Moby-Dick Big Read - Chat discussion

Moby-Dick Big Read
Chapter 26 - Read by Jake Phillips
Artist: Laura Ford
http://www.mobydickbigread.com/chapte...
Blog: http://ahistoryofnewyork.com/2012/10/...

Melville's lengthy introduction to Starbuck, the man and the character, really drew me in. What a great description with phrases that are so artful as "the condensation of the man." That really capped the description Melville had provided so far, and the time Melville spent on the introduction sets up the future narrative and Starbuck's importance.

Melville spent a great amount of time discussing not only Starbuck's courage but the nature of courage, itself, and the type that inhabits Starbuck. He then swiftly moves to set our sights on Starbuck's tale and the sorrow tale that it is. So we are getting clear signals to pay attention to what is to come.

Although Melville doesn't come right out to say it, I have to assume that Starbuck saw the deaths of his father and brother and that they haunt him still. That line: "Where, in the bottomless deeps, could he find the torn limbs of his brother?" is so evocative.

There is the line about superstition and the two types. So many things Melville is pointing to, signaling us to watch for in the future.

Then it almost seems as though he moves in a song of praise, a psalm, at the end.

Interesting chapter, and now we see the next chapter coming with the same name. :)

We are not done.

In addition we have that photograph of the fallen knight, for once an image that seems more directly related to the chapter and, maybe, portentous. (I didnt' see anything posted on the blogs yet about today's read.)

All in all, I enjoyed reading this chapter.

I had a hard time listening to this one. The reader's voice and cadence put me off a bit. I'll go read it again in a minute.

I like this aspect of the project. I almost never take the time to re-read a passage, or study exactly what a word means and why it was chosen. I'll go look up squire and knight in a minute too. What exactly does melville mean here?

Back later today, as I have lots to do this morning.

ETA: interesting blog post too.

Squires and Knights are low-level English landed gentry - the type of men who went off and supported the sovereign in crusades and wars. I assumed that Melville was referring to the ship's mates when using these terms.

I too found this a difficult chapter to listen and read along to. For me, it was not the reader, but rather the strings of words connected,...I just could not care about what was being said. (Feeling like a punishment chapter, like I have to get thru it to get to more interesting ones.) That said, I'm going to further punish myself by rereading and re-listening right now. Oy!