erinc09’s Blog

In our world today people see whales as really fascinating and gentle ocean mammals. People go to aquariums or hop on sight-seeing boats just to see them in person because they have built up such a reputation. Although many people might be scared to actually get in the water with them, they still tend to see whales as calm and nice. However, in Moby Dick it is interesting to see how people perceived whales before we knew very much about them. All they really heard about were the dangerous whaling expeditions, but no one had really any other experience with them. We didn’t have submarines or underwater cameras to show us what whales really were like under water in their natural habitat. In the book Melville describes them as “seamonsters” or the “most dreaded creatures under the water”. He also goes on to describe drawings of them eating boats full of sailors. If I had been someone of the time I definitely would have been terrified of whales, but it’s interesting to see how mistaken they were.

In one of these chapters we finally get to hear Melville describe what a successful whale hunt is like, and to be honest, I wish I hadn’t read it. The way he wrote it sounded so gruesome and painful; I don’t know how anyone could ever be a whale hunter. When he was talking about the blood (”red tide”) pouring out of all sides of the whale and the churning of the lance into the body I couldn’t help but cringe and try to read faster. I wanted to get out of that section to stop reading about such awful hunting. It is hard to read now knowing that these whales are so innocent, and the only reason they seem to act out is becuase humans bother them so much. If we just leave them alone then they will probably leave us alone too.

When we read the first paragraph in class where the phantoms were introduced I was pretty shocked. How had these people been living on the ship for months without being noticed? They didn’t even seem like real people the way that they were described, and it was kind of funny how little Captain Ahab introduced them to the rest of the boat. All he basically said was, “the more the merrier” and then went on with his business. No one even seemed to care that much that these five strangers had been on their boat that long, somehow it all just blended in without being a huge deal. I liked the imagery that Melville used to describe them though, and it really set the mood for the presence that they had. ex) “tiger yellow creatures” (183).

Ishmael’s experience with the hunting of the whale was also pretty extreme, and I think it was definitely something that he had not expected. After the ordeal when he was back on the ship he kept asking everyone if this is what it is like everytime, and no one really said no. I dont think he had anticipated how hard and rough it would actually be. During the whale hunt you could hear Captain Ahab saying, “Take it easy-why don’t ye take it easy, I say, and burst all your livers and lungs!” (185). This seemed like such a typical thing for him to say because he seems to expect so much out of his whalemen. He is actually a very harsh guy and doesn’t seem to have very much sympathy for people. The fact that he is bringing along everyone to fulfill his revenge just proves that point.

One of the lines that I really agreed with was, “to a monomaniac man the veriest trifles capriciously carry meanings.” When someone is so paranoid and so obsessed with something they get excited about anything that could possibly connect with what they want. Even if it is so far off from what they are looking for they are still so on edge that anything will provoke them. It is definitely something that we can all relate to.

While reading “The American Scholar” Ralph Waldo Emerson something that seemed really inspiring to me. On page 3 he wrote, “Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views, which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries, when they wrote these books.” The fact that all of these famous philosophers and authors were once the ones studying other people’s works in libraries makes one feel that they have the potential to one day be a respected writer. Everyone is capable of achieving their goals, but the difference is that some have a much stronger drive to do so. Those with the drive in them will be the ones who reach success.

I really enjoyed reading this lecture because Emerson seems to have such simple, honest, and true ideas on life. He also appreciates the things that humans posess that many take for granted. For example, knowledge and our ability to learn. He does not seem very interested by the material world, he seems to respect humans who want to learn instead. “We all know, that, as the human body can be nourished on any food, though it were boiled grass and the broth of shoes, so the human mind can be fed by any knowledge” (5). The human brain is such an interesting thing to think about. We have so much potential and so many opportunities to expand our knowledge and to feed our growing interests. Humans have so many resources to do this, and all they have to do is simply take the time and effort out to be taught or to learn. Knowledge is what makes our lives richer and what gives us experience. We should take advantage of it all.

At first I really thought Captain Ahab’s idea of sailing the world’s oceans just to find Moby Dick was very unrealistic. How could a person believe that they would come across one specific whale out of the ENTIRE ocean? However, chapter 4 explains to us that it is actually quite possible to somewhat map out where a whale will be during a certain time of the year. By calculating the driftings of its food and figuring out where it migrated during what seasons you can estimate where the whale will be. Although it may be hard to be spot on it still gave me a little more hope that Captain Ahab’s wish/intention to hunt down Moby Dick was a little more realistic. It is actually pretty cool to see how all of Ahab’s whaling experience has allowed him to be able to calculate something like that. It seems like a task that only very good whalers would be able to accomplish. Judging by what I know of the story it seems like Ahab’s calculations will actually turn out to be right.

On page 172 I came across a quote that I really enjoyed. It is Ishmael speaking/thinking and he says, “For God’s sake, be economical with your lamps and candles! not a gallon you burn, but at least one drop of a man’s blood was spilled for it.” He is very right when he is implying that we should not take for granted the luxuries that we have. Often, the public does not know what was sacrificed in order for them to enjoy the things that they use on a daily basis. This is especially prevelant in our world today. Americans are using up so many resources and not realizing what the effect is having on the earth. For example, oil or paper. We use so much of it but don’t realize that trees are being killed or that oil is a non-renewable resource. I like that Ishmael decided to throw in a lesson of common sense into the chapter.

The idea of Moby Dick seems so frightening, and had I been one of the crew members I think I would have been fairly angry that Captain Ahab dragged me on this voyage without warning. Melville goes on to describe all of the rumors that surround Moby Dick and why people are afriad of him. Multiple whalemen even think that he is immortal and will survive anything that is thrown his way. In chapter 41 I can definitely understand why Ishmael said he dreaded seeing the white whale. I’m pretty sure I would too if I had to constantly listen to all of the horror stories. I liked how he said that he and the other crew members basically took an oath of violence and revenge, because that is really what it was. Captain Ahab was literally obsessed with getting revenge on Moby Dick. His obsession was built on years of bottled up anger and rage, so I don’t think I would trust his decision making because he wouldn’t be concerned with anyone but himself.

The next chapter that was based on whiteness was actually really interesting and brought up a good point. Whiteness has almost always been associated with purity and beauty, so why is it that sometimes it is so feared? A good example was when he said the Albino man. If a white man is considered normal then why is someone who is just a little more unusually white considered hideous? People seem to contradict themselves very much.

This set of chapters was pretty entertaining with all of the sailors in the last chapter, however, I think the first few were a little more informative.

I actually got excited when Captain Ahab mentioned the white whale in chapter 36 because I could FINALLY feel the introduction of Moby Dick coming on, and I was right! Moby Dick was actually the reason for Captain Ahab’s missing leg; I feel like I should have known that in the beginning but it was somewhat of a surprise to me. However it makes it all the more exciting because we see how vicious Moby Dick is already known to be. If I were one of the shipmates I would definitely be nervous to spot him, but they all seem fairly excited. The only one who seemed somewhat skeptical was Starbuck, but I liked how in the end he felt as if he should help Ahab.

I feel as if in each chapter we get to know Captain Ahab a little bit better, because we are finally hearing his voice and opinions. There is one section that is all of his thoughts, and I really liked the quote where he said, “No, ye’ve knocked me down, and I am up again, but ye have run and hidden” (143). It shows how determined he is to catch Moby Dick and I like how he doesn’t seem scared even after all that has happened. Not many people would be willing to go on a search for something that almost killed them, but he has full intentions on finding Moby again.

Chapter 29 is a pretty good introduction to Captain Ahab because it gives Ishmael an idea of what he is really in store for. There is a scene where Stubb gets in trouble with Ahab, and he says that he actually wanted to pray for his life while Captain Ahab was threatening him. The thing that Stubb found queer was that he never prays. However, something about Captain Ahab intimidated him so much that he resorted to something he doesn’t even believe in. It was also funny because later on in that chapter someone says to Ishmael that he should feel honored to be kicked by Ahab. It is interesting how one can become such a hero or role model in someone else’s eyes; to the point where someone would actually be happy and feel honored if you kicked them.

A quote that I found in chapter 35 said, “The whale fishery furnishes an asylum for many romantic, melancholy, and abesent-minded young men, disgusted with the carking cares of earth, and seeking sentiment in tar and blubber.” I liked this quote because it sounded like a good description of Ishmael. His desire to go on a whaling voyage was pretty random, but what drove him to do it was to get away from his life for a bit. He was not very sure of what he wanted but the ship eventually lured him in.

These chapters were interesting because we finally got to meet the infamous Captain Ahab, but there were quotes and events that happened prior to that which caught my eye. One quote that I found a little humorous was on page 95 where Ishmael is thinking in his head, “Spite of this frigid winter night in the boisterious Atlantic, spite of my wet feet and wetter jacket, there was yet, it then seemed to me, many a pleasant haven in store..” Ishmael really has no idea what is to come in the future. He seems to believe that this whale trip will be a piece of cake and he will come home after a long time with years of traveling and experience. However, from what I know about the novel he has a lot to be afraid of, and it will be nothing like a “pleasant haven” unfortunately.

What I also found interesting was how Ishmael already considered himself a whaleman even after he had so little experience. I feel as if he was acting like he had been hunting whales for years, but it has really not been very long. He even went on to say that in his life a whaleship was his Yale College and his Harvard. He seems very proud of the fact that he has chosen this path for his life.

This set of chapters was very filled with new characters and really set the scene for the book. It seems as if many of these new people will be present in the rest of the chapters to come, so it was interesting to meet them all. The captains were very entertaining, and I thought it was funny how much one of them quizzed Ishmael when he told him that he wanted to sail on the Pequod. My impression was that not many people were willing to go on a whaling boat for years, so it seems like the captains would take anyone who wanted to go. However, he really wanted to get to know Ishmael to make sure he had the right intentions.

One of the quotes mentioned in this section that really sparked a thought in me was when one of the captains said, “It’s an all-fired outrage to tell any human creature that he’s bound to hell” (77). This reminded me so much of the article that we read called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. The whole thing was basically a lecture saying that you were bound to go to Hell unless you somehow proved to God that you were worthy of staying. It gave no hope to anyone that was not part of that religion, so it tried threatening readers into converting. The captain would definitely not have liked to read “Sinners” because I think he would have greatly disagreed.

There was also another quote that I really liked at the end. Ishmael is thinking this to himself. “But when a man suspects any wrong, it sometimes happens that if he be already involved in the matter, he insensibly tries to cover up his suspicions even from himself. And much this way it was with me.” (90). This seems as if it will prove to be a very bad decision for Ishmael. He already seemed to be having doubts about his whaling trip, and he should have taken ahold of these feelings and said no to the voyage. However, since he tries to ignore it he moves on. Little does he know that his instinct could have gotten him out of a lot of trouble.

From the previous chapters that we have read it seemed like Ishmael was finally beginning to warm up to Queequeg. At first he thought of him as a savage cannibal, but chapter 10 really shows their friendship blossom. I was happily surprised to see that on page 55 Ishmael sees past Queequeg’s outer appearance. For example, he says “Through all his unearthly tattooings, I thought I saw the traces of a simple honest heart.” Earlier on in the story some people in the class had predicted that Queequeg would play a larger role in the story and in Ishmael’s life, and this really began to prove our beliefs.

As I read on I saw that Melville began to describe their relationship in an almost humorous manner. The way that he described them in the bed or how they interacted with each other made it seem as if they were a married couple. I was surprised to see them grow this close, but I think part of the reason for it was because both Ishmael and Queequeg were very lonely. As soon as each of them found someone they could trust or find friendship in they were ecstatic. I really enjoyed this quote to describe how even though they seemed as if they were opposite, they worked as friends. “..yet see how elastic our stiff prejudices grow when love once comes to bend them” (58). It made me question if Ishmael had ever felt love for anyone really, because he seemed so surprised and taken aback by how much he cared for Queequeg.