Okay, so I'm microblogging (is that a new term? Or is that just twitter?). But I was struck by Melville's comparison of the "the smitten tree [that] gives birth to its fungi" to marine ecosystems. I am quite sure that he is not just being literal about the life that can spring from dead whales etc. Clearly he's making a larger point. That said, his mention of the tree and fungi made me think of the astounding ecosystems that spring up around dead whale carcasses:
http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/Whale-Carcasses-Reveal-New-Species-2.jpg
I doubt that they knows of this in Melville's day, as it would have probably required a more sophisticated deep sea technology than they had. But perhaps he had imagined something like this?
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Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Chapter 40: Midnight, Forecastle
It's a musical! With dancing! I have a strange desire to watch Saturday Night Live.
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Monday, July 9, 2012
The First Lowering
Just a quick post about this week's reading (yes, I am up to date!). Nothing to deep about the meaning of it all, but I want to comment on Melville's writing. There is quite a variety of styles in MD. The straight ahead narrative of the first chapters, the relatively dry, but never boring, technical descriptions of whales and whaling, the story-within-the-story of The Town-Ho (in today's language, that has quite a different meaning!), to mention a few. But the Chapter "The First Lowering", in my opinion, is a tour de force of some of the best writing so far. Packed with action and consequence, it's quite a page turner.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Whiteness
I too want to comment on the Whiteness of the Whale chapter - though I have a somewhat different take than Caitlin. For me the story is filled with ambiguities - one of the main cases in point being Ahab who is on a crusade against nature, but is a man/nature hybrid himself. So what exactly is he fighting, nature, or himself. Or both? The whiteness of the whale fits right in here - white being a color usually associated with goodness and now we get an entire chapter full of examples of how bad it is. But the villain here seems to be Ahab, and by contrast then, MD must be good - or at least neutral. Now that I think about it, I think this theme runs back to the start - Qq the savage is also the most civilized person at the Inn.
OK, that being said, I find this chapter quite frustrating. Ishmael starts by saying "But how can I hope to explain myself here; and yet, in some dim, random way, explain myself I must, else all these chapters might be naught." But explain himself he doesn't. Pages and pages of examples go by, but explanations? No. Towards the end he says "But thou sayest, methinks that white-lead chapter about whiteness is but a white flag hung out from a craven soul; thou surrenderest to a hypo, Ishmael." That's exactly what I sayest.
OK, that being said, I find this chapter quite frustrating. Ishmael starts by saying "But how can I hope to explain myself here; and yet, in some dim, random way, explain myself I must, else all these chapters might be naught." But explain himself he doesn't. Pages and pages of examples go by, but explanations? No. Towards the end he says "But thou sayest, methinks that white-lead chapter about whiteness is but a white flag hung out from a craven soul; thou surrenderest to a hypo, Ishmael." That's exactly what I sayest.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Okay, here goes my first real post. We still haven't gotten internet at the apartment, so I have to do this from Mom and Dad's house when I can. I would like to add, though, that not only do I appear to be the only one caught up, but I am actually a little bit ahead.
As a first-time reader I have to say that I'm actually surprised to be enjoying the nonfictional chapters- I had heard so much about how boring and long they were, but I find myself just as interested as I am in the narrative. In some ways it reminds me of Dan Simmons' The Terror, which is another nautical book about a doomed voyage to find the Northwest Passage (Look up Sir John Franklin's lost expedition if you are interested).
Reading the section in Caitlin's latest post about The Quarter-Deck reminds me of a lyric from an old Modest Mouse song; "He drove to the desert, fired his rifle in the sky/ and said God if I have to die, you will have to die". I think this may have been inspired by Moby Dick, and Ahab's mad vendetta against God/Nature, represented by the White Whale. If, as I hope, we go on to read Blood Meridian next, I will be sure to point out the similarities between Ahab's philosophy and the Judge's- they go about their battles against God and the natural world in very different ways but, I think, their aims are actually pretty similar. Dad, hopefully you remember what I'm talking about.
On another note, I'm very impressed that Melville managed to take one of the most boring and uneventful situations man can find himself in- a voyage at sea- and expand it into a ~750 page book that never really seems to drag or lose steam. The fact that it still remains so readable over 100 years later is also a bit incredible- as you all know, I'm not a big fan of ancient literature (Shakespeare...), but this has really gone beyond my expectations.
As a first-time reader I have to say that I'm actually surprised to be enjoying the nonfictional chapters- I had heard so much about how boring and long they were, but I find myself just as interested as I am in the narrative. In some ways it reminds me of Dan Simmons' The Terror, which is another nautical book about a doomed voyage to find the Northwest Passage (Look up Sir John Franklin's lost expedition if you are interested).
Reading the section in Caitlin's latest post about The Quarter-Deck reminds me of a lyric from an old Modest Mouse song; "He drove to the desert, fired his rifle in the sky/ and said God if I have to die, you will have to die". I think this may have been inspired by Moby Dick, and Ahab's mad vendetta against God/Nature, represented by the White Whale. If, as I hope, we go on to read Blood Meridian next, I will be sure to point out the similarities between Ahab's philosophy and the Judge's- they go about their battles against God and the natural world in very different ways but, I think, their aims are actually pretty similar. Dad, hopefully you remember what I'm talking about.
On another note, I'm very impressed that Melville managed to take one of the most boring and uneventful situations man can find himself in- a voyage at sea- and expand it into a ~750 page book that never really seems to drag or lose steam. The fact that it still remains so readable over 100 years later is also a bit incredible- as you all know, I'm not a big fan of ancient literature (Shakespeare...), but this has really gone beyond my expectations.
So, like everyone else, I'm pretty far behind. But I just finished "The Whiteness of the Whale," and I want to weigh in with a couple thoughts about these last few chapters.
This section, especially "The Quarter-Deck," "Moby Dick," and "The Whiteness of the Whale," have a lot to process. And not only are these chapters filled with layer upon layer of idea, but both Ishmael and Ahab seem intent on telling us exactly that.
In "The Quarter-Deck," when Starbuck is skeptical about Ahab's quest, Ahab tells him "thou requirest a little lower layer," and goes on to describe how the things that are visible to us are nothing more than masks, and that "the inscrutable thing [behind the mask] is chiefly what I hate."
In "Moby Dick," Ishmael wonders what "the White Whale was to them," the crew, and why they so readily agreed to join Ahab on his quest. He says that "all this to explain, would be to dive deeper than Ishmael can go."
In "The Whiteness of the Whale," Ishmael begins by listing all the positive associations of the color white, then says "yet for all these accumulated associations, with whatever is sweet, and honorable, and sublime, there yet lurks an elusive something in the innermost idea of this hue..."
In all these cases, it's the thing that is deeper/beneath/inside that is true; but it's also inaccessible, out of reach. It made me think about the relationship of the boat, on the surface of the water, to Moby Dick, underneath. What do you guys think? Is that a stretch, or not?
And one last note, for those of you reading without footnotes:
At the very end of "The Whiteness of the Whale," when Ishmael says "And when we consider that other theory of the natural philosophers, that all other earthly hues...all these are but subtle deceits, not actually inherent in substances, but only laid on from without..." This is a reference to John Locke (and perhaps some other people), who talked about primary qualities and secondary qualities. Primary qualities are those which exists in the object itself, apart from out perception of the object, such as shape; secondary qualities are those which do not, such as color and taste. I.e., objects don't have color, and neither do lightwaves, but when lightwaves bounce off objects and in to our eyes, our brains interpret those lightwaves as color. I've always loved this distinction, in part because it's one of the few philosophical proposals that pretty much everyone agrees with, because of science.
This section, especially "The Quarter-Deck," "Moby Dick," and "The Whiteness of the Whale," have a lot to process. And not only are these chapters filled with layer upon layer of idea, but both Ishmael and Ahab seem intent on telling us exactly that.
In "The Quarter-Deck," when Starbuck is skeptical about Ahab's quest, Ahab tells him "thou requirest a little lower layer," and goes on to describe how the things that are visible to us are nothing more than masks, and that "the inscrutable thing [behind the mask] is chiefly what I hate."
In "Moby Dick," Ishmael wonders what "the White Whale was to them," the crew, and why they so readily agreed to join Ahab on his quest. He says that "all this to explain, would be to dive deeper than Ishmael can go."
In "The Whiteness of the Whale," Ishmael begins by listing all the positive associations of the color white, then says "yet for all these accumulated associations, with whatever is sweet, and honorable, and sublime, there yet lurks an elusive something in the innermost idea of this hue..."
In all these cases, it's the thing that is deeper/beneath/inside that is true; but it's also inaccessible, out of reach. It made me think about the relationship of the boat, on the surface of the water, to Moby Dick, underneath. What do you guys think? Is that a stretch, or not?
And one last note, for those of you reading without footnotes:
At the very end of "The Whiteness of the Whale," when Ishmael says "And when we consider that other theory of the natural philosophers, that all other earthly hues...all these are but subtle deceits, not actually inherent in substances, but only laid on from without..." This is a reference to John Locke (and perhaps some other people), who talked about primary qualities and secondary qualities. Primary qualities are those which exists in the object itself, apart from out perception of the object, such as shape; secondary qualities are those which do not, such as color and taste. I.e., objects don't have color, and neither do lightwaves, but when lightwaves bounce off objects and in to our eyes, our brains interpret those lightwaves as color. I've always loved this distinction, in part because it's one of the few philosophical proposals that pretty much everyone agrees with, because of science.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Cetology (the naming of things)
Well, as you all know, I remain woefully behind on the reading schedule. (Alison, do you think you might adjust the deadlines somewhat? I know I'm not the only one who is behind, although I may be the worst.) But I wanted to weigh in on Cetology (Chapter 32). This is probably the chapter that causes many first-time readers of Moby Dick to quietly set the book aside for something more ... conventional. Entertaining?
I wonder if this chapter, and the philosophical and/or informative chapters, should be viewed as an interlude between the acts. The cetology chapter precedes Ishmael's voyage--marks the end of his innocence, perhaps?--and leads us into the next part of the book.
I think that one of the overriding themes of the Cetology chapter is Melville's attempt to address our innate need to put things, people, animals, into categories: The Folio Whales, the Octavo Whales, the Duodecimo Whales. He's categorizing these animals based on their size--not a very scientifically-based way of categorizing things. Not to mention the fact that he discounts the then well-known fact that whales are mammals, and calls them fish. What's the point? I wonder if he's making a commentary about the contemporary desire to categorize human beings into different races--after he's established his bond with Queequeg. Does it really matter that his skin is dark? Or that he has strange religious practices, etc? Well, clearly not. Or, it matters, but it does not put him into a different category of humanity.
Not to denigrate the impulse to name/categorize. It's an important tool to understanding the natural world. If I had been born two centuries earlier I like to think that I would have been one of those lady naturalists who devoted her life to mushrooms or rabbits (oh, that would be Beatrix Potter, who was awesome in that way, wasn't she). Although, given my ancestry, my interests would have had more to do with putting food on the table. Oh, well.
But the impulse the name/categorize things got me to thinking about one of my very favorite books of nonfiction, one that I think you should all read, and not just if you're from Kansas: PrairyErth,by William Least Heat-Moon. Here, he writes about a hawk called the Northern Harrier, Circus Cyaneus. If you don't believe that WLH-M owes a huge debt to Melville, then you are ... wrong. Just read:
So, what do you think? Is Cetology a chapter at about the dangers of categorizing people/whales? An attempt of getting us to to think about the matter at hand? A simple interlude?
I wonder if this chapter, and the philosophical and/or informative chapters, should be viewed as an interlude between the acts. The cetology chapter precedes Ishmael's voyage--marks the end of his innocence, perhaps?--and leads us into the next part of the book.
I think that one of the overriding themes of the Cetology chapter is Melville's attempt to address our innate need to put things, people, animals, into categories: The Folio Whales, the Octavo Whales, the Duodecimo Whales. He's categorizing these animals based on their size--not a very scientifically-based way of categorizing things. Not to mention the fact that he discounts the then well-known fact that whales are mammals, and calls them fish. What's the point? I wonder if he's making a commentary about the contemporary desire to categorize human beings into different races--after he's established his bond with Queequeg. Does it really matter that his skin is dark? Or that he has strange religious practices, etc? Well, clearly not. Or, it matters, but it does not put him into a different category of humanity.
Not to denigrate the impulse to name/categorize. It's an important tool to understanding the natural world. If I had been born two centuries earlier I like to think that I would have been one of those lady naturalists who devoted her life to mushrooms or rabbits (oh, that would be Beatrix Potter, who was awesome in that way, wasn't she). Although, given my ancestry, my interests would have had more to do with putting food on the table. Oh, well.
But the impulse the name/categorize things got me to thinking about one of my very favorite books of nonfiction, one that I think you should all read, and not just if you're from Kansas: PrairyErth,by William Least Heat-Moon. Here, he writes about a hawk called the Northern Harrier, Circus Cyaneus. If you don't believe that WLH-M owes a huge debt to Melville, then you are ... wrong. Just read:
Then very goddamn well, I say at last, maybe I can write around the goddamn problem: I advise myself to try again and again and this time speak only in names, in pictures--that 's the primitive method. ... I am going only to name and limn hawkness as I have encountered it in the tall pairie, where its form and habitats suite themselves so perfectly to the windy and open hills as to make it a familiar of the place.Least Heat-Moon goes on to give alternative names for the bird, based upon the observers interpretation of the bird: Marsh Hawk, Bog Trotter, Frog Hawk, Rabbit Hawk (as well as some of his more fanciful names: "Zigzaggerur.").
So, what do you think? Is Cetology a chapter at about the dangers of categorizing people/whales? An attempt of getting us to to think about the matter at hand? A simple interlude?
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