jacquelinej’s Blog

Once again, the reading went back to more of Ishmael’s random blogs.  However, within chapter fifty-five, a meaningful message was delivered.  It seemed that Ishmaels was indeed going off on one of his random whaling lessons, but this one had more in it.  He stated that there is no imagining a whale, but in order to envision a whale, you must confront one.  This brought me back to the essay topic.  What does this say about the American character?  Many people fear the process of confronting a fear or issue.  They’d rather disregard the topic then to confront it and solve it.  This demonstrates an act of cowardliness.  Being able to confront your fears demonstrates strength and confidence and it is clear that in our society, many people would rather ignore the issue. 

             Another interesting part of the reading was how Melville combined two separate interpretations into one chapter.  The false recognition of the whale affected the whalers in different ways.  At this time, the whalers are not all seen as one similar body, but different people with different characteristics.  While it is believed that the squid sight is a bad omen, Queequeg ignores the myth and takes it as a good omen.  He’s become a very positive character in the novel and perhaps his optimism will bring about good fortune?

The setting of these chapters came across as much more gloomy than the previous ones.  Within chapter 48, we find out that other men, that were unknown to the other whalers were on board.  Ahab was the only one that knew of these men and he becomes more secluded from the rest of the whalers at this time.  He’s very separated from the rest of the whalers and thats how he likes to be.  Yes, he leads the whaling ship, but is he truly a leader?  I found it interesting that Ahab refers to the other whalers as children.  ” Pull, pull, my fine heart-alive; pull, my children; pull my little ones.” pg 181.  This quote is practical but almost ridiculous.  He is, indeed more experienced than the other whalers but I feel as if he uses the word child to separate the whalers from grown men.

Queequeg also demonstrates his admiration for whaling throughout these chapters.  He’s evidently grown through the voyage yet when he attempts to harpoon the whale and fails, it is almost as if he looses hope.  Then, Ishmael questions the tragic journey.  He asks Queequeg if the situation happens often; the situation being a failing attempt.  He is less educated than Queequeg  in terms of whaling and looks up to him as a source of knowledge as opposed to Ahab, his captain.

The setting of the assigned reading was also very suspenseful.  Melville set the scene to be gloomy, wet, cold and dark.  This made me feel as if something extremely tragic was going to happen.  The howling wind and crazy tide all added suspense into the reading.  Also, I feel that the journey is aging rapidly.  Days and weeks all blend into one time period.  I found it interesting that though it is a four year journey, time is going by quickly.

In the end of the assigned reading, it seems as if Ahab is loosing hope.  Secluding himself from the rest of the boat, he has no one to befriend.  He says, ” Swim away from me-do ye?” page 195.  It is clear that Ahab feels betrayed and perhaps the reason as to why he’s such an angry, scary man is beginning to be unfolded.

Aside from the suspenceful ending in chapter fourty-seven, these chapters were rather factual as opposed to descriptive.  Seeking beneath the information provided by Melville, I noticed that he hides meaning within these, what seem to be meaningless chapters.  The assign text, I believe focused in on the relationship betweem Ahab and Ishmael.  It seems as if their relationship is growing closer, rather than further apart.  The two men both fear Moby Dick for different reasons.  Ahab has already had an encounter with the whale, while Ishmael fears his imaginary image of Moby Dick.  Ishmael is learning from Ahab but I fear that he cannot trust him.  Ahab can be putting on an act in order to gain Ishmael’s trust, and then take advantage of it later in the novel.  Here, I look back on the essay topic.  I’ve noticed that the relationship between Ishmael and Ahab is very common.  In society today, gaining trust from a person is a big impact on a relationship.  It takes a lot to truly trust a person, and be certain that you can trust them.  Also, at any time, a person can turn against you and betray you.  Because Ahab and Ishmael are whaling together, they will be in eachother’s presence for the remainder of the voyage.  I look foward to seeing how their relationship grows, or diminishes. 

The begining of the assigned reading was rather dramatic.  I’d like to focus my blog on Ahab. As Elijah said, he’s surely a person to look out for.  Within chapters twenty-nine and thirty, he acts rather psycotic.  It is clear that he is not at ease with himself, and is begining to worry the other shipmates. Then, the drama begins when he starts to fight with Stubb.  I believe that this section in the story is the begining of further drama that will ignite.  Stubb was a character that was introduced as worry-free and humorous and I feel that it’s ironic that Ahab chose to start a fight with him.  Stubb begins to have nightmares involving Ahab and one can only imagine how the dreams are going to impact his personality as the novel grows.  Also, I found it interesting that Ahab is begining to notice his bad habbits.  He noticed that smoking doesn’t relieve his stress, and therefore quits.  Perhaps this is the begining of a character development?  Subsequent to this part of the reading, Ahab is once again expressed as an evil being. Similar to scene before the voyage began, the men are eating in silence.  This symbolizes their discomfort and fear of Ahab.  What’s also ironic is that although Ahab is a leader of the ship, he’s not looked up to by any of the other shippers and does not demonstrate any leader like qualities. 

Within these chapters, we got to know a lot more about the other whalers on the ship.  Setting off on a cold Christmas morning, the men are excited and clearly nervous.  We find Ishmael meditating and pondering ways to die at sea.  This is extremely foreshadowing and like we talked about in class Friday, the men are obviously going to die; how? is the question.  Ishmael also brings up an interesting comparison.  He says that whaling is it’s own type of education and relates whaling to going to Harvard or Yale which I thought was very interesting.  Through previous chapters we learn that Queequeg and the other whalers do have very intelligent characteristics to them, but never did I relate sea intelligence to  book intelligence. 

              We were also introduced to a new character whom I believen will take some control of the more dangerous incidents at sea. Stubb seems to be a very carefree character who doesn’t seem to panic when under pressure.  I feel that when the boat incounters issues, or a mate becomes sick, Stubb will be the character to ease the situation as much as possible.  Another character we begin to see more of is Ahab.  Since the boat has taken sail, it is clear that he can no longer be secluded from the rest of the shipmates. We learn that aside from his missing leg, he has a huge scar of his face.  I feel that this may symbolize something later in the novel. 

        Overall, the boat has set sail, and soon enough a series of terrifying or exciting events will most probably take place.

I found it interesting, through this portion of reading, that religion has come such a big theme in the novel.  When introduced to the novel, I had no thoughts of religion being a huge part of the novel.  I thought it would be a simply based story of a whaling excursion but then questioned why there were so many excerpts from the bible included in the extracts. Clearly, the whalers, as well as Ishamel and Queequeg have exemplified respect for their religions, no matter what they believe, and feel that by being religious, they will be protected.  I do find this to be a contradiction to the article we read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” because in this text, the author told the readers that you are born with a destination, whether it be heaven or hell.   Though I previously felt that Moby-Dick was going to agree with the beliefs shared in the article, it is clear that the characters in the novel think much differently than the author of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. 

       Within this reading, more characters are introduced.  The relationship of Ishmael and Queequeg has been put aside and now the story is focusing on the other whalers.  Ahab and the Quaker whalers are very interesting individuals. I thought it was interesting that Ahab, like Queequeg is considered a king of some kind.  I feel that later in the novel, the two may get along and find other similarities between themselves, or begin to not like eachother.  I also found it ironic that Quakers are on the voyage with them.  Innitially, I’d generalize Quakers as peaceful people, yet these men seem as if they can, at any time, become violent.  Going back to Ahab; he worries me.  The men have been warned by Elijah that Ahab is not a safe person and the men ignore his warning.  I feel that later in the novel, the men will learn that they should have taken Elijah’s advice for granted. 

            In conclusion, I feel that this portion of reading was very foreshadowing.  Yes, it is the beginning of the voyage, but I believe the information that Ishmael and Queequeg are getting should not be avoided, and that later in the text they will go through situations that could have maybe been avoided. 

It is evident, through these chapters that the relationship between Queequeg and Ishmael is growing.  The scene in which the two men wake up in the middle of the night and keep each other warm signifies that they no longer see each other as two completely different people, but share a bond.  I feel it was important for Melville to create this bond between them because later in the assigned reading the men are most likely going to depend on each other for survival and protection.  I find it interesting that although Queequeg was introduced as nothing more than an evil harpooner, he has gained great respect from not only Ishmael, but the others on their ship.  In Nantucket, subsequent to the ships ropes breaking, Queequeg gets true respect from all the others on the boat.  It is clear that beneath his tattoos and strong build, he’s an innocent, good person.  I feel that through the majority of their journey together, Ishamel and Queeque’s relationship will grow even greater, and that they will learn off of each other.  He and Ishmael exemplify two different types of intelligence.  Because Ishmael has book smarts, based off of his teaching experience, and Queequeg is street, or ocean smart, the two can definitely benefit off of each other, and I feel they will.

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