Get together in March?

Ok, word around town says Ms. S has completed the book. It looks like Degolar is around chapter 64...Redbeard has already finished it once, and is on his second voyage...do you all want to plan a get together of shipmates? In mid-March prior to PLA?

I tell you, the sperm whale will stand no nonsense

A few random thoughts...

Why can't I forgive Starbuck? I'm sure it's because I'm afraid I'm him. I can't get over the irony that they named a suburban, strip-mall coffee shop after him. Although don't think I don't frequent Starbucks...and I think there is a lot libraries can learn from Starbucks...but we can learn from their mistakes, too...ok...back to the book...

the little lower layer according to Ahab...
"All visible objects, man, are but as pasteboard masks. But in each event--in the living act, the undoubted deed--there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask. If man will strike, strike through the mask! How can the prisoner reach outside except by thrusting through the wall? To me, the white whale is that wall, shoved near to me."

What is M-D? Everything, nothing, etc, etc...

What M-D is not:
"So ignorant are most landsmen ofsome of the plainest and most palpable wonders of the world, thatwithout some hints touching the plain facts, historical andotherwise, of the fishery, they might scout at Moby Dick as amonstrous fable, or still worse and more detestable, a hideous andintolerable allegory."

I love that Melville wrote a book that has been perceived as an allegory for really almost everything, and even as he's writing, he's all prickly about how readers will perceive his book as a detestable, hideous, intolerable allegory...On one hand he's writing a script-like chapter like the Dubloon where everything is perception, and on the other, he's spewing cetological facts....It's a messy, messy book. Remember this? "A boggy, soggy, squitchy picture truly, enough todrive a nervous man distracted. Yet was there a sort of indefinite,half-attained, unimaginable sublimity about it that fairly froze youto it, till you involuntarily took an oath with yourself to find outwhat that marvellous painting meant." A boggy, soggy, squitchy picture indeed.

Who is the narrator, and is Ishmael a character or just a thin front for Melville, or all that and probably more? On page 280, in The Affidavit, the narrator (Ishmael?), speaking of Capt. D'Wolf, says, "I have the honor of being a nephew of his." In my edition, the footnote says that "Capt. John De Wolf married a sister of Melville's father." Wait...was that Melville speaking directly to the reader?

I love this line...
"yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable--they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness" (Surmises)

I'm pretty sure that in all my previous lives my heart has been broken by sailors of various sorts...I think the only reason I'm happy now is that Larry couldn't be a navy pilot because of his poor eye-sight... oh, and I have to think that there is some significance in the fact that although I love the ocean, I get horribly motion-sick...and everyone who I've ever dated, or you know, married, has never been motion-sick for even a moment. Surely all this is not without meaning...

"aye, chance, free will, and necessity--nowiseincompatible--all interweavingly working together."

Moby-Dick06 (technorati tag)

Redbeard's Progress, 40-53

From Chapter 40 - Midnight, Forecastle:

"Our captain stood upon the deck, A spy-glass in his hand"

I was reading this line, and I couldn't help but think of the opening theme of Gilligans Island. I'm sure it's unintentional, but..

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, the tale of a fateful trip."

That's the only part of the two that seem to sync up, but interesting all the same.


From Chapter 41 - Moby Dick:

"..half-formed foetal suggestions.."

In my version of the text, the 'o' and 'e' of the text are combined in a ligature (Œ). Thats what those strange letter combinations are called. One mark of well-set type (in my opinion) is if ligatures are present. It means the typesetter (or designer) has taken the time to look for these few letter combinations and use a special character in place of two. (Some design programs do this automatically now, so there's really no excuse for not having ligatures.) So, next time you're reading a book, check those ligatures. Ligatures also occur in fl, ff, fi combinations. There's more here, if you're interested.

And, what a creepy line. To use fetal in that way. Sort of like a dingy, flourescent-lit operating room, in the early hours of the morning. *shivers*


Chapter 42 - The Whiteness of the Whale:

Degolar didn't seem too keen on this chapter, but I liked it. There's something to be said for the color white. I was thinking about how hard white clothes are to keep clean, and even now, a pure white is hard to come by, especially to have it stay in it's pristine form. The idea of whiteness as being for the wealthy makes sense to me that way. They can afford to have their clothes professionally cleaned, and if they start to get dingy, they can just buy a new one.


From Chapter 43 - Hark!

"Hist! did you hear that noise, Cabaco?"
"There it is again - under the hatches - don't you hear it - a cough - it sounded like a cough."
"There again - there it is! - it sounds like two or three sleepers turning over, now!"

What could be down in the hatches? More foreshadowing. Building suspense. Maybe Elijah from Nantucket was onto something.. ghostly shapes. Have you guys found out what's down there yet?


From Chapter 44 - The Chart:

"While thus employed, the heavy pewter lamp suspended in chains over his head, continually rocked with the motion of the ship, and for ever threw shifting gleams and shadows of lines upon his wrinkled brow, till it almost seemed that while he himself was marking out lines and courses on the wrinkled charts, some invisible pencil was also tracing lines and courses upon the deeply marked chart of his forehead."

I love that paragraph. Very visual. You can picture it in your mind, the rocking boat, the growing shadows on Ahab's forehead, illuminating and deepening the furrows on his brow as his mind works with plotting the white whale's course..

From Chapter 45 - The Affidavit:

"Like some poor devils ashore that happen to know an irascible great man, they make distant unobtrusive salutations to him in the street, lest if they pursued the acquaintance further, they might receive a summary thump for their presumption."

Haven't we all known someone like this? Patrons at the library that we see day after day, we know their quirks, but dread getting too familiar because then they'll take an interest in us. Better just to nod as they walk by.

From Chapter 48 - The First Lowering:

"Smuggled on board, somehow, before the ship sailed. (Strong, strong, boys!") in a whisper to his crew, then speaking out loud again: "A sad business, Mr. Stubb! (seethe her, seethe her, my lads!) but never mind, Mr. Stubb, all for the best. Let all your crew pull strong, come what will. (Spring, my men, spring!)"

I love how Starbuck whispers so urgently to his men. To fully capture this, I think you've got to listen to the audio version. But it's such a cool character quirk, the whispering. And it's so fittingly Starbuck.

And, now we know who was belowdecks.

From Chapter 51 - The Spirit-Spout:

"..his turban and the moon, companions in one sky."

Again, very easy to visualize.

And, how about that whale, taunting them for days with his ghostly white spout. Makes you want to find out what happens next. Sort of a subdued chase scene.

Chapter 53 - The Gam:

I think the whole reason that this chapter is in the book is so Melville can explain it someplace and then just use 'gam' in the next chapter without having to stop the flow of the story. An interesting way to do it. Would something like this be done now? Would it be relegated to a footnote, or a glossary entry?

Technorati Tags

I feel really dumb, but it's taken me this long to realize I had to have an account with technorati before my posts from my other blog would show up there. You should be seeing them now, though.

The mates, gold, and relaxation at sea.

I would love to be like Stubb, the way Chapter 27 describes him.

He would hum over his old rigadig tunes while flank and flank with the most exasperated monster. Long usage had, for this Stubb, converted the jaws of death into an easy chair.

Completely at-ease in dangerous or threatening situations. I'm normally pretty laid back on the surface, some might say, and I'm glad that I present such a calm demeanor, but inside, its different.

And also, I loved this bit..

"..against all mortal tribulations, Stubb's tobacco smoke might have operated as a sort of disinfecting agent."

On to Chapter 28 - Ahab:

I took the full compliment of art history classes while I was at KU, (and jccc, for that matter), enough to have minored in it, so I thought I'd show you what Ishmael was talking about when he said:

"His whole high, broad form, seemed made of solid bronze, and shaped in an unalterable mould, like Cellini's cast Perseus."

The bronze may not have been so weathered when Ishmael gazed on this statue, and I'm sure Ahab didn't tote around the severed head of medusa (like Queequeg with his shrunken heads).

Chapter 30 - Cetology:

This is easily my least favorite part of the book. Maybe, if I was interested in marine biology, it would be good. Maybe not. The only saving grace this chapter has for me is its usage of old book formats. Folio, quarto, and such. Here's a nice little link that explains it all. It's almost as confusing as figuring out envelope sizes. A6, A4, and such.

Chapter 34 - The Cabin-Table:

What a crummy role poor King-Post gets. Wouldn't it be better if he were back among the crew, so he could at least eat his meals in peace, without fear of having to slam down his dinner? But isn't that the plight of all people who get better positions? The simpler times, they think of. And if he wasn't a mate, he'd hardly have his own boat and crew.

Chapter 35 - The Mast-Head:

"In the serene weather of the tropics it is exceedingly pleasant the mast-head; nay, to a dreamy meditative man it is delightful. There you stand, a hundred feet above the silent decks, striding along the deep, as if the masts were gigantic stilts, while beneath you and between your legs, as it were, swim the hugest monsters of the sea, even as ships once sailed between the boots of the famous Colossus at old Rhodes. There you stand, lost in the infinite series of the sea, with nothing ruffled but the waves. The tranced ship indolently rolls; the drowsy trade winds blow; everything resolves you into languor. For the most part, in this tropic whaling life, a sublime uneventfulness invests you; you hear no news; read no gazettes; extras with startling accounts of commonplaces never delude you into unnecessary excitements; you hear of no domestic afflictions; bankrupt securities; fall of stocks; are never troubled with the thought of what you shall have for dinner"

What a dream this would be. Thousands of miles away from the cares of the 'real' world. When Kelly and I were in Maine, such a relaxed feeling came over me, it could have been the most sublime that I've ever felt. I think this is in some small part due to being near the ocean. Most of it was probably post-wedding euphoria, not to mention being with my best friend, but there was something about the ocean that was so relaxing. And, since I've never been on a whaling voyage, this is the only thing I can compare it to.

From Chapter 36 - The Quarter-Deck:

"Look ye! d'ye see this Spanish ounce of gold? - holding up a broad bright coin to the sun - it is a sixteen dollar piece, men. D'ye see it?"

An ounce of gold in 1850 was worth 16 dollars. Since the US was still on the gold reserve back then, this wasn't an arbitrary price. A dollar note would get you a dollar in gold, if you so desired. Anyway, $16 worth of gold would only amount to about 1/33 of an ounce in today's world. Whereas, an ounce of gold is worth $571.60 (as of yesterday, anyway).