1B: "Etymology" and "Extracts (Supplied by a Sub-Sub-Librarian)."

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851) by Herman Meville. First edition.

From Moby-Dick (1851) by Herman Melville

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Other themes worth exploring:

A Late Consumptive Usher to a Grammar School

“The ‘Extracts (Supplied by a Sub-Sub-Librarian)’ was a little confusing to consume at first, especially because of how Melville speaks of the ‘Sub-Sub,’ which I cannot figure out still.”

    Consider: What is achieved by the juxtaposition of this humorously deflating introduction and the scholarship that follows?

Pekee-Nuee- Nuee

    Note the arbitrary relationship between the signifer (word) and the signfied (the thing it indicates): “Whale” and "Ballena" and "Pekee-Nuee-Nuee" are all perfectly adequate as names for this particular animal and all different from each other.

From Genesis to Petticoats

I was surprised by the variety of the texts mentioned in the extracts, everything from bible verses to sailor songs are quoted. One that I particularly enjoyed reading from the list was
“To fifty chosen sylphs of special note,
We trust the important charge, the petticoat.
Oft have we known that seven-fold fence to fail,
Tho’ stuffed with hoops and armed with ribs of whale.” (“Rape of the Lock.”)

I thought this quote was very impactful because most of the quotes are speaking literally of whales and their splendor. This one, however, is speaking of women’s clothing. To investigate this further, I researched the poem of reference. The poem is a mock-epic surrounding a character named Belinda, and a Baron who wants a lock of her hair. I think the imagery of being “armed with rib bones” is powerful.

    Consider: What changes in the human relationship with the natural world are suggested by the chronological progress of the extracts from Biblical passages to more recent whaling expeditions?

Sea of Oil, Sea of Water
What stuck out to me most was the statement, “The mighty whales which swim in the sea of water and have a sea of oil swimming in them."

    Consider: Commercial enterprises valued whales for their oil.

Colonization: Ocean Edition

The extracts in Moby-Dick speak of whales as aggressive predators causing humans a great deal of trouble, such as the extract from “Apology for Raimond Sebond” that says, "And whereas all the other things, whether beast or vessel that enter into the dreadful gulf of this monster's (whale's) mouth are immediately lost and swallowed up, the sea-gudgeon retires into it in great security, and there sleeps." Including an index of whale references in a book about a whale can be leading for the reader, especially when all of the references seem to portray a particular image. It sets the reader up to see the whale as a natural symbol rivaling the human experience. Before reading these extracts, whales were rendered in my mind as very peaceful, calm, and wise creatures. However, these extracts have led me to believe that this book is not about our friendly ocean giants but rather humanity's fear of the unknown. The text should've been titled “Colonization: Ocean Edition.”