20 January 2017

Moby Dick Book Club: Week 12













Meagan

This section wasn't boring but wasn't exciting. I just have nothing much to say about it. I was super interested in the Blacksmith's idea that he wanted to die so he went whaling...

The only other note I have this week is how the actual fuck are we at chapter 120/135 and we still haven't had our encounter with Moby Dick? In In the Heart of the Sea it was really the aftermath of the attack that I most enjoyed (them being hungry and in the little life boats etc.)... and we will barely get ANY OF THAT in this book... and what's our consolation prize? Whale art... whale heads... 3 chapters on the history of whaling... how did this happen to us?


Meghan


I thought the first chapter of this section was incredibly boring but it made me excited to read another Nathaniel Philbrick book that I bought (Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery: the U.S. Exploring Expedition) about the mapping of the Pacific ocean. Although that isn't saying too much given I would be excited to read to the dictionary if it meant I was finished with Moby Dick.

I think I would have enjoyed the experience a lot more had I read Philbrick's Why Read Moby Dick? (2013) ... he is so passionate about the story that it would have served as great motivation for me.



I liked the part about how a voyage like this is great for the suicidal ... more specifically the one's who would prefer it look like an accident:

"To the death-longing eyes of such men, who still have left in them some interior compunctions against suicide, does the all-contributive and all-receptive ocean alluringly spread forth ..."

If things ever get too bad for me and Meg I guess we are going whaling ...



It's occurred to me that I hate this book so much that I would never even sit through the movie adaptation if someone paid me.

I skipped the last two chapters :( I will read them by the time we write for next week though. This is a very short entry but I didn't take away too much from this section ... I also feel like Meg will be funnier when discussing the Bachelor which I can't wait to read.

1 comment:

  1. So I didn't hate this section. I thought it was really sweet how Queequeg wanted his casket made from a Nantucket Canoe, and was glad that they didn't have to use it - I like Queequeg.

    I enjoyed learning about Perth's life and how he came to the ship. It's a sad story really. He seems like an interesting guy and I enjoy his interactions with Ahab. You can tell he really gets just how loopy Ahab is.

    The highlight of the section for me was when Ahab had the blacksmith craft a new harpoon from his personal razor stash... and then forge the harpoon with the harpooners blood. SO weird.

    It was also quite telling just to how possessed Ahab is on his quest for murder when he turned down the invite to join that other ship for a 'ship meeting' with their load of Polynesian women. As if a normal whaling man would turn that down!

    We're almost done!!!

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