Chapters I-II

So far I have not gotten that far into Moby Dick. Professor Leubner read us the first chapter of the book, and I am half tempted to find this sucker on a Book-on-tape.... I wonder how long that would take me?

Just looked up Moby Dick on audio... would take me a solid 24-25 hours to listen to this hog. I am very tempted, especially with it being only 8 bucks, BUT, then i can't really underline anything that i hear... Tricky...

Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised at how well i liked the first chapter of MD. I liked all of the dark imagery and the way it made me feel like i was in J. Alfred Prufrock's city with the yellow fog and dirty pubs. I was expecting more of The Confidence Man feel, which i will just come out and say that I absolutely HATED, but MD seems to capture my attention with its humor. Melville in MD just creates this foreign world for the reader to join. I feel like i am with Ishmael when he stumbles into "the trap" and when he is walking into the Spouter Inn.


The description of the painting on the wall was one of my favorite parts. The ambiguity of it, how it was "enough to drive a nervous man distracted"... It changed from one thing to another, until Ishmael finally decides that he sees a whale jumping over a ship.

I also loved how the bar was made out of the jaw of a whale, and that they called the Inn Keeper "Jonah".

Introduction to the Whaling Industry

This will be my first time ever delving into Herman Melvile's classic Moby Dick. I thought I had been in the clear when I entered my last semester of my senior year of college without having to read about Captain Ahab and the White Whale... But alas, the White Whale finally got me. Welp, what can you do? I am actually kinda looking forward to reading it, eventhough I am afraid that I will not understand the deeper meanings and look like a total ass during lecture....
Tomorrow the journey begins!