Keynote Lecture Q and A

Take a look at the Q and A portion of Dr. Freeburg's talk, for answers to these and other questions:

• In your research, did you find that Melville had any intimate experience with African Americans to absorb the culture?
• Is there any symbolism for feminism that works its way into the book?
• The whalers were primarily New England stock, so how did Pip get on the boat?
• You can pair Ahab and Pip, who is African American, and Ishmael and Queequeg, who is Pacific Islander and dark-skinned.  What is the reader meant to see with these pairings?
• What's the relationship between Nathaniel Hawthorne and Melville?
• How did you get interested in Melville?

And many thanks once again to Dr. Christopher Freeburg for an excellent talk!