Haven't even started yet desu edition, kek. But I've read it before and hope to get caught up by tonight/early tomorrow.
Anons that aren't giant faggots like OP should be finishing Chapter 33 today.
General question to maybe get discussion going: Moby Dick is obviously famous for being a dense work, and by this point in time we should probably have a good feel of Melville's prose. Are we starting to get a hang for it, or is it still pretty dense for you? Thoughts on Melville's style and approach thus far?
Of course, feel free to discuss plot, character, whatever else strikes your fancy.
first time reading it. the first 15~25 chapters were really great and I didn't think it was dense. the prose and characters were all marvelous too, specially our dear friend Queequeg. Now I just finished chapter 33 an, and the chapter 32, Cetology is probably the most dense so far, I understood the "what I read, expected and got" no, with the pics about whale types and whatnot.
get to us OP, come on. I started two days late and so I had to read the chapters of 3 days in one, and it was fine, just do that few days and you are good.
Parker Reyes
Its pretty easy to catch up, 50 pages per day is really easy.
I enjoyed Cetology honestly but I couldn't keep thinking if its outdated. The book started really amazing and I still enjoy it as much as I did in start.
Mason Reed
Yeah I'm not worried about catching up. Any lurking anons please feel free to jump on board to.
Rereading, I really love his prose. The opening chapter's ruminations perfectly capture the kind of book this will be on the whole. " Meditation and water are wedded forever", fantastic.
It's really easy for most people to put the book down once he gets to the highly technical chapters on whaling and sailing. Just word of advice, don't get disheartened. Try to push through, you'll end up appreciating those chapters later when you're done reading and thinking about the book as a whole.
Andrew Wilson
bumping for love
Owen Turner
I love Melville's prose. It almost feels like he makes everything, no matter how insignificant, as some grand and lofty thing. It's like he exaggerates, but in a way that is more interesting than annoying.
I also loved Cetology, but that's because I'm a sucker for faux-scientific material. If I found out that the book from Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius was real, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Still, I understand how the section, and other sections like it, could get on the nerves of some readers.
Either way, it really shows that whaling is an all-consuming action for the sailors. They live, eat, breathe, and sleep whaling. Though this can be seen early on in the form of Bulkington. After a number of years at sea, he spent a few days on land and immediately returned to whaling.
It's also funny to see how scientific Cetology tries to be when a lot of it is "I heard it from this one guy that..." Also, >implying whales are fish
Ethan Moore
Whales are fish, if fish just means something that lives in the ocean.
Fish having gils and such is modern usage of the word, and not even accurate.
Samuel King
They're just mammals to me. Though, I remember reading some years ago about the difficulty of classifying fish. I might be misremembering that, however.
Zachary Brooks
The biggest problem for me is the the long sentences that go like clause1, clause2, clause3, clause4, clause5, continuation of clause2... etc. Otherwise it's fine. I also don't think chapters like Cetology feel like a big break in style because even the chapters that continue the narrative are written quite essayistically.
Ayden Lee
>I'm a sucker for faux-scientific material me2. it's like novels are still to close to reality for me
Lucas Brown
Bump
Andrew Roberts
Just started reading today. Will be doing double the appointed chapters until I catch up with yall (or triple the quota if I have the time)...
Love the prose so far. The chapter about him sharing bed with Queequeg was pretty funny. It even made me laugh.
Brody Lewis
...
Gabriel Wilson
What do ye do when ye see a whale, men?
Charles Cox
Alright a couple things to note right away that are really interesting and I don't think I got first time through (this was years ago though).
Ishamel mentions going out to see as being like Cato taking his sword, very explicitly equating seafaring with suicide. This is such an incredible image to me: obviously it sets up Ahab as a character, but on its own and in the context of Ishmael it's just shocking. Imagine being in this little town, being any land-bound person, and seeing Ishmael and other sailors, would one get the impression that they were looking to go to see as a final act to their lives? Compare this then with his spiel about being paid versus paying. "Who ain't a slave, tell me that?" Awesome. I don't know that Marx or Engels ever read Moby Dick but I can imagine them having a piqued interest in this confluence of economics and psychology with character. Let's also note this with the later scene of Captain Ahab offering a coin to anyone that spots the whale first. Bring to my mind the idea of having coins to carry with you into the afterlife to pay the psychopomp.
You and me both, hang in there user.
Take lots of photos like a Japanese tourist party, obviously.
Grayson Cook
A couple other things before I have to head out:
1) Does anybody have a pretty good idea off the top of their heads what Ishmael's talking about when he mentions Pythagorean theorem?
2) Really loved the brief moment when Ishmael talks about the first hunted whale and first hunters. Imagine what the first whaling expedition must have been like. What on earth would drive someone, especially a very pre-industrial people like the indigenous North-East peoples.
3) Ishmael seems very sophisticated, very well read. Is this important for his character, or is Melville just talking through him, more or less?
Cameron Moore
3) Ishmael mentions he is a teacher but felt the urge to visit the sea (and then goes on on how different it is to do so as a sailor rather than as a passenger). I feel like he actually is a very educated man pushed by a romantic ideal to go on adventures.
Isaiah Flores
Regarding the "pythagorean maxim" Ishmael references, I found this explanation:
>On the fourth page of the novel proper, having already told us that he’s a little down on his luck and light in the purse, he makes the stoical aside that “in this world, head winds are far more prevalent than winds from astern”—sound philosophy from a hard-luck sailor. But then he qualifies his sobering truism by saying, “That is, if you never violate the Pythagorean maxim.” Subtle joke, easy to miss, for you’re probably thinking Pythagoras, who’s that? Oh, yeah, a-squared plus b-squared equals c-squared. But that’s not the Pythagorean maxim he’s talking about. What you need to know (and sadly this isn’t explained in most editions) is that there is a two-word fragment of Pythagoras’ writings that simply says: Avoid beans. This is the maxim Ishmael’s referring to, with all its wind-from-astern implications, thereby creating what might be the highest-brow fart joke ever told.
Happened to start reading it about a week ago and now they're on the boat, just wanted to check, was I meant to take from the start that Queequeg and Ishmael were fagging it up together or am I just projecting? All that stuff about being like a married couple and them rubbing their legs together.
Ian Anderson
offtopic. sorry to ask but is there charts like this for other books? because when I see something organized it's motivating me to read and not procrastinate.
Adam Moore
Should I annotate as I read? So far, this is what I've been doing. Nevertheless, it makes getting through a few pages take longer and discourages me from continuing. However, I fear that if I don't annotate I won't get as much out of it. What should I do?
Leo Wright
There have been Veeky Forums's book clubs befire with the same method. But AFAIK, this is the only one currently going.
Daniel Cooper
You should read the way you want. If tou feel annotating is important, then go on! I feel that the daily amount if pages isnt big enough to make it too tiresome.
I , for one, am not annotating it, but I do plan on doing a future reread much deeper than this one.
Chase Baker
I actually bought this yesterday and it came through today.
I have to finish Lord of the Flies (just got two chapters left which I will leave for the train to work tomorrow) and someone leant me the second Dark Tower book when he found out I have only read the first one. After I've bombed through that I might start reading this and try and catch up with these threads. I got a load of classic books and couldn't figure out which one to start with but this has helped me decide.
Christopher Ward
Why not catch up with this one first? We are currently only 100 pages in. And after you have caught up, 20 pages a day will leave more than enough time to read other books!
Wyatt Green
So how do you pronounce Queequeg?
Ive been pronouncing it like quick+kek... How are you saing it?
Jack Nguyen
Qu-ee-qu-way
Easton Richardson
kek kwee-kwegg probably because of futurama
Christopher Green
Top kek, absolutely based. Thank you for digging this up.
This Although I find that annotating is a great way to keep thoughts somewhere. Unfortunately I'm used a library copy but I've been taking noted on my phone.
Dunno if you're memeing but it's actually a valid question. On the one hand, if that was Melville's intention, it's probably safe to say that he couldn't have actually stated such a thing in a popular-access novel, right? At least not very openly. On the other hand, it very well could be just projection. What is gained, as far as the narrative is concerned, if they were "fagging it up"?
Personally, I think Melville's angle is more humanitarian than sexual. In many respects the alliance of Queequeg and Ishmael has to be unthinkable. According to Euro-American social ideals, anyway. Ishmael himself, despite his hubristic elevation of himself over the non-sailing types, is very caught up in the idea of being above sharing a bed with some savage. But in reality (which sailors, as opposed to land-grabbing slavers, politicians, preachers, etc.) that understanding isn't just flawed, it's nonsensical. So my take of it is that Melville puts the two men in the same bed to make in an image the idea that there can't be any real difference between men despite the perceivable differences and their character.
Ryder Gomez
you're a faggot
also there's these things called notebooks, you should probably look into them for annotations.
Cooper Harris
Started yesterday and got to Chapter 7 so far. Previously, the only Melville work I read was Bartleby and I was always intimidated by the length of Moby Dick and anons bemoaning the long chapters describing the intricacies of whaling and sailing, so this reading group came at the perfect timing. Hopefully it doesn't end like the DQ reading group.
Ethan Russell
Fuck, I literally don't have the time to read this week, maybe I'll try to catch up for the last chapters.
Have fun!
Ian Gray
friend, I always recommend people to read the first time without worriyng to look stuff up or annotating.
if you really like the book, then you should re-read it, without hurry, on your own pace and taking notes. on the second time you will already know the "plot" and can focus more on details
Jack Hernandez
I saw this too late and started reading the other book. I'm getting through it quickly, so I should be with you guys soon enough.
Xavier Perez
i will, for your sake
Christian Martinez
Right, fuck it, I'm gonna start today and see if I can catch up by the 3rd-6th of July Possibly earlier Wish me luck lads, and have a lovely time yourselves.
Owen Watson
gl
Kayden Taylor
>reading Moby Dick on the beach >whole back gets sunburnt
Ahab really is the best character, isn't it bros?
Joshua Rogers
Wouldnt know... I`m just in chapter 22 (when they start sailing) and ahab has only been mentioned.
Although I have to admit that the chapter where Elias tells about Ahab's past deeds is a fantastic foreshadowing for the character.
Cameron Long
You can do it bro.
Also is anyone interested in any secondary lit? I can try and look for interesting articles/papers.
Speaking of that scene, I like the section in it where he talks about the "phantom arm" that was hugging him when he was a kid. It makes Queequeg seem more than just a savage cannibal, but a spirit.
Adam Gonzalez
"The Street" is a nice subtle way to say that at death everyone is equal. Rich, savages, and woodsmen are all in New Bedford ready to go whaling
Adam Parker
So, how is everyone enjoying the book so far? Any specific scenes you liked, or any paragraphs you though were confusing? Anyone else feel like reading ahead instead of waiting for tomorrow?
Jaxson Ramirez
The play chapter was confusing to me.
Carson Gonzalez
Bumping for justice, too busy o comment at the moment but don't die on me
Jackson Hall
is it a bad sign that I have to reread paragraphs because I don't take anything in? haven't read a book in 5 years. Am I just not able to read any more or can this be fixed? pretty scared desu
Jack Myers
Keep reading and find out
Nicholas Taylor
I did not like Cetology, I would rather read more about the crew. I've already said that in the previous thread, but The Chapel and The Sermon are my favorites.
Good luck, you're definitely gonna enjoy it.
It is ok I guess. I do not take everything from all the paragraphs, because some of them are simply less important. However, after reading a chapter I skim over it and make some notes in order to retain more details from it. It makes the whole process of reading longer, but reading is not a race so I take my time and do not fret about it.
David Cook
"i did not like cetology and yet every important commentator has taken extra measure to understand this particular chapter with depth, so i had better shut my mouth before i make myself look more like a jackass"
Juan Perez
Why not try to show why it's important than just shitting on them. Isn't that the point of discussing a book?
Michael Taylor
someone come up with a spicy analysis of "The Trap" / "the blackness of darkness" when we get there -- all I've ever been able to find is critical race theory tripe and I really want to understand what Melville's trying to get at here
of course it's outdated he rejects the theory that whales are mammals for the traditional idea of them as big fish but accuracy is not the point
this is just how people wrote (well) for centuries only recently has sophisticated sentential structure become a no-no (chalk this up to the democratization of literature) I recently read a review of a WH Hodgson book on Goodreads and the whole thing was just a complaint about the presence of adverbs like what
