What am I in for?

I read the whole thing. To me, it felt like he was spent half of the book trying to justify his story and explain that it actually IS plausible that Moby Dick could have happened. Whole chapters dedicated to the destructive powers of whales, their malevolence, tendency to avenge others, size, etc. Sure, these do go some way toward giving you a scope of whales better than a simple picture, they are tedious and leave me longing for the parts that advance the plot.

I also REALLY dislike how the author changes from Ishmael's point of view to a omniscient narrative about a third of the way through. Really detracts from the experience; Ishmael is what made the first sections so enjoyable.

Was Ishmael undressing and sleeping with the harpooner a subtle political statement about LGBT rights?

You need to reread it. Ishmael and Ahab mirror each other in their futile attempts to comprehend the whale and by extension nature. You're misremembering how many chapters were dedicated to the violence of the whale. From the top of my head: fast-fish and and loose-fish, ambergris, the whiteness of the whale, the honor of whaling, of accurate and inaccurate paintings of whales; the white and right whale's heads contrasted; and the infamous cetology chapter, not to mention most of the chapters about the process of harpooning, dissecting and converting into oil; none of these have anything at all to do with justifying or explaining the plausibility of a white whale. Melville's a novelist, and one who once wrote pot-boilers about his experiences among the savages. As if he gave a shit about plausibility beyond the basic verisimilitude necessary to sustain readers attention (which he clearly didn't value all that highly)

Beyond their role in bringing together Ishmael and Ahab, the whaling chapters recreate the vast lulls that constitute most of a whaling journey. The crew sets themselves adrift on the sea of thought (a metaphor Ishmael explicitly makes).

Also, narrative change is deliberate.

>>subtle
Didn't get to the ambergris chapter.

>What am I in for?

Overrated shit from some old white guy.. My lecturer made us read it in college and it sucked, we're protesting to get it off the curriculum. They said it's "American" literature, but what the fuck even is America? I mean, are you fucking kidding me? Does "American literature" mean "white literature"? ofc it does to them. Sadly, the rise of racism and fascism in America like Donald Trump shows that bigotry is still alive and well.

The fewer books like this they teach, the better.

Try an be a little more subtle with your troll attempts.

likely nobody here read moby dick, but that doesn't mean they're that stupid.

Idk i havent read it.

I'm about halfway through it so far and it feels like a psychological novel with the way all of the characters perspectives are presented. The setting is wonderful, I don't know how he managed to write a book that largely takes place on a boat with the same 10 or so people owning 80% of the interaction and still write so well and pack in so much colorful description.

>not understanding the significance of the cetology chapters

baka lol

I'm at the exact half way point now too and it could be the coolest novel I've ever read.

The main narrative and oceanography, biology, histories on artistic depictions, sea accidents etc.; all the nonfiction exposition on whales is written in such an articulate and erudite yet profoundly warm, funny and human voice. I can't remember a better narrator. Not to mention Ishmael is just an incredibly loveable guy even besides his wonderful speech. The chapter after the first lowering when he comes back on board the Pequod after a night stranded in the ocean and he decides to write his will was very witty.

The nonfiction chapters serve to assure your logical mind that the whale of this book, for all its supernatural terror and strength, is a very real thing. My thoughts going into the book were "whales are big", now I'm partially convinced, a bit superstitious in the way of the Pequod's crew, that they're maybe even capable of being deities.

All this, to not even mention the crew, its captain, the points of the narrative, and so on.

okay, i thought the whale biology was going to be boring, but now I have to admit i was wrong. It''s a key part of the book and it really changes your perspective on the meaningof the novel. I'm about quarter of the way through but its already probbaly the best book i've read all year, defnitely more mature than it seems. Just wait till you get to chapter 10!! i burst out laughing.

I never truly appreciated just how scary the whale was until I read it described in Moby Dick. It's never been captured quite as perfectly.