Reading the Chunksters discussion

As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to these, and I grab them when they come :)

Feel free to post on this section generally or respond to
any of the chapter posts :) excellent discussion so far!




Chapter 17 - The Ramadan

Wiki says this about Ramadan:

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (Sawm) to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.The month lasts 29–30 days based on the visual sightings of the crescent moon, according to numerous biographical accounts compiled in the hadiths

The word Ramadan comes from the Arabic root ramiḍa or ar-ramaḍ, which means scorching heat or dryness. Fasting is fard (obligatory) for adult Muslims, except those who are suffering from an illness, travelling, are elderly, pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic, chronically ill or menstruating. Fasting the month of Ramadan was made obligatory (wājib) during the month of Sha'ban, in the second year after the Muslims migrated from Mecca to Medina. Fatwas have been issued declaring that Muslims who live in regions with a natural phenomenon such as the midnight sun or polar night should follow the timetable of Mecca, but the more commonly accepted opinion is that Muslims in those areas should follow the timetable of the closest country to them in which night can be distinguished from day.

While fasting from dawn until sunset, Muslims refrain from consuming food, drinking liquids, smoking, and engaging in sexual relations. Muslims are also instructed to refrain from sinful behavior that may negate the reward of fasting, such as false speech (insulting, backbiting, cursing, lying, etc.) and fighting except in self-defense.Food and drinks are served daily, before dawn and after sunset, referred to as Suhoor and Iftar respectively.Spiritual rewards (thawab) for fasting are also believed to be multiplied within the month of Ramadan Fasting for Muslims during Ramadan typically includes the increased offering of salat (prayers), recitation of the Quran and an increase of doing good deeds and charity.

Are we to conclude that Queequeg is Muslim? Forgive my ignorance, but does Islam feature idolatry? I am finding all of this fascinating. In addition, Queequeg is apparently meditating and able to literally block out all outside noises and interferences in doing so, which I think demonstrates an incredible mental power. I also found it quite touching how beside himself Ishmael was at the thought that his dear friend may have come to harm.

I think we also receive a confirm about Queequeg's cannibalism in this chapter when he describes the festivities on an occasion when his father hosted a feast with the menu featuring 50 roasted enemies. At least Queequeg suffered indigestion from it.

Do you think that Melville was trying to espouse the moral relativity of religions? If so, how do you think this would have been received in his day?

Chapter 18 - His Mark




It seems odd to me that it is a condition for boarding ship that any heathens prove that they have converted to Christianity. Wouldn't this have been unlikely given the myriad population of a whaling ship? In any event, Ishmael's commentary that Q was a member of the First Congregational Church, and a deacon of it at that, was not surprisingly met with doubt by Bildad and Peleg. Ishmael's fine oratory in response rivaled that of some of the finest lawyers I work with, when he noted that the church that Q belonged to was the same to which "all of us, and every mother's son and soul of us belong; the great and everlasting First Congregation of this whole worshipping world; we all belong to that; only some of us cherish some queer crotchets noways touching the grand belief; in that we all join hands."

To which Peleg is convinced and permits Q to sign on to the ship with his mark. Although I suspect it may have ultimately have had more to do with his pinpoint harpoon accuracy. I wonder if it was common for people to sign with a mark during this time period? Was it typical that people could read and write, particularly in a trade like whaling?

Chapter 19 - The Prophet




Oh what heavy foreboding in this chapter! First of all, our mysterious 'prophet' is none other than Elijah. Who is Elijah?

Wiki tell us:

Elijah was a prophet and a miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship of the Jewish God over that of the Canaanite deity Baal. God also performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection (raising the dead), bringing fire down from the sky, and entering Heaven alive "by a whirlwind".He is also portrayed as leading a school of prophets known as "the sons of the prophets". Following his ascension, Elisha his disciple and most devoted assistant took over his role as leader of this school. The Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah's return "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD", making him a harbinger of the Messiah and of the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. References to Elijah appear in Ecclesiasticus, the New Testament, the Mishnah and Talmud, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and Bahá'í writings.

During the time of Ahab! A ha! In the novel, he is a scaremonger and alludes to their signing with the Pequod as a surrendering of their souls, but also to Ahab and how he lost his leg to a whale. Elijah won't fully explain himself, however, and Ishmael contents himself by regarding this strange prophet as a crazy humbug. It's good that he is able to dismiss him, because Elijah's main message seems to be an ominous: It is TOO LATE for you poor souls!

Chapters 20 - 21

Chapter 20 - All Astir

In this chapter we learn about how a whaling ship is packed for a three year journey. Still no sign of Ahab!

Chapter 21 - Going Aboard

Here the creepy Elijah appears again asking if Q and Ishmael have seen "anything looking like men" going towards the ship. Which seems kind of an odd question, considering the ship is about to set sail for three years with quite a few men, I would imagine. In any event, they shoo him off and are more concerned that Ahab is still nowhere to be found. We also learn that Q is accustomed to sitting on bottoms as a comfy seat where no others present themselves, and he has no compunction about testing them out to see if they will suit.

Chapter 22 - Merry Christmas

Why do they sail on Christmas day anyways? What was Melville driving at with that? I can't figure it out. Also, why does Melville keep referring to the fact that Ahab won't appear? In this chapter we hear about Starbuck, the first mate, Stubb, the second, and Flask, the third. Bildad seemed beset by anxiety and reluctant to leave the ship. While Peleg himself had a tear in his eye, Bildad seemed like a mother hen and fretful to the last. Sage warnings though - no fornication on the islands and beware of spoiled cheese!

The end of this chapter I loved... "blindly plunged like fate into the lone Atlantic."

Chapters 23-25

Chapter 23 - The Lee Shore

Here we encounter Bulkington, from the Spouter Inn, at the helm of the Pequod! What do you make of this quote from the chapter?

"Know ye now, Bulkington? Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore?"


Chapter 24 - The Advocate

Well who is advocating what, exactly? It seems that Ishmael is advocating the business of whaling. What was the prestige or importance of whaling during the time period? Was it really considered equivalent to butchery? Ishmael clearly disagrees, seeming to consider it a heroic enterprise and responsible for numerous advancements for mankind. He also notes that whaling was his "Yale College and [his] Harvard" - perhaps more a comment about Melville than Ishmael?

Chapter 25 - Postscript

This was an odd bit of a chapter noting how whale oil had been used to coronate kings. Is he trying to connect whaling with royalty?

Chapter 26-27 (They are called the same thing. Oddly enough.)

Chapter 26 - Knights and Squires

Starbuck:



Not sure why this chapter wasn't just called Starbuck. For here we learn all about him, that he is a careful and courageous sailor but perhaps beset by tragic superstitions and memories. And with this Ishmael notes that he is loath to write about the "complete abasement" of Starbuck's fortitude, about which we can only imagine at this point.

Chapter 27 - Knights and Squires

In this chapter we learn about Stubb and Flask and Tashtego and Daggoo. Stubb, the second mate, is “calm and cool” in the face of danger and Flask, the third mate, is a man who seems “personally affronted” by the whale. Ishmael names Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask the three “knights” of the Pequod, under the command of Ahab, and states that each knight takes out a whaling boat, when the whale is being tracked, and brings with him a harpooneer as a “squire,” or assistant, to hook the whale. Starbuck’s harpooneer is Queequeg; Stubb’s is Tashtego, a Native American from Martha’s Vineyard; and Flask’s is Daggoo, an African “savage.”

Chapter 28 - Ahab



We finally see Captain Ahab, the "supreme lord and dictator" of the Pequod! We have learned about his missing leg, but this is the first we hear of a "slender, rod-like mark, lividly whitish," running down one side of his face and neck. We learn that he was so scarred at age 40, and that the crew avoids mentioning it. We also discover that his ivory leg was fashioned from the polished bone of a sperm whale jaw, no less, and that Ahab likes to stand in a bored hole in the deck so that he can easily pivot and view what is transpiring on deck. For all of his intimidating countenance, however, Ahab at this point seems largely superfluous on the voyage.

Chapter 29 - Enter Ahab; to him, Stubb




Ahab's constant pacing with the ivory leg is bugging the dickens out of the crew, but when Stubb mentions it to Ahab he is called a dog, and a donkey, a mule and an ass, and told to "sleep in his grave." Stubb is perplexed by the bizarre behavior of Ahab, and endeavors to figure out the mystery. So we learn that Stubb is not intimidated by Ahab, and that Ahab appears to have a persistent insomnia.

Chapters 30-31

Chapter 30 - The Pipe

Ahab's pipe was one of his one joys, but he has lost pleasure in it, and angrily throws his lighted pipe into the sea, such that "the fire hissed in the waves."

Chapter 31 - Queen Mab

Queen Mab is a Romeo and Juliet reference, the Queen is the fairies midwife who delivers dreams to each human sleeper. In this case, it is Stubb who has been dreaming.

In this chapter Stubb tells Flask about his dream of Ahab in which Ahab kicks him. He feels like since it was not a real leg, it is less personal, and that it may even be considered to be an honor. (I'd agree to disagree on that one.) Stubb decides he is just going to listen to Ahab from now on.

Chapter 32 - Cetology




Is this one of the boring parts??? Because in it we learn all about the types of whales and the divisions within those types of whales. Ishmael notes that numerous writers have referred to whales but few have first-hand experience. Ishmael waxes large about whether a whale is a fish, citing much scholarship, but concludes that whales should be deemed “spouting, horizontal-tailed fishes with lungs and warm blood.” I won't recite the specifics about the whale types, but I did think it was interesting that a porpoise was described as a sperm whale in miniature!

PS - did anyone read the beginning Extracts portion of this novel? I confess that I did not (yet) but apparently Ishmael lists a few dozen authors who have written about whales, most of whom are also quoted in Extracts.

PPS - Melville inside joke. The three "books" of whales are the "folio whale," the "octavo whale," and the "duodecimo whale." This is a book joke, because folio, octavo, and duodecimo are three common nineteenth-century sizes of books. Each size is related to how many times you fold a large standard sheet of paper to make the pages. Folios are the largest, octavo are mid-sized, and duodecimo are tiny, so the narrator is just dividing up whales by their size.

Chapters 33-35

Chapter 33 - The Specksynder

In this chapter we learn that while the captain now is at the head of the whaling vessel, the primary authority used to be shared between the captain and the specksynder, or chief harpooner. Ishmael also alludes to the mystery of why Ahab is remarkable, noting, "Oh, Ahab! what shall be grand in thee, it must needs be plucked at from the skies, and dived for in the deep, and featured in the unbodied air!"

Chapter 34 - The Cabin-Table

Here we learn about the creepy silent dinners the three mates have with Captain Ahab. They are all silent and chew their meat silently as if it was the most precious morsel ever. The harpooners ate following this, and their experience was sharply contrasted as one of "carefree license and ease."

Chapter 35 - The Mast-Head



Ishmael notes that certain sailors have to sit on the mast for two hour shifts at night. Ishmael says that the purpose of the mast-head watch is to spot whales, but that many forget to do this when they are lulled by the sea.

Chapter 36 - The Quarter-Deck (Enter Ahab: Then, all)

In this chapter Ahab summons the crew and nails a gold doubloon to the mast which will be given to anyone who spots the mysterious white whale he seeks. Tashtego, Daggoo and Queequeg all recognize the whale Ahab describes as Moby Dick. Starbuck thinks it is ridiculous that hunting Moby Dick is the objective of the voyage, for it represents "vengeance on a dumb brute."

Chapters 37-40

Chapter 37 - Sunset

Ahab vows to stop at nothing in his quest to find and kill Moby Dick, noting that “the path to his fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon his soul is grooved to run.”



Chapter 38 - Dusk

Starbuck continues to think the mission is insane, that Ahab is insane, and that the crew is now insane for following Ahab.

Chapter 39 - First Night-Watch

Stubb also agrees that Ahab is insane but thinks he will go along with it.

Chapter 40 - Midnight, Forecastle

I didn't understand why this strange chapter was set up to be like a play. I suppose this way it may have been easier for Melville to capture the thoughts of individual crew members on the ship. A storm is approaching and the crew prepares.

Lots of wonderful comments and thoughts.
At last to be introduced to Ahab was great. Melville did a good job in his build up to this introduction so that Ahab has taken on almost mystical attributes before we meet him. This whole section seems to be introducing us to all the different elements, physical and supernatural, that will be playing out in the story. It seems almost too much of a build up but this is the hand of a master knowing that to engage in what is to come, one has to be fully aware of the tensions and belief systems of those involved. He leads us into the minds and psyches of some of the main characters and the stage is again set for the next part. Deeper and deeper we go into the drama being played out before us and into the depths of the human psyche that brings it about.

Ah ha, we meet some of the 'catalogue' and other 'boring' chapters in this section. These were better on audiobook...

I'm wondering whether Queequeg is playing up to the stereotype of the 'uncivilised savage' when he talks about the cannibalistic feast, and then fattening up people to use as sofas?! I'm not sure if this is Melville's joke or the character's.

Ahab is fascinating when we finally meet him.

The monologues/playscript sections must have been innovative when this was written. I did miss Ishmael's voice in this section so hope we return to him later.

I didn't understand why so many people were agonising about being kicked and pondering precisely what it meant, even dreaming about it - can anyone else make sense of this?

Roman Clodia wrote: "Ah ha, we meet some of the 'catalogue' and other 'boring' chapters in this section. These were better on audiobook...

I'm wondering whether Queequeg is playing up to the stereotype of the 'uncivil..."

The only understanding I came to about it all was that Melville was trying to show us the psyche of the people involved. That they each had in their way things that haunted them and effected them.

Dianne wrote: "As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to these, and I grab them when they come :)

Feel free to post on this section generally..."Though I'm not reading MD now, I've found this discussion fascinating. Regarding Queequeg's religion, it's not made clear, but if he in fact used an infinity symbol as his mark, and made a habit of meditation, he was probably practicing some Buddhist or Hindu customs. He seems aware of all sorts of religions and societies, probably because of his whaling travels.

And you are very correct that Melville's characters had things that haunted and affected them.

I am now ahead of the schedule, having finished the whole book, so I am grateful for Dianne's chapter summaries which should help me avoid commenting on later chapters. In response to Dianne's question about illiteracy, I don't know about America but illiteracy was still very common in Britain in the mid-nineteenth century and would not have hindered a career as a sailor/whaler.

All of the characters seem very caricatured, but that does make them more entertaining, and without the entertainment the story would be a very bleak one...

In reference to the mark Queequeg made, I understood that he copied a tattoo that was on his face and this was his identification. This is what it says in the explanatory notes in my edition.

Tracey wrote: "Lots of wonderful comments and thoughts.
At last to be introduced to Ahab was great. Melville did a good job in his build up to this introduction so that Ahab has taken on almost mystical attribut..."

melville was brilliant at building up the drama. Did you notice we are barely out to sea yet? The next chapter though is titled Moby Dick - finally!

Dianne wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Lots of wonderful comments and thoughts.
At last to be introduced to Ahab was great. Melville did a good job in his build up to this introduction so that Ahab has taken on almost my..."

I know what you mean. I stopped at the end of this section waiting on the reading schedule but I am eager to start next week again. And to think Moby-Dick was a book I never had any desire to read.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Ah ha, we meet some of the 'catalogue' and other 'boring' chapters in this section. These were better on audiobook...

I'm wondering whether Queequeg is playing up to the stereotype of the 'uncivil..."

ha good point! He wants some good cushioning on his buttock seats! I don't understand all the kicking fixation. Maybe the ivory leg haunts people!

Hummingbirder wrote: "Dianne wrote: "As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to these, and I grab them when they come :)

Feel free to post on this se..."

excellent point hummingbirder and thanks for chiming in! I think indeed Q may have adopted various religious customs from his travels, and that may make more sense then assigning him to a particular faith.

Hugh wrote: "I am now ahead of the schedule, having finished the whole book, so I am grateful for Dianne's chapter summaries which should help me avoid commenting on later chapters. In response to Dianne's ques..."
do you think Ishmael was caricatured too?

Dianne wrote: "Hummingbirder wrote: "Dianne wrote: "As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to these, and I grab them when they come :)

Feel f..."

Melville himself was well traveled and I am wondering if a lot of attributes he assigns to Q is self-portrayal; more than Ishmael?

Tracey wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Hummingbirder wrote: "Dianne wrote: "As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to these, and I grab them when they c..."

that is so interesting I never thought of that! And perhaps that is why he is portraying Q in the best possible light, ha! I wonder what Melville's religious background was. I found this on a website called of all things, the freedom from religion foundation:

In 1819, Herman Melville was born in New York City, one of eight children. His father died when Herman was 12, forcing him to quit school and go to work to help support his family. In 1839, Melville became a cabin boy, and sailed the South Seas, later joining the U.S. Navy. He was shipwrecked among the Typee cannibals, and dramatically rescued. These and other exploits inspired the fictionalized account Typee (1846) and its sequel, Omoo (1847). These first two books were Melville's most popular writings during his lifetime. Moby-Dick (with its famous first line, "Call me Ishmael," 1851), now his most celebrated work, was a literary and financial disappointment at the time. The book is a multi-layered, allegorical tale about whaling and one man's obsession. "I have written a wicked book and feel as spotless as the lamb," Melville wrote his friend and neighbor Nathaniel Hawthorne, to whom the book was dedicated. Hawthorne wrote of Melville: "He can neither believe, nor be comfortable in his unbelief; and he is too honest and courageous not to try to do one or the other. If he were a religious man, he would be truly one of the most truly religious and reverential; he has a very high and noble nature, and better worth immortality than most of us." (Quoted in Why Read Moby Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick) Melville, the prototypical struggling artist, obtained a steady income in 1862, when he was appointed customs inspector on the New York City docks, where he worked for many years. Raised Calvinist, Melville became a member of the Church of All Souls (Unitarian), New York City. His writing was full of questioning, anguished doubt, and explorations of "good and evil." D. 1891.

“Backward and forward, eternity is the same; already we have been the nothing we dread to be.”

"Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian."

Dianne wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Hummingbirder wrote: "Dianne wrote: "As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to these, and I grab t..."

It seems to me Melville was struggling with some of the confining tenets of white protestant religion of the time that sees the white man as saved if he fulfills his Christian duty, and heathens as lesser beings. He had seen too much to hold to this rigidity of thought and was seeking answers...
I am sure life on board a ship brought many moments of deep reflection and time to commune with God and one's own soul.
I think he is trying to show this section of society that God does value others and that they are not without the light of Christ or a conscience.

Dianne wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Hummingbirder wrote: "Dianne wrote: "As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to these, and I grab t..."

I like that quote too! - )
At the bottom of msg. 27.

Tracey wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Dianne wrote: "Hummingbirder wrote: "Dianne wrote: "As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to thes..."

spot on Tracey - I completely agree with that.

I was interested in how common are white whales. I found this article

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...

Dianne wrote: "do you think Ishmael was caricatured too?"
I am not sure we learned very much about Ishmael, particularly once they go to sea - he seems a bit of a cipher to me...

Chapter 26, Knights and Squires

"It was merely the condensation of the man." (103)
(...)
"I will have no man in my boat," said Starbuck, "who is not afraid of a whale." (103)
(...)
"Wherefore he had no fancy for lowering for whales after sun-down; nor for persisting in fighting a fish that too much persisted in fighting him." (103)

Dianne wrote: " Are we to conclude that Queequeg is Muslim? Forgive my ignorance, but does Islam feature idolatry? "


- On Wikipedia it says that Queequeg practices a form of animism. Animism is the religious belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence.

Islam does not allow religious imagery or idolatry. If you ever go to a mosque you will notice that it is decorated in beautiful geometric patterns.

I don't know if Melville calls Queequeg's fasting Ramadan because he felt his readers would have a better understanding of Queequeg's actions using a term they are more familiar with, or if it was a lack of knowledge of the Islamic religion.

Chapter 28, Ahab

"Reality outran apprehension; Captain Ahab stood upon his quarter-deck." (109)

Mark wrote: "Chapter 26, Knights and Squires

"I will have no man in my boat," said Starbuck, "who is not afraid of a whale." (103)

I was shocked when the description of the 2nd and 3rd mates included the fact that neither was afraid of a whale. I wonder why Melville had Starbuck say the above and then made Stubbs and Flask be fearless.

Stubb
"What, perhaps, with other things, made Stubb such an easy-going, unfearing man, so cheerily trudging off with the burden of life in a world full of grave pedlars, all bowed to the ground with their packs; what helped to bring about that almost impious good-humor of his; that thing must have been his pipe."

Flask
"So utterly lost was he to all sense of reverence for the many marvels of their majestic bulk and mystic ways; and so dead to anything like an apprehension of any possible danger from encountering them; that in his poor opinion, the wondrous whale was but a species of magnified mouse, or at least water-rat, requiring only a little circumvention and some small application of time and trouble in order to kill and boil. This ignorant, unconscious fearlessness of his made him a little waggish in the matter of whales; he followed these fish for the fun of it; and a three years’ voyage round Cape Horn was only a jolly joke that lasted that length of time."

Dianne wrote: "Chapter 18 - His Mark ..."

We were discussing in the first thread why I assumed that Q was a cannibal. But I note in this chapter that on Captain Peleg makes the same assumption the first time he sees Q:

"As we were walking down the end of the wharf towards the ship, Queequeg carrying his harpoon, Captain Peleg in his gruff voice loudly hailed us from his wigwam, saying he had not suspected my friend was a cannibal, and furthermore announcing that he let no cannibals on board that craft, unless they previously produced their papers."

Is Melville reflecting a universal assumption of the time that people of a particular appearance -- was it the tattoos, or the physiognomy, or something else -- that raised the assumption in the whaling community that they were cannibals? Whale ships did, apparently, stop fairly frequently at islands where there were actual cannibals. Are whalers prejudiced, or simply observant?

Dianne wrote: "As a side note, I may post a day or two early as my schedule permits. I like to devote large chunks of time to these, and I grab them when they come :) "

It's obvious that your excellent chapter introductions do indeed take large chunks of time (and insight) to prepare, so I, and I assume others, are very grateful to you for devoting that time and insight to opening these threads. Whenever you get the chance to do it, that's just fine.

Fasting is common in a lot of religions as a means of communing more of God or with the spiritual world.

Dianne wrote: "Well who is advocating what, exactly? It seems that Ishmael is advocating the business of whaling. ...He also notes that whaling was his "Yale College and [his] Harvard" - perhaps more a comment about Melville than Ishmael? "

I also thought on reading this chapter that it was Melville speaking in his own voice rather than Ishmael. I've seen glimpses of that elsewhere in the book, thoughts that Ishmael would not reasonably have formed, but that seemed to be Melville using Ishmael to convey his, Melville's, thoughts.

Of course, authorial appearance was accepted in books of this era; many authors did directly or indirectly address the readers on their own behalf.

I think the narrator and the author are very close.

It is, for me, a liberal and tolerant voice with maybe a slight sense of humor, and a knowledge of things referred to much broader than my own.
I think the diction is exaggerated, on purpose, and effective.
I see Queequeg as an islander, a foreigner, a harpooner, a savage, a cannibal, a tattooed man, a chief's son, and a friend of the narrator. But most importantly to the story, he is a whale-hunter. - )

Lorna wrote: "What chapter is that in? I cant find it."

I'm not sure which part of the earlier message you're referring to, Lorna?

Dianne wrote: "Chapter 18 - His Mark




It seems odd to me that it is a condition for boarding ship that any heathens prove that they have converted to Christianity. Wouldn't this have been unlikely given the m..."

I think Queequeg gets by on his skills as a whale-hunter. Though the author has a lot to say about the cannibals, it's one of his gimmicks putting exotic foreigners in his book, I think in the end it is just for local color.

Dianne wrote: "Chapter 22 - Merry Christmas

Why do they sail on Christmas day anyways? What was Melville driving at with that? I can't figure it out. Also, why does Melville keep referring to the fact that Ahab..."

I think they sail on Christmas Day because they are ready. That the boat's owners are Quakers, and maybe they felt it would be auspicious.

Chapter 34 The Cabin-Table

How does the narrator, Ishmael, know of all the details he now recounts of the "goings on" when ship's "leadership" sit down to dine? Does he get all these anecdote's from the steward and Queequag?

"Least of all, did Flask presume to help himself to butter. Whether he thought the owners of the ship denied it to him, on account of its clotting his clear, sunny complexion; or whether he deemed that, on so long a voyage in such marketless waters, butter was at a premium, and therefore was not for him, a subaltern; however it was Flask, alas! was a butterless man!" (132)

Mark wrote: "I think they sail on Christmas Day because they are ready. That the boat's owners are Quakers, and maybe they felt it would be auspicious. "

Actually, Quakers didn't recognize or celebrate any of the Christian holy days. They believed that every day should be equally holy, and that to give special attention to any particular day would be inappropriate. So for the Quaker owners, and Quaker crewmen (Starbuck, for example), Christmas was no different from any other day of the year.

Everyman wrote: "Mark wrote: "I think they sail on Christmas Day because they are ready. That the boat's owners are Quakers, and maybe they felt it would be auspicious. "

Actually, Quakers didn't recognize or cele..."

Thank's, Everyman. I think that was sort of my point.

Lorna wrote: "Mark wrote: "I'm skipping 24 + 25. I'm more sensitive than before. - )"

Those chapters were okay. I kind of learned a little bit. I wish i could have skipped 32 Cetology. I only liked the line at ..."

I would be interested in learning about whales NOW. Certainly many species are extinct due to whaling. Where do whales live now, how has the species changed as a result of whaling?

Tracey wrote: "I was interested in how common are white whales. I found this article

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc..."

Interesting! So white whales are very rare, but not necessarily albino if they do not have red eyes. They are whales with pigment diseases, like other white animals.

Hugh wrote: "Dianne wrote: "do you think Ishmael was caricatured too?"
I am not sure we learned very much about Ishmael, particularly once they go to sea - he seems a bit of a cipher to me..."

It seems his character is not as fleshed out as others, perhaps Melville used him more as a tool to narrate the story? Perhaps he is like anyone or everyone? Still, he has some specific traits of humility, hard work and sensitivity, I wonder what more we will discover.