Moby Dick

Through this American lit class, I have finally read Moby Dick, a book which many consider to be The Great American Novel. I, of course, am in no position to judge the accuracy of that statement, but here are some thoughts on the book.

It's a long book, 800 pages in the edition that I read (albeit with small pages, big font, and some nice illustrations). Because of the language it's a bit of a tough read, and it also requires perseverance. Because in between the moments of intense action are these canyonesque sections on whale anatomy, ship anatomy, every person on the boat, every duty they perform on the boat, etc. I wonder if Melville was trying to get the reader to empathize with the life of the whaler, who himself sees the thrill of the chase separated by these long days of monotonous duties. I have to say though that I was not comfortable with some of the details of the whale killing -- it's not quite politically correct in these days of environental conscienceness. But to give Melville credit, he really exudes the respect of the hunter for the hunted, unlike the impersonal, mechanized hunting of today.

There is quite a cast of memorable characters on the ship, but dominating them all is this figure of Captain Ahab. I'm not sure if he is some study in obsession, or perhaps some critical statement on the American workaholic? But his is the personality that drives this book forward. I also liked this character Starbuck, who seems to be the archetype for the 'right hand man' we see so often in American film. He serves as a voice of reason to the extreme behavior of the captain. They are always at odds, but in the end he is the only one that Ahab really trusts. There is this extremely poignant scene near the end where Ahab confides in Starbuck his doubts that perhaps he has wasted his life in this obsessive pursuit of revenge. Very moving. This is a long book, and tough, but the last 100 pages or so are totally worth it.