I can see why this book wasn't a great seller - he's a brilliant writer, witty, and perceptive, but... -I'm surprised that this is the great American novel
It's a volume that's representative of all types of literature - in an era when you didn't have many books, you would want something like this
What could you take out? - the phonology of a whale's head, and the descriptions of all types of whales
Others loved it: "I copied down many of his phrases..."
A lot of his thoughts were modern about religion and respecting all, about relating all colors with one another
The boat was the defining character- you don't know any of the characters that deeply, so the emotional impact of their deaths is muted
Possibly Pip had a brain injury from the near drowning- and that's why he went mad
It seemed like Pip was Ahab's boy toy
It's American because of the melting pot of people - resourcefulness of the crew members - what's American in 1851 is not American today
"When I read a novel I create a movie in my head and this time I couldn't create a movie"
a reader recommends Melville's
The Confidence Man
So claustrophobic, it was a relief when they met up with other ships (gams)
A great visual - when the three masts catch fire and become candles - don't know what it means - can it be taken literally?
Did Melville keep a journal while at sea? Apparently he differed from Thoreau and Hawthorne and Emerson in that he didn't keep a record of his daily thoughts
A reader suggested
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, about the Essex
Relationship to Macbeth - he has an obsession about keeping his throne and power
Ahab is infectious - the community is affected by him - it's very complex
What's the connection with King Lear? Christopher Buckley (author of the afterword) refers to this - hard to see. Lear is crazy but he is taken advantage of by two of his daughters - who takes advantage of Ahab?
Should Melville refer to Ahab as an old man? He was obviously still very vigorous
What does Melville mean when he says he's written a wicked book? What's wicked? Buckley says Moby Dick was a 'smackdown of the deity' - is that true?
Connection to Jaws - on the Enderby Ahab and the other captain share their wound stories, like Richard Dreyfus and Robert Shaw in Jaws
Leviathan - from the Bible - Psalm104, verse 26 - also Hobbes' Leviathan,the powerful state with the monopoly on violence
Discussion of the word 'ineffable' - Morrison used the word in her Nobel acceptance speech
Why is Moby Dick a great American novel - how does it compare to Huck Finn? you have the pairings: Huck and Jim, Ahab and Pip, Ishmael and Queequeg
What is American? individualism? Buckley says Ishmael is a nomad and wanderer, the ideal American type - accurate? what about religiosity?
You can feel Melville struggling
Does the novel have a clear point of view about free will and predestination? Ahab believes in predestination
Material making up Ahab's leg - first whale bone,then wood from one of the destroyed boats - definite foreshadowing
