July 11, 2019 - Chapters Fifty-eight and Fifty-nine


In the first of these two short chapters, we’re treated to a number of allusions, two of which I thought I’d comment on here. The first is rather a lengthy one to Noah’s Ark; note the bolded text: “The first boat we read of, floated on an ocean, that with Portuguese vengeance had whelmed a whole world without leaving so much as a widow. That same ocean rolls now; that same ocean destroyed the wrecked ships of last year. Yea, foolish mortals, Noah's flood is not yet subsided; two thirds of the fair world it yet covers.” I wasn’t aware Portuguese vengeance was so notorious, but apparently it was. The second allusion is to the “Persian host who murdered his own guests.” It turns out that this allusion has never been positively identified, although a few possibilities exist.

In the second chapter, we’re told the Pequod is nearing the Dutch East Indies, and a possible sighting of Moby Dick turns out to be a giant squid – which, given the title of the chapter (i.e., “Squid”), isn’t exactly a surprise.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

August 31, 2019 - Chapter One Hundred Thirty-five (pp. 555-561)

Lest we think we’ve seen the last of Fedallah, he appears in this, the third (and final) day of the hunt of Moby Dick – in a manner of speaking. Rather, he appears lashed to the white whale’s back when he sounds once again. Ahab cries, “"Aye, Parsee! I see thee again.—Aye, and thou goest before; and this, this then is the hearse that thou didst promise.” Ahab might believe he will survive this final encounter; he certainly believes that this third day will be the final day of the hunt. There is, after all, a certain finality about the number three.
Read more

The Idea

Image
It's a pretty straightforward idea. One novel ( Moby Dick , by Herman Melville), one summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day inclusive), around six pages per day, one blog post per day of roughly 100 words (perhaps more) on what I've read and observed. I meant to do this a few years ago and kinda pooped out. This year I'm going to try it again. Wish me luck.
Read more

August 27, 2019 - Chapter One Hundred Thirty-three (pp. 537-541)

Image
Finally, the chase begins. In the first part, which ends with the destruction of Ahab’s boat by the white whale (he said ironically), we get this: “But soon the fore part of him slowly rose from the water; for an instant his whole marbleized body formed a high arch, like Virginia's Natural Bridge.” As we have already been told, Moby Dick isn’t actually all white, as the image below of said bridge shows us. The question is why the whale is referred to as white when it clearly isn’t. Curious readers should probably consult the chapter entitled “The Whiteness of the Whale” once again.
Read more