And there was much rejoicing.

Well, it's finished. Again. Last night, I stayed up past my bedtime and read the last two chapters. They're a doozy.

I've fallen a little behind on my posting things. I've got about 20 different sections dog-eared, places that, when read, caught my eye. What I'd like to do is split it up into about 4 different posts, of five. That way it's not too boring.

From Chapter 54 - The Town-Ho's Story:

"Moby Dick!" cried Don Sebastian; "St. Dominic! Sir sailor, but do whales have christenings? Whom call you Moby Dick?"

"A very white, and famous, and most deadly immortal monster, Don; - but that would be too long a story."

I love this little exchange. It reminds me of someone watching a tv show of someone watching tv. Melville's got Ishmael's telling the Spaniards that the story's too long, and he knows the readers are already right in the thick of it. Clever. It's like finding an easter egg in a software program.

Also, upon re-reading this chapter, I liked it a lot more. The first time I read the book, I couldn't stand it.

From Chapter 59 - Squid:

"What was it, Sir?" said Flask.

"The great live Squid, which they say, few whale-ships ever beheld, and returned to their ports to tell of it."

That'd be a scary encounter. 60-plus feet of flailing tentacles, two monstrous eyes. Yards away from your ship. Added to the fact that you'd never seen anything like it before, and you're hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from the nearest land. Terrifying.

From Chapter 60 - The Line:

"..like the six burghers of Calais before King Edward.."

This is one of the things we learned about in art history. The French town of Calais was besieged by England's King Edward. The people inside were starving. So, the mayor, and five of the other town fathers gave themselves up to save their town. (Something you'd never see today). You can see the expressions on their faces in the Rodin sculpture. Well, Edward was so impressed with their bravery that he spared the town.

"For, when the line is darting out, to be seated then in the boat, is like being seated in the midst of the manifold whizzings of a steam-engine in full play, when every flying beam, and shaft, and wheel, is grazing you. It is worse; for you cannot sit motionless in the heart of these perils, because the boat is rocking like a cradle, and you are pitched one way and the other, without the slightest warning.."

A bit of foreshadowing. Hemp's the only thing that can kill him now.

From Chapter 64 - Stubb's Supper:

"Whale-balls for breakfast - don't forget."

Stubb's conversations with the cook, Fleece, are hilarious to me. Maybe it's the way the cook has of speaking. It could be the way he has to follow Stubb's orders, or even his general attitude, but I can see why Melville could be seen as a humorist after reading this.


Chapter 77 - The Great Heidelburgh Tun:

Quoin. I have no idea what this looks like. Google images tells me it's some sort of architecture term for the corners of masonry buildings, but that can't be what Ishmael's talking about. Can someone draw one for me?


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