August 18, 2019 - Chapters One Hundred Twenty, One Hundred Twenty-one, and One Hundred Twenty-two


For today, the narration returns to the dramatic form, and we have three short chapters featuring crew members from Ahab down to Tashtego. The subject of all three is the falling apart of the Pequod, Ahab’s refusal to fix it, and instead his command to lash down the sails. The command goes from Ahab (Chapter 120), through Stubb and Flash (Chapter 121), and finally to Tashtego (Chapter 122), who utters the following line while doing the actual work: "Um, um, um. Stop that thunder! Plenty too much thunder up here. What's the use of thunder? Um, um, um. We don't want thunder; we want rum; give us a glass of rum. Um, um, um!"

It’s unclear why this work would fall to one of the harpooners, nor is it clear why Tashtego’s desire to be drunk is relevant here – although it is probably worth nothing that Tashtego, like all the harpooners, is non-white.

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