Chapters:

• CHAPTER 115. The Pequod Meets The Bachelor.
• CHAPTER 116. The Dying Whale.
• CHAPTER 117. The Whale Watch.

Summary:

In yet another gam, the Pequod meets The Bachelor, a “jolly” whaling ship which has had so much success in its hunts that it had to throw equipment and provisions overboard to make space for more barrels of oils, and is headed home to Nantucket. They implore Ahab and his crew to celebrate with them, but Ahab is only concerned with whether they’d seen Moby Dick – they hadn’t.

Over the next few days, the Pequod encounters several whales and kills four of them. The rapid succession, perhaps, allows Ahab to reflect on the behavior of the dying whale, noting that it turns its head towards the sun and interprets it as them worshiping fire.

On one of the nights as the crew processes the hunted whales, Fedallah tells Ahab that he’s been having recurring visions about Ahab’s death in his dreams. He tells Ahab that three things must happen before Ahab can die:

• “Two hearses must verily be seen by thee on the sea; the first not made by mortal hands; and the visible wood of the last one must be grown in America.”
• “Though it come to the last, I shall still go before thee thy pilot.”
• “Hemp only can kill thee.”

The predictions give Ahab confidence, believing that this means that he can’t be killed by Moby Dick, and is more likely to be killed by hanging once he’s back on land.

Questions:

• What’s the purpose of Chapter 115? How do you think the crew reacts to their encounter?
• We learn that Ahab keeps a vial of Nantucket sand in his pocket. Does this fit his character? Does it surprise you?
• What does it mean that Ahab interprets the whale’s dying movement as fire worship? Does it help him relate to them?
• What else can we glean from Ahab’s thoughts on the dying whale? What is he talking about?
• What do we learn about Ahab in his response to Fedallah’s visions?
• (ONGOING) Choose one of the references or allusions made in this week’s chapters to look up and post some more information about it

Upcoming:

• November 4 - November 10: Chapters 118-120
• November 11 - November 17: Chapters 121-123
• November 18 - November 24: Chapters 124-126
• November 25 - December 1: Chapters 127-129

I just finished another re-read, and this line had me cracking up. Ahab utters it as he watches the whale make its deadly run at the ship.

Just before the last showdown, Starbuck tearfully begs Ahab to quit the chase "...it's a brave man that weeps; how great the agony of the persuasion then!" Of course, Ahab scoffs and immediately gets back to the business at hand.

Soon thereafter, destruction is imminent. Death is nigh. The crew realizes what the whale is about to do and they can only watch. And here's Ahab still able to viciously and hilariously clown Starbuck for his emotional display. HA!

It's just so outlandish.

Some of the scenes Melville was describing seemed fantastical. Especially the last few chapters. May as well have been describing a group of men killing a dragon with swords. I can't relate or envision anything remotely like it. Yet there's truth to it. There was honestly a time in human history when people would kill giant whales with harpoons. Shame there were no cameras back then.

I was totally unaware that this existed. It was preformed in San Francisco, and is now in rotation at the Met in New York.

https://youtu.be/fhnUmkcjWqU?si=xPb3uamX4559XGbO

Obviously everyone has a different interpretation of what the book is about and the symbolism baked into the story.

For me personally I believe that God is a name we attach to our relationship with ourself.

The White Whale represents yourself.

Ahab was obsessed and driven mad by his desire to find himself and kill it.

Chapters:

• CHAPTER 112. The Blacksmith.
• CHAPTER 113. The Forge.
• CHAPTER 114. The Gilder.

Summary:

As with the Carpenter, Ishmael gives some individual attention to the Blacksmith, named Perth, telling the sad story of how he ended up on the Pequod. In short, Perth turns to drinking after getting caught out in the cold one night and losing some toes to frostbite. His alcoholism destroys his ability to work and starves his family. One by one, his wife and two children all die. Rather than suicide, Perth decides to go whaling.

Back on the Pequod, Ahab approaches Perth and asks him to make him a special harpoon with which he’ll use to spear Moby-Dick. When it’s complete, Ahab “baptizes” the harpoon in the name of the devil.

Meanwhile, the ship continues its journey toward the south seas, where the mild weather puts everyone in the crew in a serene mood – all except Ahab. Rather, for Ahab these “golden keys” did seem to open in him his own secret golden treasuries, yet did his breath upon them prove but tarnishing.”

Questions:

• Why tell the story of the blacksmith? Why now?
• What does Melville want to say with the idea about a “timely” death?
• In what ways is the Perth’s story similar to Ahab’s and/or Ishmael’s?
• What’s different about Ahab’s conversation with Perth compared to the Carpenter?
• Why does Ahab baptize his harpoon in the name of the devil? What does it say about him and perhaps other characters around him?
• In the paragraph in Chapter 114 starting with “Oh, grassy glades,” what is Ishmael saying about our souls/theistic belief more generally?
• (ONGOING) Choose one of the references or allusions made in this week’s chapters to look up and post some more information about it

Upcoming:

• October 28 - November 3: Chapters 115-117
• November 4 - November 10: Chapters 118-120
• November 11 - November 17: Chapters 121-123
• November 18 - November 24: Chapters 124-126

Does anyone have a good depiction of Tashtego nailing the wing of the bird to the mast? Or know where I may find some? Thank you!

What exactly does this mean in the context of the book? I assumed it meant something like "stay ready" or "keep your wits about you."

Any thoughts?

a dark ambient opera from driving off the spleen

74 trax/3.5 hrs
https://drivingoffthespleen.bandcamp.com

Drawing inspiration from Viola Sachs’ critical interpretation of the novel, Music for Moby-Dick is a contemporary singing of the primordial language instilled within the literal text of Melville’s novel:

“In the final instance, this language is inarticulate. Its means of communication are those of the infant man or world newly born or still in its cosmic womb. It emits guttural and nasal sounds, piercing shrieks, barbaric yawps. Music imagery, so important in romantic literature, transmits here not only the deepest emotions, but also the non-articulate, sonorous primordial rhythmic manifestations of life. As in the case of language, musical harmony is disrupted giving place to wild barbaric rhythms and sounds.”

(from Literature and National Identity: Labrynthic Form and Primordial Language in Moby-Dick, or, The Whale by Viola Sachs)

So it ends, does it? The chase, the hunt, the maddened pursuit of that cursed white whale—Moby Dick. But what is an ending, if not the bitter taste of triumph laced with the salt of all I’ve lost?

I don't know where to begin, such is the weight of what I’ve just read. And yet, this much I know—I've loved it and in that love, I find myself irrevocably altered.

There is a sadness within me, though not for the tale's end, no. It is a sadness too elusive to name. Perhaps it is the knowledge that someone has struck the very heart of existence, plumbed the depths of the cosmos and the human spirit in a way I fear I never shall.

Someone, indeed, has glimpsed the marrow of the universe and human emotion, and has woven that understanding into words with such skill, such profundity, it staggers the mind. It's the same sadness laced awe I feel when I listen to John Coltrane.

It saddens me, but fills me with gratitude so deep, it reaches the very core of my being.

Very grateful for the experience.

Hello all - after a visit to the Melville House this past weekend, I'm in search of a good biography on the man himself. Any suggestions?

I've been fascinated by his writings for years, but after learning a bit about him on my tour, I want to learn more about his life!

Thanks so much for your time!

I first thought of reading Moby Dick over 2 years ago. I purchased a copy, sat it on the shelf, picked it up and one stage and read about 3 pages then put it down for another 2 years.

Fast forward to 2024 im trying to read as many books as I can this year from a multitude of genres and about 2 weeks ago something started to stir inside me for Moby Dick. I had just finished the Remembrance of Earth's past trilogy and was facing an existential crisis. I found starting MD daunting and rightly so. I'd heard things like how Melville goes into great detail on whales and whaling so I knew a little about what to expect. I saw the audiobook was free on audible so I went for it and I'm enjoying every minute.

I honestly thought it would be dry and out of touch but I actually laughed about 7 times in the first 2 hours, and I dont find a lot of things funny enough to laugh about but this really hit the spot.

The depth and richness really brings me in. Melville being passionate and knowledgeable about whaling in the 1800s it's inspirational. And I just remembered now I watched a video on YouTube before I went to sleep last night talking about the book which helped get me super pumped. It was by Benjamin McAvoy and his love of the book was infectious

The point of this post? Nothing you guys dont know but if you are thinking of diving in try not to hesitate as long as i did.

Hello everyone

I help put together the SF Moby Dick Marathon at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Our marathon is pretty unique in that we add music, dance, performance and visuals- but we never take focus away from the text. The event is free and that's place in our beautiful museum building right on the water. https://maritime.org/md2024/

If you have any questions, let me know

If you are, I'd love to chat with you before the event! my discord is narutodivorce so feel free to message me there :D

Chapters:

• CHAPTER 110. Queequeg in His Coffin.
• CHAPTER 111. The Pacific.

Summary:

As the crew works to find and repair the leak in the hold, Queequeg comes down with a fever which brings him “to the very sill of the door of death.” He asks one of his shipmates to help prepare a proper coffin for his burial at sea (as opposed to being simply wrapped in his hammock and thrown overboard). When it’s done, Queequeg prepares for his burial by loading it with his harpoon, snacks, etc. and is laid in it. Pip sings him a slightly deranged song, referring to himself in the third person and giving clues that something is amiss since he was left floating alone at sea. Suddenly, Queequeg rallies and returns to full health, telling the others that “he had just recalled a little duty ashore, which he was leaving undone; and therefore had changed his mind about dying.” Instead, he uses the coffin as his sea chest and begins carving patterns and designs into it in his spare time.

Ishmael then pens a short paean to the “dear Pacific,” noting that its serene beauty did little to calm Ahab.

Questions:

• What’s the purpose of the chapter about Queequeg and his coffin? What does it set up in terms of the plot, and what else do we learn about the characters and setting?
• Is Queequeg’s recovery comedic? Philosophical? Fantasy? Realistic? A matter of cultural difference?
• Where on the map is the Pequod at this moment?
• The Pequod is only just approaching the Pacific ocean in Chapter 111, leaving the relatively crowded waters of the South China Sea and the Philippines. Is there where you’ve been picturing the action of the book?
• (ONGOING) Choose one of the references or allusions made in this week’s chapters to look up and post some more information about it

Upcoming:

• October 21 - October 27: Chapters 112-114
• October 28 - November 3: Chapters 115-117
• November 4 - November 10: Chapters 118-120
• November 11 - November 17: Chapters 121-123

I am currently participating in the 1 year read of Moby Dick in the small (very small) reading group here on Reddit. I also randomly just finished reading Edgar Allan Poe’s short story MS. Found in a Bottle. Immediately I noticed how much this short story “felt” like Moby Dick. So I researched a little online, and on Wikipedia found this quote by a scholar named Jack Scherting:

“Two well-known works of American fiction fit the following description. Composed in the 19th century each is an account of an observant, first-person narrator who, prompted by a nervous restlessness, went to sea only to find himself aboard an ill-fated ship. The ship, manned by a strange crew and under the command of a strange, awesome captain, is destroyed in an improbable catastrophe; and were it not for the fortuitous recovery of a floating vessel and its freight, the narrative of the disastrous voyage would never have reached the public. The two works are, of course, Melville's Moby-Dick (1851) and Poe's "MS. Found in a Bottle" (1833), and the correspondences are in some respects so close as to suggest a causal rather than a coincidental relationship between the two tales.”

Probably this has been mentioned before in this group, but it was new to me, and I wanted to share it with others who might find it interesting.

My wife and my girls are of Indian descent. It’s an Indian whaler like the harpooner from Martha’s Vineyard Tashtego! We are in New England only a few hours from the Vineyard. Seemed apropos.

ICYMI: It's time for another roundup of recent posts from my Moby-Dick Substack, investigating all kinds of Melville mysteries and questions that deserve a closer look. These include two different 'series' if you will, one on the history of people naming things after Moby-Dick and another on the influence of the novel on Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre.

• Doodler in Chief; or, on Google Doodles, politics, and other untimely celebrations of Moby-Dick

• A Whale of a Restaurant Guide; or, eating and drinking at Moby Dick's through the ages

• "The first mere mention of the White Whale’s name"; or, the very first thing named after Moby-Dick

• Call Me Sisyphus; or, what Albert Camus learned from Herman Melville

• EXTRACTS: Le Cachalot Blanc; or, on the history of Moby-Dick in French

• Return of the Existentialists; or, the absurd history of Sartre's encounter with Moby-Dick

As always, let me know what you think!

Chapters:

• CHAPTER 107. The Carpenter.
• CHAPTER 108. Ahab and the Carpenter.
• CHAPTER 109. Ahab and Starbuck in the Cabin.

Summary:

Ishmael pens a paean to the ship’s carpenter, a singular figure among the crew whose talents go beyond mere woodwork and repairing broken tools and boats. Fairly anything requiring skilled, manual dexterity falls under his jurisdiction, including piercing ears, healing sprained wrists and broken bird wings, pulling teeth, and crafting new ivory legs for Ahab. Ishmael gets in a not-so-subtle dig, though, explaining that all of the carpenter’s intelligence was in his hands. “He was a pure manipulator; his brain, if he had ever had one, must have early oozed along into the muscles of his fingers.”

With that introduction, we witness a scene between Ahab and the carpenter, who can’t stop sneezing from all the bone dust in the air as he works on Ahab’s new prosthesis. The two men have a difficult time understanding each other, though, and mostly talk past one another.

The next morning, Starbuck finds Ahab in his cabin and informs him that the crew had discovered a leak somewhere in the hold. He suggests that they pause their voyage to find and plug it. Ahab refuses, believing they’re nearing Moby Dick. After a brief argument, including a moment where Ahab uses a rifle as a cane, he eventually relents and orders the crew to find the leak.

Questions:

• Does the description of the carpenter, or more generally anyone who works with their hands, ring true still today?
• Are Ishmael’s biases showing in his description? Is there anything deeper going on in the chapter about the…ahem, carpenter?
• Why does Ahab initially refuse to stop to find the leak?
• Ahsb’s conversation with the carpenter is among the longer interactions he has directly with a member of the crew (i.e., not the mates). What do we learn from it?
• Ahab has been very calculating and prudent with his crew thus far. Does Chapter 109 mark a notable change?
• (ONGOING) Choose one of the references or allusions made in this week’s chapters to look up and post some more information about it

Upcoming:

• October 14 - October 20: Chapters 110-111
• October 21 - October 27: Chapters 112-114
• October 28 - November 3: Chapters 115-117
• November 4 - November 10: Chapters 118-120

Before you hit me with the obvious: Shakespeare & KJV. Probably Milton & Hawthorne. Who else?

Going through this book now. 5 hours into an audiobook that is 24 hours long. I understand that this isn't an adventure story. Although, when I first started it, right after "Ender's Game", I was hoping for such so. I enjoyed my time with queequeg and the building up story so far. But the book, unabridged, seems more about defining the absolute details about whales and never really pursuing the plot of the story. I enjoy its talks about religion as far as I have got. Which to my understanding seems to be a let be as it let be. To not really welcome new religions, but to understand them, and appreciate the people for what they are. But keep them as separate and appreciate them at a distance. Perhaps this explained more in depth? 5 hours into a 24 hour audio book I am beleaguered and weary as I struggle through it's prose. I can understand the whale talk of the author, or Ismael is truly going into depth about his voyage, and informing me about every little detail that will shape his forth cometh. That he is depressed or suffering the trails? But, if I hear one more fact about the great Grey, the whale, the whatever, about it's fins, or it's size, I will write an incredibly useless reddit post. 2 hours into my drive back home and no real plot.. Just the mundane prose about whales 🐋 and thier fins and the types of them. Again, only 5-6 hours in at best. Its heavy when I don't need it and I would prefer something less philosophical.

I researched a bit on the topic on reddit and one of the more upvoted comments (11) is that:" It wasn’t until my second read of it did I realize he was very meticulously piecing together the joyous moments he experienced and knowledge he gleaned before an immensely traumatic event. It’s just a man in therapy finding his way to The Trauma and taking as much time as he can to get there so as to avoid the inevitable as a coping mechanism, and rationalize what he experienced as a survivor." -Pinkcasingring (1 year ago).

Dealing with trauma? Fine okay..Just don't give me two hours about fins and whaling facts to get me there.

I did not go farther here..and spoiled I am, but I expected it. QQ dies. For me knowing it now 6 hours in I care not. The author built it up so much at the start caring for this "pagan". I'm not surprised it surmounted to the authors despair. At this point, I am not wanting to continue reading such. More whale facts will tire me even if it's just the author dealing with his journey.

I wish to skip this and instead read the "Epic of Gilgamesh", or the second book in the "Ender's Game".

Help me. Tell me something.

I recently found the sub, and wanted to share my collection and some thoughts around The Whale. I spent a few years working aboard traditional vessels and I then helped with some research.

Chapters:

• CHAPTER 105. Does the Whale’s Magnitude Diminish?—Will He Perish?
• CHAPTER 106. Ahab’s Leg.

Summary:

Ishmael addresses some questions about declining whale populations and their individual size (their “magnitude”), denying that whaling has had an effect on either.

Returning to the narrative, we find out that when Ahab returned to the Pequod from the Samuel Enderby, he slightly damaged his ivory prosthesis. We also learn that he had a similar incident prior to leaving shore, in which the prosthesis was dislodged from his knee and actually “pierced his groin” – causing an “agonizing wound.” Ishmael theorizes that the anguish recentered his mind on his hatred of the whale. Ahab orders the carpenter to make him a new leg, having the mates to gather the supplies and the blacksmith forge the “iron contrivances.”

Questions:

• What’s the significance of someone from the pre-Darwin era asking questions about whale populations and size?
• What’s his reasoning for denying either claim?
• Is Ishmael correct on either point?
• What’s the larger point he’s trying to make about whales and their permanence in the sea?
• What do we learn about Ahab’s past in this chapter? What’s the significance of the injury he received from the leg prior to leaving shore?
• (ONGOING) Choose one of the references or allusions made in this week’s chapters to look up and post some more information about it

Upcoming:

• September 30 - October 6: Chapters 105-106
• October 7 - October 13: Chapters 107-109
• October 14 - October 20: Chapters 110-111
• October 21 - October 27: Chapters 112-114