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| "The Sperm Whale in a Flurry" by Ambroise Louis Garneray |
1. Ishmael
defines savagery as the long exile from Christianity, and even claims himself a
savage, later stating that his only allegiance is to Queequeg, whom he may
‘rebel’ against at any moment should he see fit[:] “Long exile from Christendom
and civilization inevitably restores a man to that condition in which God
placed him, i.e. what is called savagery” (Melville). Is this meant to be taken
literally? Do we then understand Ishmael moving forward to no longer consider
himself a Christian, or is this satire meant to mock the common conception of
what it means to be Christian, claiming that this ‘savagery’ is the initial
condition in which God placed man?
2. I could recognize hints of William Blake’s poems and the idea of innocence versus experience in chapter 58 of Moby-Dick. William Blake’s poems juxtaposed images of beauty and ugliness or death, commenting on how innocence is lost as one grows up. Much like this Melville wrote, “in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy” which is surrounded “by all the horrors of the half known life.” One could “never return” to the isle after leaving. This line mirrored one of Blake’s poems in which the speaker left a place when it was a garden, and when he returned, it was a cemetery.
Ideology: Life as Punishment?
3. . . . describing a type of krill [:]“Yea, foolish mortals, Noah’s flood is not yet subsided; two thirds of the fair world it yet covers” (Melville). This quote has some wild implications[,] from implying the earth as a whole is still being punished by God, to claiming the very seas in which they habit are condemned. Seeing as the sea so far has seemed to represent somewhat the vast experiences and opportunities and complications held within life itself[,]what can this condemnation of the sea mean for the experience of life and how Ishmael views it? Does he see it as a separation from God, a voyage of punishment?
Aesthetics: Vivid Illustration
4. Chapter 61 finally gives the reader an action scene – in it, the crew of the Pequod hunts and kills a whale. It’s a cool scene to read, with Ishmael likening the fight to “holding an enemy’s sharp two-edged sword by the blade, and that enemy all the time striving to wrest it out of your clutch” (ch.61).
5. In saying of the whale-line, “As the least tangle or kink in the
coiling would, in running out, infallibly take somebody’s arm, leg, or entire
body off, the utmost precaution is used in stowing the line in its tub,”
Melville perhaps offers an example of the suddenness, disregarding nature of
life’s clock, of unexpected circumstance. In life, it as though we are all at
the mercy of a whale-line, whose sturdiness and grit is evident in its ability
to make even the most stout of men crumble at its very discretion.
6. Ishmael describes what a “line” is that is attached to the end of a harpoon. When the harpoon pierces the flesh of the whale and locks on, there is about 1000 or so feet of rope connected to the harpoon that is attached to the whaleboat. Ishmael explains that the process of safely holding onto the rope is a tedious one. If one of the crew were to get caught in the line, they could get chopped in half or thrown overboard. Ishmael recognizes the danger in this, and relates it back to human experience. Ishmael tells us that “all men live enveloped in whale lines.” In other words, they are constantly on the brink of danger and disaster, but do not always realize it. He further explains that people do not realize just how perilous life is, until “caught in the swift, sudden turn of death.” People often do not recognize how short life can be, how easily we can die, until faced with deadly situations. However, he also tells us that if “seated in the whale boat, you would not at heart feel one whit more terror, that though seated before your evening fire with a poker...”
7. I believe Moby Dick is a metaphor for God. Another biblical reference makes me lean more toward this conclusion, “Yea, foolish mortals, Noah’s flood is not yet subsided; two thirds of the fair world it yet covers.” As we read, the whale line is compared to how we tangle ourselves up in the ropes of life “All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever present perils of life.” We all get ourselves tangled up in snares of life as we work toward self discovery and arriving at what is meant for us. I find it very interesting that the rope or line is what is attached to the weapon when catching the whale/God and that is how the whale and weapon is retrieved and pulled back to the boat
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