This Is The End, My Only Freind, The End

Needless, to say I felt the ending of the book was the epitome of the sublime, with the end being unattainable. Sadly, Ahab dies and brings the ship and the crew down with him, spare one survivor. But what would have happened if Ahab had killed the whale, I wonder? Would it be a happy ending, one of completion, a satisfying conclusion. Perhaps. But I like it this way better. For if Ahab were to attain his goal and kill the whale, the book would have a completely different significance. I think Melville was hitting on the notion of the subliminal as it appears to us in nature. We are small in the face of Moby Dick, and the world alike. But that's what drove Ahab, this curiosity in wanting to accomplish something that was bigger than he was. Mody Dick took something from Ahab that made him incapable of being a full human, it made him realize his own insignificance. Ahab, fighting these feelings rebelled with a sense of curiosity and drive. His demise should be taken as a illustration that we can never capture the essence of the sublime, but if we have the same drive that Ahab had for the whale, as we can have for the world, we will become more than we can possibly imagine.

Ahab vs. Ahab

I have been thinking about the notion of Ahab, as a character, or even as a person independent of all other preconceived ideas. It was mentioned that this class will be the first time most of us have read the novel, and that given we have heard the story before it will be like a second reading. I feel this was the case with me, as I read I knew basically what would happen, but actually reading it gave it a whole new perspective. This being said Ahab, was known to be as the crazy captain that pursued the white whale, I was unaware of his multiple personalities that seemed to exist in him. Chapter CIX gave me a glimpse of the two Ahab's that existed. After Starbuck confronts him he says, "What's that he said- Ahab beware of Ahab- there's something there!" He is not even fully aware of this double self, yet he does not blatantly deny its existence. As was mentioned in class Ahab is a rehashing of many characters, one being Hamlet, and I think this characteristic is very Hamletish. The idea that Hamlet may or may not be pretending to go mad, relates to Ahab's lack of recognition of his double self. In both cases we as readers have a sense that they know that they might be going insane, but the line gets fuzzier as the story progresses. We see them break down and become desperate for revenge, causing their judgment to become clouded. To be Ahab or not to be Ahab, that's the question, right?

The Troph Is Receding

After getting through the bulk of the atomically descriptive sections I came across the chapter entitled "The Pequod Meets the Virgin." As was mentioned in class the book it to be read as though it were a wave. With action in the beginning turning into a slow period, followed by more action. I reading about the pursuit of the whale by the two crews, I sat up in my chair and leaned in. I was transfixed by the sudden change in pace of the novel, so refreshing. I find that these two sections of the book compliment each other. For without the other the book would either be not sufficiently descriptive or not exciting at all. This chapter in particular rehashed my enjoyment of the novel and I hope will carry me to the end. For I plan to read the whole book or at least most of it, in chunks of time rather than a chapter here and another there, it facilitates a better reading if you devote time and effort to it. Melville writes about Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo throwing their spears before their competitors can maiking, "Blinding vapors of foam and white-fire!" I circled the passage and wrote FUCK YEAH in the margin.

Melville and Shelley and Edwards and Thompson

Over the summer of two years past I had the pleasure of reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I was assigned to read to read it the semester prior but did not get the opportunity and it seemed to be worth it because when I read it on my own, I was entranced. It seemed that every sentence was packed full with meaning, the word choice was amazing, awe inspiring. I get the same sense with the writings of Melville his whale book. In chapter LXXXI I was hypnotized in a sense by his description of the bleeding whale. Melville writes, "Yet so vast is the quantity of blood in him, and so distant and numerous its interior fountains, that he will keep thus bleeding for a considerable period; even as in drought a river will flow, whose source is in the well-springs of far-off and indiscernible hills." When he could have just written there was so much blood it too long to all come out, he uses a melodic like language to communicate the vastness immensities of blood that come gushing out of the whale, comparing it to a river of all things. In this sense I think that I read and see more than blood coming out of a whale carcass. I see the interior of the whale and I see the banks of the river whose source as terminated its existence and the rest of the entity must live out its last moments of existence. Perhaps in the 1800's people and writers alike were far too busy and a s result packed every sentence full of meaning and significance. Reading through this section of the book I was reminded of the "Spider Letter" I saw in Melville's descriptions of the whale's anatomy the careful and descriptive articulation of Edwards' spider's webs. Further more I was reminded of another book I read last summer by Hunter S. Thompson. The language used in his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream I found this same kind of profound language. Speaking with my friend on the subject we came to the conclusion that it's not what he writes about, it's how he writes. Lines like, "a head full of acid" or "demented counter-part to the radio" communicate more than what is literally on the page. I think in this same method Melville, Shelley, and Edwards were writing. The language of all these works is profound in that it tells us more and more each time we read it, because language has that power to be morphed and twisted and to be read with infinite perspectives making it a never ending tool of the communication of knowledge and experience.

Sauntering With Melville

Ever since reading the literature of transcendentalism, I've been intrigued by the notion of sauntering. I found it to be a wonderfully imaginative, self-reflecting, exploration of the ordinary. In the book I've found several instances of this, and each time it is mentioned, there exists an element of curiosity. In The Mast-Head we as readers get a glimpse of the mind as the body is in s sauntering mood. Ishmael thinks as he's in the mast-head, " a sublime uneventfulness invests you; you hear no news; read no gazettes; extras with startling accounts of commonplaces never delude you into unnecessary excitements..." I think the point here is that when we are sauntering we are removed from this world in a sense. With the only focus being on the subliminal subtleties of the self. This recession back into the mind from the chaotic outside world provides the environment for some of the most profound thoughts. In Walden this is what Thoreau was up to, simple thought without the "unnecessary excitements, because when we reduce our thought to one notion, the possibilities are endless, we leave our body and become emerged in one thing fully and as a result more profoundly. In the chapter Stubb Kills a Whale Ishmael says, "No resolution could stand it; in that dreamy mood losing all consciousness, at last my soul went out of my body; though my body still continued to sway as a pendulum will, long after the power which first moved it is withdrawn." This passage reminds me of a quote from Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell, that speaks of the union of the soul and body.

1. That Man has two real existing principles Viz: a Body & a Soul.
2. That Energy, call'd Evil, is alone from the Body, & that Reason, call'd Good, is alone from the Soul.
3. That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies.

But the following Contraries to these are True.
1. Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that call'd Body is a portion of Soul discern'd by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age.
2. Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy.
3. Energy is Eternal Delight.

This idea that the body and the soul cannot do certain things due to their union, reason and evil are compromised as a result. With this notion of sauntering it seems we can reconcile some of these anxieties. If only we all had a mast-head to look out from.

Life As Fiction in Moby

"But ere stepping into the cabin doorway below, he pauses, ships a new face altogether, and , then, independent, hilarious little Flask enters King Ahab's presence, in the character of Abjectus , or the slave" This passage reminded me of a class theme we are discussing in Sexson's emergent class, Life as Fiction. The basis of the theme is that life or our lives are works of fiction, to quote the great Canadian band Rush, "All the world's a stage and we are merely players, performers and portrayers.." The idea is that we have limited control of our lives and as such our actions. In this way I think it is important to look at Ahab, as was mentioned in class, as the embodiment of several characters, namely King Lear, Hamlet and so on. In chapter XXXVII I get a much better sense of this idea when we as readers get a glimpse of Ahab's thought. "The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Over unsounded gorges, through the rifled hearts of mountains, under torrents' beds, unerringly I rush! Naught's an obstacle, naught's an angle to the iron way!" Ahab feels this sense of predetermined purpose, an undeniable path he must, nay will, follow. The fact that Ahab can be viwed as a revivification of other characters, relates to the notion of the iron rails where his soul runs. However, another element of life as fiction comes into play here, when Ahab makes the conscious decision to follow the iron gate. When we as people come to realize that we are in a story often times we can alter our actions to change our destiny. Although this may in fact be the very purpose of our lives, to change how we are, and that in fact reduces us once again, to merely characters in a story. I feel the point however, like it is manifested in Ahab, is to be a kind of unique blend of other characters and plot lines that will allow us to feel our own self derived purpose, because there can be none other than the self if that is all we can know.

Family Guy and Mody Dick

It was mentioned the other day in class that Family Guy has a character with the likeness of Captain Ahab. The character in the show is called Shamus and he has two peg legs, two peg arms, and one eye. He appears several times in the show, his debut occured when Peter was planning on going on a fishing expedition,and he warned Peter of the dangers of the waters. Several times throughout the dialogue Shamus repeated him self unnessarily. Saying things like, "It be tretucherous out there, a dangerous voyage you be embarking on, the waters are periless" then he says, "I guess the main thing I want you to understand is that it's risky." Today I read a passage that reminded me out this particular episode. When Ishmael is takling to captains Peleg and Bildad about Ahab's leg one if them says, "Lost by a whale! Young man, come nearer to me: it was devoured, chewed up, crunched by the monstrous parmacetty that ever chipped a boat! -ah, ah!" I was expecting to read something like, "It got bit off, is what I'm saying," next, but that was not the case. The idea here that pirates are repetitve creature thriving on profoundness and shock value of singular events. Ahab is a perfect example of this with his relentless pursuit of the white whale

Ishmael and Queequeg

So far it seems that these two characters are becoming quite the couple, in a platonic sense of course. The concept of pillow talk I feel has fueled their relationship at an accelerated rate. Their many discussions in bed seem to be the essential part of their symbiotic friendship. Where Ishmael is the sound, rational, descriptive one, Queequeg speaks from experience and has a certain degree of authority with his diverse background. This idea reminds me of the sleep-overs I used to have with my friends in grade school. Often times we would all sleep in the living room, in our respective sleeping bags, and talk for hours into the wee hours of the morning. These conversations much like those of Ishmael and Queequeg, seemed to produce the most profound and influential topics whether they be about school, girls, or life.

Observations on Ishmael

The uniqueness of this novel that I'm drawn to is Ishmael as a narrator. We get see what he wants to tell us, yet at the same time there is so much one can read into with these selected observations. Most notably I'm fascinated by Ishmael's fascination with Queequeg. He writes, "Savage though he was, and hideously marred about the face-at least to my taste-his countenance yet had a something in it which was by no means disagreeable." We get to see what Ishmael wants to tell us, but we also see that his view is unique to him, and we as readers are removed from these observations by two degrees. With this in mind we must read the novel twice, once through Ishmael, and again through ourselves, powerful stuff, is it not.

John Henry Bonham, Moby Dick, Dick, Dick!

In preparation for our discussion of Moby Dick, I listened to the song by Led Zeppelin with the same title. The track's demonic blues riff, and Bonham's eight minute drum solo, makes me feel how I guess Ahab feels, determined and relentless. I have never read the book before, but I plan to and keeping this blog will help me stay on track. I enjoyed the first part of the book, looking through all the references to whales in literary history gives a unique perspective in relation to the book. How will Melville, depict the whale for us in his take on the animal. So far I liked the book mostly because of the narrator, he has something to hide, and that is a unique element, an untrustworthy narrator. I as a reader must now look past these words, and see what Ishmael is both saying, and not saying.