Moby - Keith

Read from Monday, March 14th to Tuesday, March 22nd.

Moby Dick, the great classic from Herman Melville.  Considered one of the great American stories, it is known by most people, but actually read by not too many.  It is a difficult, but majestic read.  Slow at the beginning, you can watch it slowly but surely build up to that tragic climax that we all could see coming. 

Ishmael is the narrator, and he sets off from New York for Nantucket in order to find some work on a whaling ship.  Along the way, he is forced to share a bed with Queequeg, a harpooneer from the South Pacific, that has been a cannibal.  They become good friends, and decide to ship together on the Pequod.  They talk to the two owners of the ship, and secure work from them, but they hear strange stories about the Captain, Ahab.  Ahab does not present himself until a few days into the voyage, and when he does appear, he explains his over-arching goal for the ship and crew: to kill Moby Dick.  Moby Dick is a great, white Sperm Whale that bit off Ahab's leg on a previous voyage.  He has also attacked and killed many other whalers over the many years.  Ahab has sworn a personal revenge against the White Whale, and he vows to never rest until he has killed him. 

This revenge is allowed to fester as the Pequod goes about her business hunting sperm whales.  Also on board is first mate Starbuck (for which the coffee chain was named after!).  Starbuck is the voice of reason.  He wants to catch the easy whales, and then go home to his wife and child.  He is the only one who stands up to Ahab and his madness.  There are also second and third mates Stubb and Flask, as well as many other sailors from all around the world.  Ishmael is the narrator, but does not get involved in any of the drama on board.

Ishmael describes in many chapters all about the business of whaling.  He tells the history, the different countries and customs.  He describes in great detail the anatomy of the whale, and he classifies all the different types of known whales at the time (1851).  He classifies them as big fish and not mammals.  Ishmael also tells the process of catching whales, and it is illustrated by the action several times.  The ship's lookouts on the mast spot a spout from the blowhole, and then three smaller boats are dropped to the water, and teams row out to the whale.  The harpooneer shoots him, and then the crew hang on with the rope until the whale is too tired and dies from the struggle.  The whale is towed back to the Pequod, where they dissect him and remove all the oil and spermaceti, which is used for candles, makeup, perfume, and machine lubricant, and looks like the substance after which it is named.  Ishmael extols whaling as one of the great, noble professions, even though it is nowadays considered immoral by most countries. 

The Pequod sails around the world into the Pacific, killing whales along the way.  Often they meet other whaling vessels, and learn the stories from those crews.  Ahab's first question every time is 'hast thou seen the White Whale?'  Each ship they pass represents a different omen and foreshadows what is to come.  One is full of whale oil and heading for home with the crew dancing and drinking with new island wives.  Another ship has lost a crew member due to a fight with Moby-Dick.  A final ship has lost a boat with the Captain's young son, and they beg Ahab to help look for it.  But Ahab is so focused on finding Moby Dick that he refuses.  Their fate is set on a course that Ahab refuses to change.  A storm hits, and the crew hear voices of drowned sailors at night, and they see these as bad omens for what is to come.  However, no one is able to challenge Ahab.  Even Starbuck, who at one point contemplated shooting Ahab in his sleep, tries in vain to convince Ahab to turn around and head for home, but he is not about to attempt a mutiny.

Moby Dick is sighted, and they give chase.  The first and second day he wrecks a boat and manages to escape, but still they pursue him.  The third day Ahab and his boat alone go out to catch him.  Ahab manages to stab him, but Moby Dick turns around and attacks the Pequod.  He sinks deep and comes straight up into the hull, and the ship sinks.  Ahab shoots another harpoon, and hits, but the rope catches around his neck and drags him under with the whale.  The small boat is wrecked and is sucked into the whirlpool of the lost Pequod.  All hands drown, except for Ishmael, who clings to the life buoy that was at one point a coffin.  He is rescued by the whaling ship looking for her lost son.

It is a slow start to the book, and the descriptions about the whaling business takes you out of the action, and is distracting.  I skipped through some of those parts.  But the build-up to the climax is superb.  The language is grand, and it reads as a Shakespearean play.  Each character has a soliloquy explaining their feelings.  There are many memorable quotes including the famous last words by Ahab:

"To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.  Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! and since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!"

Good classic, and I learned a lot about what it was like to be a whaler.  The ship Pequod was like a collection of all humanity, and the chase represents many things to many people.  Man against Nature, Man against God, Man against his own Fate and his choice of Free Will.  It is rife with symbols and foreshadowing and beautiful imagery.  Four and a half out of five stars.

Also, this is a painting I got from Urban Outfitters about a year ago.  It is a painting of the final climax of Moby Dick and the Pequod.