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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What a journey...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
I really wanted to finish this — I'll say it — beast of a book (whale of a book?) before the year ended and I admit it's because I wanted to prove something to myself. That I can read anything. That I can read anything again. I have this image of myself in a former glory where I am surrounded by books way above my supposed reading level, and I remember being excited about it, and I remember being grateful to be there. When the fog cleared on all my borrowed expectations, I realized I had no big dreams, really, just a dormant desire to return to that romanticized, composite illusion created by my brain to accompany the recurring nostalgic thought, "I used to be able to read anything then. You know, before social media happened." This was the whale I was pursuing.
And that is how I got here: having read the most difficult book I have ever read in my life so far. Due to its length alone — over a hundred chapters unfolding in over a thousand pages — it is a difficult book to finish. The fact that it was written in 1851 — which entails the use of now-archaic language, and references to a day-to-day life that we no longer recognize owing to its temporal distance — only makes it much more elusive to a modern reader. And then there is Ishmael, a narrator who digresses like a squirrel set loose in a park. I love him but oh my god.
About 30 chapters into this, I realized that a good way to read Moby Dick as a modern reader is to read it as if you were watching a documentary about a whaling voyage gone wrong. Once I got into this space, my brain became less resistant to Ishmael's digressions — all the random facts about whales, all the philosophical introspections. I really just had to get past that mentally in order to focus on what the narrative was really about: a tragedy. An epic, Greek-like tragedy that holds a mirror to man's hubris, and our human nature.
The thing about these kinds of tragedies is that they offer a catharsis. Speaking only for myself, I found Ahab's unraveling as a space to engage with my own larger-than-life ambitions. When I lamented the fate of his crew in lieu of his conceit, I found empathy for the people I hurt with my own narcissism, I felt guilt, I felt shame — emotions that I would never otherwise feel I could safely release if not for works of fiction such as this great American novel. I thought about all sorts of reasons why I liked this book, picking out the chase chapters to illustrate Melville's command of momentum and thematic unity, or even just because Ishmael and Queequeg were way gayer than I thought they would be, but in the end, it's really as simple as this: to me, reading is a conduit for feeling, and Moby Dick — crazy long that is it — successfully took me on a stormy adventure into my own soul.
And that is how I got here: having read the most difficult book I have ever read in my life so far. Due to its length alone — over a hundred chapters unfolding in over a thousand pages — it is a difficult book to finish. The fact that it was written in 1851 — which entails the use of now-archaic language, and references to a day-to-day life that we no longer recognize owing to its temporal distance — only makes it much more elusive to a modern reader. And then there is Ishmael, a narrator who digresses like a squirrel set loose in a park. I love him but oh my god.
About 30 chapters into this, I realized that a good way to read Moby Dick as a modern reader is to read it as if you were watching a documentary about a whaling voyage gone wrong. Once I got into this space, my brain became less resistant to Ishmael's digressions — all the random facts about whales, all the philosophical introspections. I really just had to get past that mentally in order to focus on what the narrative was really about: a tragedy. An epic, Greek-like tragedy that holds a mirror to man's hubris, and our human nature.
The thing about these kinds of tragedies is that they offer a catharsis. Speaking only for myself, I found Ahab's unraveling as a space to engage with my own larger-than-life ambitions. When I lamented the fate of his crew in lieu of his conceit, I found empathy for the people I hurt with my own narcissism, I felt guilt, I felt shame — emotions that I would never otherwise feel I could safely release if not for works of fiction such as this great American novel. I thought about all sorts of reasons why I liked this book, picking out the chase chapters to illustrate Melville's command of momentum and thematic unity, or even just because Ishmael and Queequeg were way gayer than I thought they would be, but in the end, it's really as simple as this: to me, reading is a conduit for feeling, and Moby Dick — crazy long that is it — successfully took me on a stormy adventure into my own soul.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i understand why this book is considered important to the american canon(tm) now. it is definitely a racist and anthropocentric novel, and it also has moments of homoeroticism. it is about the american civil war for sure and should not be reduced to the portions between queequeg and ishmael. :-)
So soon as he recovered himself, the poor little negro was assailed by yells and execrations from the crew. Tranquilly permitting these irregular cursings to evaporate, Stubb then in a plain, businesslike, but still half humorous manner, cursed Pip officially; and that done, unofficially gave him much wholesome advice. The substance was, Never jump from a boat, Pip, except—but all the rest was indefinite, as the soundest advice ever is. Now, in general, Stick to the boat, is your true motto in whaling; but cases will sometimes happen when Leap from the boat, is still better. Moreover, as if perceiving at last that if he should give undiluted conscientious advice to Pip, he would be leaving him too wide a margin to jump in for the future; Stubb suddenly dropped all advice, and concluded with a peremptory command, "Stick to the boat, Pip, or by the Lord, I wont pick you up if you jump; mind that. We can't afford to lose whales by the likes of you; a whale would sell for thirty times what you would, Pip, in Alabama. Bear that in, mind, and don't jump any more." Hereby perhaps Stubb indirectly hinted, that though man loves his fellow, yet man is a money-making animal, which propensity too often interferes with his benevolence.
So refreshing to read a straight narrative with no symbolism whatsoever. Who knew there were so many kinds of whales?
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've said that there is strong character development. And I think it is quite applicable in the case of Ishmael who is narrating the story to us. Ishmael the narrator is a different person than the forecastle Ishmael who we meet on the deck of the Pequod. Only after gaining a lot of stormy experiences and then combining with it a liitle peace of mind which is necessary to jot down those experiences into a brilliant narrative, Ishmael presented us the story.
I am neither afraid nor ashamed to admit I am def not the target audience for this. This book did not change my life lol. It had BEAUTIFUL moments of prose and symbolism and also whale textbook excerpts. And I can see how it has become part of like the Canon of Classics.
And now I’m an expert on whales lmao. It really makes you become like part of the crew and there’s a whole new level of context but those first few textbook chapters were… boring. Especially after getting Ishmael’s journey before joining the Pequod I did not expect to not have plot and character development anymore. But it’s like YOU the reader are developing your sea legs and you everything.
But also where is Queequeg supposed to be from? QUICKLY!! I was very uncomfortable with the “noble savage” monolith-ass “ethnic” guy.
And now I’m an expert on whales lmao. It really makes you become like part of the crew and there’s a whole new level of context but those first few textbook chapters were… boring. Especially after getting Ishmael’s journey before joining the Pequod I did not expect to not have plot and character development anymore. But it’s like YOU the reader are developing your sea legs and you everything.
But also where is Queequeg supposed to be from? QUICKLY!! I was very uncomfortable with the “noble savage” monolith-ass “ethnic” guy.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes