wooing of the young man on his first Neversink voyage turned his head. He liked the gifts of clothing and chocolate, but liked better the realization that Shenley loved him. After he let himself fall, he never looked back and had always considered himself in a marriage with Shenley – whose ring he wears on his left ring finger. In similar fashion, he never much contemplated their gradually reversing roles; he only began to do what was necessary in the way Shenley had exampled for him. Though his partner may feel he lacks the proper means to show him his love, Parrie knows it to his core. The model of selfless devotion the couple displays in total nonchalance is universally admired on the Neversink, as comes through when the crew sends Shenley to the deep. As for appearance, he’s about the same height and build as Shenley. He’s also clean-shaven, but his ashen hair is peppered with prematurely gray streaks.

 

CLOTHES: Also neat and tidy, but with a permanently youthful rake in the form of Scotch caps – or baseball-type caps – and colorful scarves.

  

At Redburn’s Hudson River Valley home

 

PETER: Born in New York City; 34 years old. Since the time he saw his younger brother off on his first sailing adventure, Peter has managed to restore much of the family’s former standing and wealth. Grown gradually sicker, he’s more than relieved to have his brother back at home, for soon Emily will move away to Boston, where she will begin attending college. As mentioned in The Secret Melville No. 1 “Redburn,” Peter is aware of his brother’s affectional orientation, but as long as he sees his younger brother being discreet about it, he can avoid bringing it up. He is the same way, but has never had the sort of freedom of sensuality that his brother has enjoyed, and thus never initiated or exchanged mutual love with a romantic partner. In many ways he envies the boldness of his brother’s spirit. Peter invests in his brother the hopes of the happy life he can never enjoy for himself. Peter is deeply moved by the filial affection his brother showers upon him.

 

CLOTHES: He wears conservative business attire, and a low-sloping top hat that was in fashion circa 1825.

 

MOTHER: From the Hudson River Valley; 52 years old. As a widow and doting mother, she made sure the growing Peter, Redburn and Emily never lacked for anything. She is proud of her children’s accomplishments and loves them deeply.

    

CLOTHES: She dresses in plain clothes as is befitting a woman who mostly stays at home or dashes off to do errands around town.

 

EMILY: From the Hudson River Valley; 19 years old. She is the younger sister of Redburn, and a strong supporter of her brother’s work and happiness. Going to start attending college in Boston soon, she’s torn about leaving her mother’s house in a village along the banks of the Hudson. She fears for Peter’s health and what a blow his death might mean for his family. Her personality is bubbly, persuasive and exhibits traits of the family strong-will that Redburn associates with himself. She too has darker hair like her brother, and wears it gathered on top of her head.

 

CLOTHES: Her clothes are understated but tasteful. She favors dresses in French cotton prints and hats with many ribbons.

3) Hair and Beard Styles on the Neversink:

 

Excerpt from Chapter 84, “Man-of-War Barbers”

 

Among the numerous artists and professors of polite trades in the Navy, none are held in higher estimation, or drive a more profitable business, than barbers. And it may well be imagined that the five hundred heads of hair and five hundred beards of a frigate should furnish no small employment for those to whose faithful care they may be intrusted [sic]. […]

 

The regular days upon which the barbers shall exercise their vocation are set down on the ship’s calendar, and known as shaving days. On board of the Neversink these days are Wednesdays and Saturdays; when, immediately after breakfast, the barbers’ shops were opened to customers. They were in different parts of the gun-deck, between the long twenty-four pounders. Their furniture, however, was not very elaborate, [and] hardly equal to the sumptuous appointments of metropolitan barbers. Indeed, it merely consisted of a match-tub, elevated upon a shot-box, as a barber’s chair for the patient. No Psyche glasses; no hand-mirror; no ewer and basin; no comfortable padded footstool; nothing, in short, that makes a shore “shave” such a luxury. […]

 

It remains to be related, that these barbers of ours had their labors considerably abridged by a fashion prevailing among many of the crew. […]

 

Not a few of the ship’s company had also bestowed great pains upon their hair, which some of them – especially the genteel young sailor bucks of the after-guard – wore over their shoulders like the ringleted Cavaliers. Many sailors, with naturally tendril locks, prided themselves upon what they call love curls, worn at the side of the head, just before the ear – a custom peculiar to tars, and which seems to have filled the vacated place of the old-fashioned Lord Rodney cue, which they used to wear some fifty years ago [circa 1795].

 

But there were others of the crew laboring under the misfortune of long, lank, Winnebago locks, or carroty bunches of hair, or rebellious bristles of a sandy hue. Ambitious of redundant mops, these [men] still suffered their carrots to grow, spite of all ridicule. […] But there were many fine, flowing heads of hair to counterbalance such sorry exhibitions[.]

 

What with long whiskers and venerable beards, then, of every variety of cut – Charles the Fifth’s and Aurelian’s – and endless goatees and imperials; and what with abounding locks, our crew seemed a company of Merovingians or Long-haired kings, mixed with savage Lombards or Longobardi, so called from their lengthy beards.

4) The Abolition of Flogging in the United States Navy:

 

White-Jacket was one of Melville’s bestselling books, with some 6,000 copies printed in its first year alone. There is far more flogging in the novel than I have transferred to the screenplay, and the reading public must have felt elucidated about a barbaric holdover from an English naval system dealing with men enslaved – and beaten like slaves – under the “Impressment” system, which they used until rather recent times. Although some Melville scholars, like Willard Thorp writing in the Historical Note to The Northwestern-Newberry Edition of White-Jacket, insist it must be coincidence that a mere matter of weeks after the book’s release, a Congressional Committee was looking into banning flogging in the Navy. The influence of White-Jacket upon this major democratic advancement does not need to be speculated upon, for no doubt the Congressional records of the proceedings will state if and to what degree Melville’s exposé had on the lawmakers. As for visual documentation of what the whippings were like for the victims and crew, there are at least two surviving sketches by American sailors from the 1840s. The first is titled “Flogging a Crewman,” and is an 1848 drawing by Charles F. Sands from his service time aboard the USS Porpoise:

https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-42000/NH-42642.html

 

The second drawing from 1843 is called “Punishment on board ship,” and is by William H. Myers from his service time aboard the USS Cyane:

https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/brief-history-punishment-flogging-us-navy.html

White-Jacket Text Endnotes

 

[1] The USS Neversink: Melville severed on the USS United States for more than a year, but set the novel during the last six months of his voyage, arguably to focus the narrative on the homeward-bound nature of the adventure. As the United States was of the Constitution Class of warships, there is abundant information posted about this series of vessels. For starters, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_six_frigates_of_the_United_States_Navy

 

[2] Grego jacket: is a type of hooded rainslicker. It can be made water-resistant by applications of oil-based paint. Fabric treated in this manner is known as tarpaulin. See a grego example here:

https://www.easterncostume.com/files/MASCOM016/fullsize/4.jpg

 

An example of a tarpaulin hat can be found here:

https://www.easterncostume.com/files/MASCOM016/fullsize/8.jpg

 

[3] “Arroz con leche,” etc.: is a traditional Dominican folksong about making rice pudding. Hear Jose Feliciano’s performance here:

https://youtu.be/szuQ-cZYZBo

 

[4] ”I got shoes; you got shoes,” etc.: is a traditional African American song from the 18th or 19th century. Hear Paul Robeson and Ruthland Clapham’s recording of the folksong here:

https://youtu.be/o-l-FL0acZQ

 

[5] ”Ere sorrow came, or Sin was drawn,” etc.: is a quotation after Thomas Moore’s poem The Loves of the Angles. See the full poem here:

https://books.google.com/books?id=rylbAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA522&lpg=PA522&dq=moore+Ere+sorrow+came,+or+Sin+was+drawn&source=bl&ots=vaa0YZRP4Y&sig=ACfU3U20FDH2hWAClcMUW2Z36O0quCiqOw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjagqLDp8jrAhUFWqwKHXr-ANQQ6AEwBHoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[6] “There’s a brown girl in the ring,” etc.: is a traditional folksong from the West Indies, possibly originating in Jamaica. Hear Boney M’s performance here (although she alters some of the original lyrics):

https://youtu.be/JmTvwOc0wI0

 

[7] “Hail Columbia”: was the de facto National Anthem before Congress made the Star Spangled Banner the official solemne nationalibus in the 1930s. Hear a military band version here:

https://youtu.be/FyIqvZSuptk

 

[8] Chaplain’s prayer: is modeled after Psalm 107.

 

[9] “In the closet”: see Mitchell and Leavitt Pages Passed from Hand to Hand (New York 1997), page 22, for the attribution of the phrase ‘in the closet’ to Melville’s 1856 short story I and my Chimney. In the story, a middle-aged man has a secret place he refuses to let his wife have access to, but his handsome male neighbor – well, he has full reign there:

 

[10] 1845 Naval Jack: is a flag with a solid, dark blue canton, upon which are 26 or 27 stars (see next Note), which are spread in rows:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Naval_Jack_26_stars.svg

 

[11] Extra-large battle ensign: The year 1845 started out with the Stars and Stripes having 26 stars. This is a nagging detail, but July 4th, 1845, was the day the 27-starred Star Spangled Banner became our national flag; I do not know how the Navy distributed new flags, or how much time they had after the new flag design was approved by Congress to have them made and shipped out. So, it is possible that new banners (as the Naval Jack would be affected too) could have been waiting for the USS United Sates when she docked in Callao. Here is what the 26-starred Star and Stripes should look like:

https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/usflag/the.26.star.flag.html

 

[12] Toby and Redburn’s love theme: Domenico Zipoli’s All’Elevazione N.1 – adagio for cello, oboe, orchestra and organ:

https://youtu.be/Cz7BKFwJJCc

 

[13] “Tom Bowling”: was written by composer Charles Dibdin to mourn the death of his naval-officer younger brother at sea. Hear tenor Robert Tear perform it here:

https://youtu.be/awp2cmDMiF0

 

[14] Poll: in “Tom Bowling,” the word poll (pronounced pall) means the nape of his neck, and indicates what Tom’s partner and friends could rest their head against for compassion and solace.

 

[15] Jack Chase: and Melville’s partner – a man named Williams – are the only two characters in White-Jacket to be provided with the actual names of the people who inspired them. Williams and Melville joined the crew of the USS United States together in Hawaii, but his role in the novel is slight. He’s mentioned first in Chapter 18, and then called “my private friend” during the auction scene of Chapter 47, which is not in this screenplay. Williams later named his first-born son after Melville, as did another partner of the writer’s, Toby Greene. As for Jack Chase, besides the abounding love Melville rains down on the man in White-Jacket, the author later dedicated his final work in Jack’s honor as well: Billy Budd, Sailor.

 

[16] Shaking’s bandana code: for the basic breakdown of meaning and placement, start here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handkerchief_code

 

[17] Captain Claret’s appearance: an excellent example comes from Captain George Washington Storer. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Charles-Wilkes.jpg

 

[18] Pelican’s visor: transparent green accountant-type visors have a much older documented history than Wikipedia has yet discovered. Here is a French example from 1813:

https://live.staticflickr.com/4040/4414235283_d91675824a_z.jpg

 

Here is an American example from the 1830s:

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/1c/da/6e/1cda6e3c5b35e2c92d01dbe23898f100.jpg

 

[19] Colbrook as ‘lady’s man’: Melville’s wry camp humor shows very well here. For one, the tune the sexy Marine hums every time he meets White-Jacket’s longing gaze is about a soldier being separated from female company, and ergo, lonely and available ‘to others.’ The promenading in full dress uniform suggests another item the author’s initiated Gay readership was intended to pick up immediately: the availability of military men for sexual favors. Such availability has been documented in great detail by firsthand clients like Edward Prime-Stevenson and John Addington Symonds in London, and Tor Hell in Stockholm. The seemingly ubiquitous nature of men in uniform being open to sex with guys raised jokes about their ladylike natures – jokes that go right back to Julius Caesar being called “A real ladies’ man, and every man’s lady.” An acquaintance of Oscar Wilde, and firsthand witness at the infamous second trial, wrote to a friend about the crowds outside the courtroom. He provides interesting confirmation on the way Melville intended his Gay readers to understand Colbrook as a “complete lady’s man.”

 

It was horrible leaving the court day after day and having to pass through a knot of [rent boys, known as] renters (the younger Parker wearing Her Majesty’s uniform, another form of female attire) who were allowed to hang around after giving their evidence and to wink at likely persons[.]

Letter from Max Beerbohm

to Reggie Turner, May 3rd, 1895

(The Love of Friends – New York 1997, p. 166)

 

[20] Colbrook’s uniforms: both full-dress and everyday uniforms for 1840s Marines are illustrated here:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Uniform_1840.jpeg

 

[21] Lemsford the poet: is based upon E. Curtis Hine, the fellow writer with whom Melville served on the USS United States. You can find Hine’s collection of sea poems The Haunted Barque (New York 1848), here:

https://archive.org/details/hauntedbarqueand00hineiala/page/n5/mode/2up

White-Jacket Appendix –

Some Sailor Songs for Reference

 

This collection of traditional songs is based on some mentioned specifically in White-Jacket and some whose melody and/or lyrics could be useful for the production of the movie. They might be helpful for some of the background sounds of the film, or they could influence the themes and musical development of the soundtrack.

“Bay of Biscay – Oh”

 

My love sails on board the tender
And where he is I do not know
For seven long years I’ve been constantly waiting
Since he crossed the Bay of Biscay – Oh.

Last night as Mary lay sleeping,
A knock came to her bedroom door.
Saying “Arise, arise, my dearest, Mary,
For to earn one glimpse of your Willy – Oh.”

 

Young Mary rose, put on her clothing
And to the bedroom door did go,
And there she spied her Willy standing
His two pale cheeks as white as snow.

“Oh, Willy, dear, where are those blushes
Those blushes I knew long years ago?”
“Oh, Mary dear, the cold clay ashed them;
I am only the ghost of your Willy – Oh.”

“Oh, Mary, dear, the dawn is breaking,
Don’t you think it’s time for me to go?
I am leaving you quite broken-hearted
For to cross the Bay of Biscay – Oh.”

 

“If I had all the gold and silver
And all the money in Mexico
I would grant it all to the king of Erin
For to bring me back my Willy – Oh.”

https://youtu.be/SdPESUoxTgI

“Cease rude Boreas”

 

Cease rude Boreas, boisterous Railer,

List ye Landsmen all to me,

Messmates hear a Brother Sailor

Sing the Dangers of the sea.

 

From bounding Billows first in Motion,

Where the distant Whirlwinds rise,

To the Tempest troubled Ocean,

Where the Seas contend with Skies.

 

Hark the Boatswain hoarsely bawling,

By top sail Sheets and Halyards stand;

Down your Stay Sails, quick be hauling,

Your top-gallant Sails hand, Boys, hand.

 

Still it freshens, set in the Braces,

Close reef, top sail Sheets let go;

Luff, Boys, Luff, don’t make wry Faces,

Up your top sails nimbly clew.

 

The top sail Yards point to the wind, Boys,

See all clear, reef each course;

Let the fore sheet go, don’t mind it,

If the Weather should turn worse.

 

Fore and Aft our top sail Yard get,

Reef the Mizen fee all clear;

Hand up the Preventer Braces,

Man the Fore yard; cheer, Boys, cheer.

 

Now all ye down on beds sporting,

Fondly locked in Beauty’s arms;

Fresh enjoyments wanton courting,

Start from all but Love’s alarms.

 

Around us roars the Tempest louder,

Thinking what fear our hearts enthralls;

Harder yet it still blows harder,

Now again the Boatswain calls.

 

Now the Thunder’s dreadful roaring,

Peal on peal contending clash;

On our heads fresh Rains fast pouring,

In our Eyes blue lightnings flash.

 

All around us one wide Water,

All above us one black Sky;

Different Deaths at once surprise us,

Hark, what means the dreadful Cry.

 

The Fore mast’s gone, cries every tongue out,

Over the Lee, twelve feet above Deck;

A Leak beneath the Chest-tree sprang out,

Call all hands and clear the Wreck.

 

Quick the Lanyards cut to pieces,

Come my Hearts, be stout and bold;

Plumb the Well, for the leak increases,

Four Feet of Water in the hold.

 

Whilst over the Waves our Ship is beating,

We all for Friends and Sweethearts mourn;

Alas! from hence there’s no retreating,

Alas! from hence there’s no return.

 

Still the Leak is gaining on us,

Both Chain-Pumps are choked below;

Heaven have Mercy here upon us,

For only that will save us now.

 

Over the lee Beam lies the Land, Boys,

Let the Guns over Board be thrown;

To the Pump come every hand, Boys,

See our Mizen-Mast is gone.

 

But the Leak we find it can’t pour fast,

We have lightened her a Foot and more;

Up and rig the jury Fore mast,

She’s right, we are all off Shore

 

Now once more on Joys be thinking,

Since kind Fortune saved our Lives;

Push the Can, Boys, let’s be drinking

To our Sweet-Friends and Wives.

 

Push it round, about Ship wheel it,

To your Lips a Bumper join;

Where’s the Tempest now who feels it?

Now our Danger’s drowned in Wine.

 

The melody of the song, but not

the lyrics, can be found here:

https://youtu.be/Uudj1au2H9M

“Dance to your Daddy”

 

Dance to your daddy, My little laddie;
Dance to your daddy, My little man.
Thou shalt have a fish, Thou shalt have a fin;
Thou shalt have a haddock, When the boat comes in.

Thou shalt have a codling Boiled in a pan;
Dance to your daddy, My little man;
Dance to your daddy, My little laddie;
Dance to your daddy, My little lamb.

When thou art a man, And fit to lead a life,
Thou shalt bed a lad, And love him all your life.
He shall be your laddie, Thou shalt be his man;
Dance to your daddy, My little lamb.

 

Thou shalt have a codling Boiled in a pan;
Dance to your daddy, My little man;
Dance to your daddy, My little laddie;
Dance to your daddy, My little lamb.

https://youtu.be/R-tU36eyB0k

“The Handsome Cabin Boy”

 

‘Tis of a pretty female
As you may understand
Her mind being bent for rambling
Unto some foreign land.

She dressed herself in sailor’s clothes
Or so it does appear
And then hired with a captain
To serve him for a year.

His cheeks – they were like roses
And his hair rolled in a curl,
The sailors often smiled and said
He looked just like a girl.

But eating of the captain’s “biscuit”
His colour did destroy
And the waist did swell of pretty Ned,
The handsome cabin boy.

‘Twas in the bay of Biscay
Our gallant ship did plow
One night among the sailors
Was a fearful flurry and row.

They tumbled from their hammocks
For their sleep it did destroy
And they sworn about the groaning
Of the handsome cabin boy

“Oh, doctor, dear; oh, doctor,”
The cabin boy did cry.
“My time has come, I am undone
And I will surely die.”

The doctor come a-runnin’
And a-smilin’ at the fun
To think a sailor lad should have
A daughter or a son.

The sailors when they saw the joke
They all did stand and stare;
The child belonged to none of them,
They solemnly did swear.

The captain’s mate, he says to him,
“My dear, I wish you joy,
For ‘tis either you or me’s belayed
This handsome cabin boy!”

https://youtu.be/8hmM7nXiZEg

“Sir Patrick Spens”

 

Oh, the king, he sits in Dunfermline town
A-drinking the blood-red wine
“Oh, where will I get a fine mariner
To sail seven ships of mine?”

And then up spoke a fine young man
Sat at the king’s right knee
“Sir Patrick Spens is the best mariner
Has ever sailed seven the seas.”

So the king he has written a broad letter
And signed it with his own hand
And he’s sent it off to Sir Patrick Spens
All walking all on the stand.

And the very first lines that Patrick he read
A little laugh then gave he
And the very last lines that Patrick read
The salt it has filled his eyes.

“Oh, who is he, that’s done this deed
And told the king on me?
For never was I a good mariner
And never do intend to be.

“Late yestreen I saw the new moon
With the old moon in her arms
And I fear I fear a deadly storm
Our ship she will come to harm.

 

“But rise up, rise up, my merry men all
Our little ship she sails in the morn
Whether it’s a-windy or whether it’s a-wet
Or whether there’s a deadly storm.”

And they hadn’t been sailing a league or more
A league but barely nine
Till a wind and wet and sleet and snow
Come a-blowing up behind.

“Oh, where can I get a handsome cabin boy
To take the helm in hand
While I go up to the top mast high
And see if I can’t spy land?”

“Come down, come down, Sir Patrick Spens,
We fear that we all must die
For in and out of the good ship’s hull
The wind and the ocean fly.”

And the very first step that Patrick he took,
The water it came to his knees
And the very last step that Patrick he took
They drowned they were in the seas.

And many was the fine feather bed
That floated on the foam
And many was the little lord’s son
That never, never more came home.

 

And long, long may their ladies sit
With the fans all in their hands,
Before they see Sir Patrick Spens
Come a-sailing along the strand.

For it’s fifty miles to Aberdeenshire
It’s fifty fathoms deep,
And there does lie Sir Patrick Spens
With the little lords at his feet.

https://youtu.be/rT1r-smQkzQ

“I am a Brisk and Sprightly Lad”

 

I am a brisk and sprightly lad
But just come home from sea, sir;

Of all the lives I ever led,

A sailor’s life for me, sir

 

Yeo, yeo, yeo,
Whilst the boatswain pipes all hands,
With a yeo, yeo, yeo.

 

What mate but loves the merry tar,

We over the ocean roam, sir;

In every clime we find a port,

In every port a home, sir.

 

Yeo, yeo, yeo,
Whilst the boatswain pipes all hands,
With a yeo, yeo, yeo.

 

But when our country’s foes are nigh,

Each hastens to his guns, sir;

We make the boasting Limey fly

And bang the haughty Kings, sir.

 

Yeo, yeo, yeo,
Whilst the boatswain pipes all hands,
With a yeo, yeo, yeo.

Our foes reduced, once more on shore,

And spend our cash with glee, sir;

And when all’s gone we drown our care,

And out to sea again, sir.

https://youtu.be/r_n7B5e1AOY

“Don’t Forget Your Old Shipmate”

 

Safe and sound at home again,

let the waters roar, Jack.
Safe and sound at home again,

let the waters roar, Jack.

Since we sailed from Plymouth Sound,

four years gone, or nigh, Jack,
Was there ever chummies

now, such as you and I, Jack?

Long we’ve tossed on the rolling main
Now we’re safe ashore, Jack –
Don’t forget yer old shipmate
Faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!

We have worked the self-same gun,

quarterdeck division,
Sponger I and loader you,

through the whole commission.

Oftentimes have we laid out,

toil nor danger fearing,
Tugging out the flapping sail

to the weather earing.

 

Long we’ve tossed on the rolling main
Now we’re safe ashore, Jack –
Don’t forget yer old shipmate
Faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!

 

When the middle watch was on,

and the time went slow, boy,
Who could choose a rousing stave,

who like Jack or Joe, boy?

There she swings, an empty hulk,

not a soul below now.
Number seven starboard mess

misses Jack and Joe now.

Long we’ve tossed on the rolling main
Now we’re safe ashore, Jack –
Don’t forget yer old shipmate
Faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!

But the best of friends must part,

fair or foul the weather.
Hand yer flipper for a shake,

now a drink together

Long we’ve tossed on the rolling main
Now we’re safe ashore, Jack.
Don’t forget yer old shipmate
Faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!

 

Long we’ve tossed on the rolling main
Now we’re safe ashore, Jack –
Don’t forget yer old shipmate
Faldee raldee raldee raldee rye-eye-doe!

https://youtu.be/wY1fUAPYH3M

“Homeward Bound”

 

Our anchor we’ll weigh, and our sails we will set.
Goodbye, fare-ye-well; goodbye, fare-ye-well.

The friends we are leaving, we leave with regret,
Hurrah, my boys, we’re homeward bound.

We’re homeward bound; Oh, joyful sound!
Goodbye, fare-ye-well; goodbye, fare-ye-well.

Come rally the capstan, and run quick around.
Hurrah, my boys, we’re homeward bound.

We’re homeward bound, we’d have you know
Goodbye, fare-ye-well; goodbye, fare-ye-well.

And over the water to America go,
Hurrah, my boys, we’re homeward bound.

Heave with a will, and heave long and strong,
Goodbye, fare-ye-well; goodbye, fare-ye-well.

Sing a good chorus, For Its a good song.
Hurrah, my boys, we’re homeward bound.

Hurrah! that good run brought the anchor a-weigh,
Goodbye, fare-ye-well; goodbye, fare-ye-well.

She’s up to the hawse; sing before we belay.
Hurrah, my boys, we’re homeward bound.

“We’re homeward bound,” you’ve heard us say,
Goodbye, fare-ye-well; goodbye, fare-ye-well

Hook on the catfall then, and rut her away.
Hurrah, my boys, we’re homeward bound!

 

_