MOBY DICK
written by Herman Melville

“Moby Dick – The Whale” is a novel published in 1851 and written by Herman Melville. One publication had the original title of “From The Whale”. This was later changed to “Moby Dick”. This is a classic work of romanticism from the American Renaissance which began circa mid 19^th century and included writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau. The book was dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne. “Moby Dick” is a masterpiece that is both enjoyable and informative of a period and industry in American History.

”Moby Dick” harkens back to the days before screen technology when, the lucky people who knew how to read, had the luxury of relaxing in front of a book in the evenings by candlelight. It´s the type of book that can be read and then put down and then continued on another night. The way people would do nowadays with a good TV series.

The story possesses rich detail on whaling life. I really enjoyed Herman Melville´s depiction of the characters. He tells the story with such descriptions and at times a sense of humor using rich details of the whaling world from the time of the Industrial Revolution that this is a joy to read. You end up enjoying all the descriptions and tidbits of knowledge of that era. Anybody can pick up “Moby Dick” and understand the situations in the story as if they were onboard the Pequod right next to Ishmael.

The descriptions are many and brilliant. Parts of the story that had me chuckling were the mistaking of the narrator´s friend name from Queequeg to Qhohag by others onboard the Pequod to the diatribe between the second mate Stubb and the Cook when Stubb was eating his whale steak and claimed the sharks outside were making too much noise.

In short, the sharks were eating the whale carcass attached to the side of the Pequod in a feeding-frenzy and slapping against the boat. Stubb told the Cook to tell the sharks to keep the noise down and be civil. The Cook gives an eloquent speech to the sharks that had me rolling and Stubb falls into a condescending diatribe at Cook that reveals his idiocy. Keep in mind that Cook is someone who has been around far longer than Stubb and is the smarter man by far. Remember that a person´s rank in society or a group is no indication of life experience or wisdom and Cook clearly proves this. (It reminds me a little of the relationship of King Lear to the fool).

Another part of the book that I really enjoyed was the exchange between Captain Ahab and Captain Boomer and Dr. Jack Bunger. Captain Boomer is the captain of the ship called the Samuel Enderby who also chased Moby Dick to a devastating situation. Dr. Jack Bunger is the ship´s doctor who took care of Boomer when he lost his arm to Moby Dick. Captain Boomer described how he lost his arm to The Great White Whale in such a colorful way. He is not only funny but sensible. He spotted the whale twice after his ordeal but refused to follow or hunt it. Unlike Captain Ahab he did not want to lose his other arm, life or sacrifice his ship and crew for revenge or profit.

I keep thinking of the quote by Captain Ahab “He´s all a magnet.” He said this to Captain Boomer when describing The Great White Whale. This is a chilling portend of things to come.

Captain Ahab is in the background for most of the story. It is only toward the end that we see more of him. He is a very competent captain, brooding, disciplined with a twisted sense of purpose. He is also obsessed, cranky, gloomy and out of control. He seems to have a kind of death-wish that cannot be explained away through bravery alone. If Moby Dick is a prize to Captain Ahab, it is not for financial reward or a selfless need to secure the waterways for other whalers that motivates him on his crusade.

He literally chases Moby Dick around the world and catches up with The Great White Whale in the Pacific Ocean. Keep in mind that he conveniently catches up with the whale in the Pacific Ocean with Japan (a closed country to foreigners) as the closest country behind him and surrounded by water. This leaves no possibility for his crew to abandon ship and at one point Starbuck considers killing him to go home to his wife and child. Captain Ahab has a special harpoon made to kill the mighty whale like a knight setting out to slay a dragon. Like the Great White Whale, Captain Ahab is angry with a reputation that is larger than life.

I don´t want to give away any spoilers but the famous quote by Captain Ahab best describes the seething cauldron of emotions that lay in his heart and the machinations of his twisted mind. He is a man who has lost too much for his sanity to bear. He definitely is a tortured soul with his life out of control. He has such a strong hatred for the whale it really doesn´t make sense unless you consider the whale is a symbol of something else. But what that thing is I don´t know. Either way, Captain Ahab´s hatred toward the whale is not justified.

“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; 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”.

Herman Melville is one hell of a story teller. His descriptions and character interactions are funny, informative, sad and shocking. “Moby Dick” is, without a doubt, a brilliant tale told by a master storyteller. I cannot recommend this novel enough. It is an American classic for a very good reason. Put this novel on your must-read list folks. You won´t regret it.

 (Commentary by www.ink2quill.com )
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