It's an allegory for a israelite chasing his childhood molester who turned him gay. The moral of the story is that not even being God's chosen will let one defeat the Big Homo.
The thing is: you have received an education that was catered to the lowest common denominator, to facilitate the nonsense that is universal education. The literacy that men such as Melville displayed is a mountain to the molehill that is modern day '''''literacy''''', and you are going to have to push through it if you want to enjoy the fruits of that literacy. Ignore what all the data says, the average literate person is FAR more moronic than the literate person of 100+ years ago.
Perhaps a better question is where was the Melville of his day? Unrecognized and mocked, mostly.
11 months ago
Anonymous
moronic comparison - he wasn't the only great writer of his time, many of whom were recognised.
11 months ago
Anonymous
I'm not the anon you're arguing with, but im curious. Can you list me ANY boons you've read from the last 30 years?
11 months ago
Anonymous
He didn’t ask for a great writer of our time. He asked for the Melville of our time. A “Melville” of any time is unappreciated and obscured, so it was a stupid question.
I hope you can follow along, anon.
11 months ago
Anonymous
Well, excuse me for arguing in good faith.
11 months ago
Anonymous
>Perhaps a better question is where was the Melville of his day?
FATALITY
If you deny my claim, I ask you: where are the Melvilles of today?
>Vgh we mvst retvrn, there are no more Melvilles in this day, the lowest common denominator education and decadent "cvlture" has eroded all creativity around us, all we have are Kings and McCarthys >Vgh we mvst retvrn, there are no more Goethes in this day, the lowest common denominator education and decadent "cvlture" has eroded all creativity around us, all we have are Melvilles and Wildes >Vgh we mvst retvrn, there are no more Shakespeares in this day, the lowest common denominator education and decadent "cvlture" has eroded all creativity around us, all we have are Goethes and Blakes >Vgh we mvst retvrn, there are no more Virgils in this day, the lowest common denominator education and decadent "cvlture" has eroded all creativity around us, all we have are Shakespeares and Miltons
>...
>Vgh grvgh bab dah grvg, rvb pv wvgvh jabadadadvh. Fah Grvg baba bvba, habadagah Vagah gah Habakah.
>"Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me."
If you can't understand what that means, simple, well written, and hilarious as it is, you need to catch up on your history and your reading with it.
Do people really have trouble reading that? I do admit it could just say when he feels like shit he takes to the ship but then it would loose soul and detail.
I'm at a loss for words because when I got to "knocking people's hats off", I got struck by the feeling of familiarity and realized that pop media references are what fuels my cultural education. This passage was featured in Portal 2 in the test chamber where glados starts talking very quickly; you can hear it when you slow down her speech. I recognize Moby-Dick because of Portal 2...
i don't get what's funny about this. i know moby dick is intentionally humorous (the spermacetti scene is obvious) but what's funny about >sometimes i feel sad >i get so sad i go to funerals i'm not invited to >eventually i get frustrated and want to start fights with people >that's when i go sailing >it's like how guys shoot each other (is this the funny part?) >every guy has something like the sea for times like these
i always read it as romantic rather than humorous
No he's talking about suicide. Knocking people's caps off is picking a fight with lots of people at once: one he'll lose. He's self destructive.
Also I think the spermaceti thing is just a well written pasta/meme. I was looking for it when I read Moby Dick, but I don't recall it at all. What chapter is it?
>Squeeze! squeeze! squeeze! all the morning long; I squeezed that sperm till I myself almost melted into it; I squeezed that sperm till a strange sort of insanity came over me; and I found myself unwittingly squeezing my co-laborers’ hands in it, mistaking their hands for the gentle globules. Such an abounding, affectionate, friendly, loving feeling did this avocation beget; that at last I was continually squeezing their hands, and looking up into their eyes sentimentally; as much as to say,- Oh! my dear fellow beings, why should we longer cherish any social acerbities, or know the slightest ill-humor or envy! Come; let us squeeze hands all round; nay, let us all squeeze ourselves into each other; let us squeeze ourselves universally into the very milk and sperm of kindness. >Would that I could keep squeezing that sperm for ever!
What happens at sea, stays at sea.
11 months ago
Anonymous
Many read it as gay. I read it as intentionally funny and poking fun, not weird Freudian repression or anything like that.
I love this book. It speaks to me. It's a simple message about chasing your dreams and passions hard enough to see them accomplished. The CEO chair in my company is my white whale and I will sit there one day.
>It's a simple message about chasing your dreams and passions hard enough to see them accomplished
this is not what moby dick is about lol, are you ron swanson?
>this is not what moby dick is about
Moby-Dick is genuinely one of those books where, within reason, there is no one correct way to read the book. Anon is perfectly justified in having this opinion given the context of the book. I agree with anon, but I also think the lesson is a cautionary tale about not becoming so focused on something that one loses out on the simpler, more pleasant things in life.
You - "I'll just work my life away and then I can get to the position I've wanted :)"
The Thai ladyboy whose story you never let unfold and shape your very soul for the better waiting for you to break the shackles of your modern life and rescue her: 🙁
You need to practice mindfulness
I still don't think they were gay, and that the annotator there is biased in reading into it. I think Ishmael was just supposed to sound like a dandy and very much of his time. Am I moronic for this?
Annotations by women are de facto to be discarded. They’ll fetishise any male bond
>that the annotator there is biased
homie it says queerqueg are you moronic? This version was annotated by IQfy anons you aren't supposed to take it seriously. All newbies must hang
Read digitally
Highlight unfamiliar words
Get definition
Reread segment with new knowledge
Understand
Repeat until you no longer need to
The tools for increasing ones own literacy have never been closer at hand.
Sperm whales produce by far the purest of all oils and the whalers who chase them are not given the respect and recognition they deserve. Unlike, say, the right whale, also called Greenland whale because that is where it resides, the sperm whales travels internationally. On top of that, the sperm whale is by far the most vicious of them, known to attack whalers with an aim to kill. Known to even sink entire briggs with nothing but their ferocity. hope that helps
I thought it was interesting but also regularly pretty slow and at times hard to understand. The longer it's been since reading it the more I feel it calling for a reread though. Like Ishmael and his obsession with the sea, I suppose.
fellow zoomzoom here, if you want genuine advice then I'll begin with saying that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. Most of the media that you come across is usually a propaganda tool for the dumbest people that currently exist, the quality of education has similarly taken a downturn because of a separation between what would make an individual employable and what would make him cultured, and this is even for the best educational institutions that exist. So for books like these I generally recommend being more patient and reading them twice, once quickly to get a general idea of the book and to gain a sense of familiarity, I'll reiterate, you should finish the book quickly so that you are not intimidated by the language and by the thought of not getting everything. This can be followed by an immediate second reading but I recommend taking some time, it's up to you. This reading should be more in detail, have a dictionary at hand, look up phrases you don't understand, you can even employ websites such as cliff notes at the end of a chapter to see if you missed anything, and make notes if you think you might ever need them in the future but don't make notes just for the sake of it. That way you should be able to gain a lot more enjoyment and value out of the books you read, although it does require that you expend a little more effort.
Genuinely curious, what's confusing to you? I'm also a zoomer but I didn't find Moby Dick confusing at all, maybe I can help. Have you read any other 19th century literature? Or read much at all? It's a great book but not really a great starting point if you're new to reading.
>the book gets better as you age >had to read it at 15 in HS, >couldn't relate >no life experience >nothing had happened in my life > except anime breasts, masturbation and the 10th grade >reread it at 26 after getting divorced and coming home from the west cost >amazing in every way >now 10 years later.. >found new love, a new career >Lost my father, became one myself >decide to pick reread it again and >it is even more amazing than I had once considered >I feel then at 26, I had missed most of the important and deep parts of the book. >Now I take it in small bites and relish each part >chapter 10, was just so moving >it brought me to tears.
It is truly no wonder it is recognized as one of, if not the greatest book written in English.
You are base and demonic. You are the shit of the earth. You lost your ability to cry or empathize or understand the true core of man, reacting to true emotion and humanity with a vapid jests, glancing around the crowd for validation like some feverish imp…” Nevertheless the sun hides not Virginia’s Dismal Swamp, nor Rome’s accursed Campagna, nor wide Sahara, nor all the millions of miles of deserts and of griefs beneath the moon. The sun hides not the ocean, which is the dark side of this earth, and which is two thirds of this earth. So, therefore, that mortal man who hath more of joy than sorrow in him, that mortal man cannot be true- not true, or undeveloped. With books the same. The truest of all men was the Man of Sorrows, and the truest of all books is Solomon’s, and Ecclesiastes is the fine hammered steel of woe. “All is vanity.” ALL. This wilful world hath not got hold of unchristian Solomon’s wisdom yet. But he who dodges hospitals and jails, and walks fast crossing graveyards, and would rather talk of operas than hell; calls Cowper, Young, Pascal, Rousseau, poor devils all of sick men; and throughout a care-free lifetime swears by Rabelais as passing wise, and therefore jolly;- not that man is fitted to sit down on tomb-stones, and break the green damp mould with unfathomably wondrous Solomon.”
First read it at 21 just got out of a crank house and was destroying myself mentally and physically. Book is still my favorite book. Years later I’m married with children and am feeling like it’s time for a read again
Fellow zoomer here. I can confirm it is quite heavy for someone who's starting to get into literature. I read the Wordsworth Edition which has an annotation for literally everything. These notes will help you understand the references Melville does, and appreciate them more.
I have a book but it doenst have any annotation. I currently use this
http://www.powermobydick.com
to understand stuff after reading a chapter, is there a more easier/better way than this?
It detaches you from your reliance on a single narrator, and forces a more objective view of the situation.
Also, it casts the characters as mere players in a drama authored by some higher authority, robbing them of agency and presaging their inescapable fate.
yea, i got to the chapter with the sermon and decided ill just read it later. half of what im reading i have no clue what the frick is going on
just going to finish all the cormac and murakami novels i havent read then go back to it
>yea, i got to the chapter with the sermon and decided ill just read it later. half of what im reading i have no clue what the frick is going on
The Bible and Paradise Lost are integral to Moby Dick, so are the American socio-political dynamics of the period. Moby Dick is a novel about America as a whole, you need to understand that, and you also need to understand that it is filled with tangents that tie together into a greater whole and that Ishmael, Melville's voice through this journey - is an author in doubt.
Read on the context surrounding the American literary scene at the time and watch an introductory lesson about the novel or read the introduction in your physical copy.
>read the introduction in your physical copy
Can't I rip those out if they're not by the same author
I mail the pages back to the publisher, or burn them, or wipe my ass with them if I've run out of toilet paper, or use them as target practice, or frame them and jerk off onto them if the author of those pages was an attractive woman (this has happened very rarely), or throw them in the trash
I got about a third of the way into this book and then got bored. I am debating trying again but I already know whats going to happen from watching so many adaptations of the story. The Solomon Islander is best character though and Ishmael wants to frick him.
This is why I haven't read any prolific books like Moby Dick, Animal Farm or 1984 yet, I just know I won't understand the deeper meaning of them so there's no point in me reading them.
Nah, read Animal Farm, it's the most angry recently disillusion college age capitalist, that was raised by commie parents b***h fest.
It's very 2D, but bonus points for how funny and easy it is to follow.
You'll actually feel smarter after reading it, because A.) Communism is dumb and doesn't deserve an extremely thought out expose B) Talking animals for "still basically kids" gen z teenagers and young adults.
Decent book, super fricking simple.
Then take a step up and read Fight Club.
Once you get some experience you get read some more nuanced and difficult materials like Goosebumps #42. In that book it explores the different themes of globalization on a small developing nation, using eggs as a symbol for economies.
>This is why I haven't read any prolific books like Moby Dick, Animal Farm or 1984 yet
I don't think this is a good approach to reading great works that require you to know the main socio-political, historic, philosophical and scientific trends at the time because the thing that makes a work great is its plethora of layers and that you get to peel through them with each new reading, thereby changing your perception of it or heightening it. Abandon the "read x books before attempting to read y in order to fully grasp it" mentality because you will never read enough, you will never know enough, you will always need to return to something and to know more. That is the nature of reading, after all, and that's where the fun lies, as well. But if you're unsure of your knowledge and familiarity with something and feel lost and like you're missing a lot when reading a given novel, read about the context of the times, the artistic trends of the time and a little about the author and his artistic aims and occupations, as well. It will help you a lot and there's no shame in doing so.
>bro with cannibals, go on an adventure, fight some fish
Let me guess, you need "deep meanings" before you can enjoy this earnest work of self-expression and beauty.
my favourite chapter is the one where he talks about the colour white not always representing something good or peaceful, and how when sailing it can mean your death is near. The rest of the book is genuinely forgettable textbook whale facts.
It's an allegory for a israelite chasing his childhood molester who turned him gay. The moral of the story is that not even being God's chosen will let one defeat the Big Homo.
Speak not to me of bigotry, it strike the rainbow if it assaulted me
got a chuckle from me
go watch Tik Tok reels instead. you're not ready yet.
The thing is: you have received an education that was catered to the lowest common denominator, to facilitate the nonsense that is universal education. The literacy that men such as Melville displayed is a mountain to the molehill that is modern day '''''literacy''''', and you are going to have to push through it if you want to enjoy the fruits of that literacy. Ignore what all the data says, the average literate person is FAR more moronic than the literate person of 100+ years ago.
>it's another menstrual studies undergrad projecting his deep-seated insecurities episode
This will never be not funny.
If you deny my claim, I ask you: where are the Melvilles of today?
Perhaps a better question is where was the Melville of his day? Unrecognized and mocked, mostly.
moronic comparison - he wasn't the only great writer of his time, many of whom were recognised.
I'm not the anon you're arguing with, but im curious. Can you list me ANY boons you've read from the last 30 years?
He didn’t ask for a great writer of our time. He asked for the Melville of our time. A “Melville” of any time is unappreciated and obscured, so it was a stupid question.
I hope you can follow along, anon.
Well, excuse me for arguing in good faith.
>Perhaps a better question is where was the Melville of his day?
FATALITY
>where are the Melvilles of today?
Hollywood McDonalds took his place. Seriously.
?
>Ignore what all the data says, believe my midwit headcanon
>Vgh we mvst retvrn, there are no more Melvilles in this day, the lowest common denominator education and decadent "cvlture" has eroded all creativity around us, all we have are Kings and McCarthys
>Vgh we mvst retvrn, there are no more Goethes in this day, the lowest common denominator education and decadent "cvlture" has eroded all creativity around us, all we have are Melvilles and Wildes
>Vgh we mvst retvrn, there are no more Shakespeares in this day, the lowest common denominator education and decadent "cvlture" has eroded all creativity around us, all we have are Goethes and Blakes
>Vgh we mvst retvrn, there are no more Virgils in this day, the lowest common denominator education and decadent "cvlture" has eroded all creativity around us, all we have are Shakespeares and Miltons
>...
>Vgh grvgh bab dah grvg, rvb pv wvgvh jabadadadvh. Fah Grvg baba bvba, habadagah Vagah gah Habakah.
>"Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me."
If you can't understand what that means, simple, well written, and hilarious as it is, you need to catch up on your history and your reading with it.
Do people really have trouble reading that? I do admit it could just say when he feels like shit he takes to the ship but then it would loose soul and detail.
Do I buy the original edition on Amazon? I don't want the moron translations in it. I love the way this author describes.
then don't buy the moron translator version
I'm at a loss for words because when I got to "knocking people's hats off", I got struck by the feeling of familiarity and realized that pop media references are what fuels my cultural education. This passage was featured in Portal 2 in the test chamber where glados starts talking very quickly; you can hear it when you slow down her speech. I recognize Moby-Dick because of Portal 2...
Embarrassing. If you're old enough to post here you're too old for video games
portal 2 is like 20 years old by now
suicided himself? sad times cato
I might have to bump this book up in the ol' reading list. That's one of the funniest paragraphs I've read in a while.
i don't get what's funny about this. i know moby dick is intentionally humorous (the spermacetti scene is obvious) but what's funny about
>sometimes i feel sad
>i get so sad i go to funerals i'm not invited to
>eventually i get frustrated and want to start fights with people
>that's when i go sailing
>it's like how guys shoot each other (is this the funny part?)
>every guy has something like the sea for times like these
i always read it as romantic rather than humorous
>>it's like how guys shoot each other
No he's talking about suicide. Knocking people's caps off is picking a fight with lots of people at once: one he'll lose. He's self destructive.
Also I think the spermaceti thing is just a well written pasta/meme. I was looking for it when I read Moby Dick, but I don't recall it at all. What chapter is it?
https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/42/moby-dick/775/chapter-94-a-squeeze-of-the-hand/
>Squeeze! squeeze! squeeze! all the morning long; I squeezed that sperm till I myself almost melted into it; I squeezed that sperm till a strange sort of insanity came over me; and I found myself unwittingly squeezing my co-laborers’ hands in it, mistaking their hands for the gentle globules. Such an abounding, affectionate, friendly, loving feeling did this avocation beget; that at last I was continually squeezing their hands, and looking up into their eyes sentimentally; as much as to say,- Oh! my dear fellow beings, why should we longer cherish any social acerbities, or know the slightest ill-humor or envy! Come; let us squeeze hands all round; nay, let us all squeeze ourselves into each other; let us squeeze ourselves universally into the very milk and sperm of kindness.
>Would that I could keep squeezing that sperm for ever!
What happens at sea, stays at sea.
Many read it as gay. I read it as intentionally funny and poking fun, not weird Freudian repression or anything like that.
What kind of moron made this cover? It's supposed to be a sperm whale.
I love this book. It speaks to me. It's a simple message about chasing your dreams and passions hard enough to see them accomplished. The CEO chair in my company is my white whale and I will sit there one day.
>It's a simple message about chasing your dreams and passions hard enough to see them accomplished
this is not what moby dick is about lol, are you ron swanson?
>this is not what moby dick is about
Moby-Dick is genuinely one of those books where, within reason, there is no one correct way to read the book. Anon is perfectly justified in having this opinion given the context of the book. I agree with anon, but I also think the lesson is a cautionary tale about not becoming so focused on something that one loses out on the simpler, more pleasant things in life.
Moby Dick is a literary masterpiece Melville crafted for one insidious purpose; to peddle his crackpot whale taxonomy theories
>the whale is a fish
Yes, just like a walrus is an amphibian. Because it's amphibious. Don't see what's so hard about this.
You - "I'll just work my life away and then I can get to the position I've wanted :)"
The Thai ladyboy whose story you never let unfold and shape your very soul for the better waiting for you to break the shackles of your modern life and rescue her: 🙁
You need to practice mindfulness
>I dont understand anything 🙁
>t.zoomer
Correct
It's a metaphor for repressed homosexuality. Read the whale cum scene
review basic ship terms, and maybe have it on hand
It's all about Ahab trying to retrieve his foreskin.
Just buy an edition with good annotations to help you out
Which edition is that one? Seems based
Literally the IQfy edition. I still wish I'd tried harder to get my cover art accepted.
I still don't think they were gay, and that the annotator there is biased in reading into it. I think Ishmael was just supposed to sound like a dandy and very much of his time. Am I moronic for this?
Annotations by women are de facto to be discarded. They’ll fetishise any male bond
>that the annotator there is biased
homie it says queerqueg are you moronic? This version was annotated by IQfy anons you aren't supposed to take it seriously. All newbies must hang
https://www.lulu.com/shop/herman-melville-and-anonymous/moby-dick/paperback/product-7wgny7.html?page=1&pageSize=4
>Book has "Dick" in the title
>surprised it's gay
>call me ishmael1
>>1. Black person
Fricking gets me every time
is this supposed to be funny? i guess you need a lowly IQ to find it so
gayness=good
Read digitally
Highlight unfamiliar words
Get definition
Reread segment with new knowledge
Understand
Repeat until you no longer need to
The tools for increasing ones own literacy have never been closer at hand.
Sperm whales produce by far the purest of all oils and the whalers who chase them are not given the respect and recognition they deserve. Unlike, say, the right whale, also called Greenland whale because that is where it resides, the sperm whales travels internationally. On top of that, the sperm whale is by far the most vicious of them, known to attack whalers with an aim to kill. Known to even sink entire briggs with nothing but their ferocity. hope that helps
I thought it was interesting but also regularly pretty slow and at times hard to understand. The longer it's been since reading it the more I feel it calling for a reread though. Like Ishmael and his obsession with the sea, I suppose.
I can’t take it seriously after watching that fat guy movie.
fellow zoomzoom here, if you want genuine advice then I'll begin with saying that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. Most of the media that you come across is usually a propaganda tool for the dumbest people that currently exist, the quality of education has similarly taken a downturn because of a separation between what would make an individual employable and what would make him cultured, and this is even for the best educational institutions that exist. So for books like these I generally recommend being more patient and reading them twice, once quickly to get a general idea of the book and to gain a sense of familiarity, I'll reiterate, you should finish the book quickly so that you are not intimidated by the language and by the thought of not getting everything. This can be followed by an immediate second reading but I recommend taking some time, it's up to you. This reading should be more in detail, have a dictionary at hand, look up phrases you don't understand, you can even employ websites such as cliff notes at the end of a chapter to see if you missed anything, and make notes if you think you might ever need them in the future but don't make notes just for the sake of it. That way you should be able to gain a lot more enjoyment and value out of the books you read, although it does require that you expend a little more effort.
Genuinely curious, what's confusing to you? I'm also a zoomer but I didn't find Moby Dick confusing at all, maybe I can help. Have you read any other 19th century literature? Or read much at all? It's a great book but not really a great starting point if you're new to reading.
personally ive read plenty of 19th century lit and still found it quite a challenging read
It's a story about sin and salvation
Listen to Gado's lectures:
>the book gets better as you age
>had to read it at 15 in HS,
>couldn't relate
>no life experience
>nothing had happened in my life
> except anime breasts, masturbation and the 10th grade
>reread it at 26 after getting divorced and coming home from the west cost
>amazing in every way
>now 10 years later..
>found new love, a new career
>Lost my father, became one myself
>decide to pick reread it again and
>it is even more amazing than I had once considered
>I feel then at 26, I had missed most of the important and deep parts of the book.
>Now I take it in small bites and relish each part
>chapter 10, was just so moving
>it brought me to tears.
It is truly no wonder it is recognized as one of, if not the greatest book written in English.
>>it brought me to tears.
Now that's just cri
10, was just so moving
>>it brought me to tears.
So cringe
NETA but I pity those who are too emotionally stiff to be truly moved by great literature
You can't even type or respond correctly so, call me cringe all you like.
At least I know how to respond on a Taiwanese finger painting appreciation web forum, unlike you.
thanks doc
Did you finish reading Moby Dick yet?
Just do the damn Audio with Frank Muller.
>so cringe
You are base and demonic. You are the shit of the earth. You lost your ability to cry or empathize or understand the true core of man, reacting to true emotion and humanity with a vapid jests, glancing around the crowd for validation like some feverish imp…” Nevertheless the sun hides not Virginia’s Dismal Swamp, nor Rome’s accursed Campagna, nor wide Sahara, nor all the millions of miles of deserts and of griefs beneath the moon. The sun hides not the ocean, which is the dark side of this earth, and which is two thirds of this earth. So, therefore, that mortal man who hath more of joy than sorrow in him, that mortal man cannot be true- not true, or undeveloped. With books the same. The truest of all men was the Man of Sorrows, and the truest of all books is Solomon’s, and Ecclesiastes is the fine hammered steel of woe. “All is vanity.” ALL. This wilful world hath not got hold of unchristian Solomon’s wisdom yet. But he who dodges hospitals and jails, and walks fast crossing graveyards, and would rather talk of operas than hell; calls Cowper, Young, Pascal, Rousseau, poor devils all of sick men; and throughout a care-free lifetime swears by Rabelais as passing wise, and therefore jolly;- not that man is fitted to sit down on tomb-stones, and break the green damp mould with unfathomably wondrous Solomon.”
>is still reading books in his 30s instead of writing
you too go back you are all not ready yet for what is to come
Please tell us you're not writing. The best contribution you could make to literature is never to write anything.
>reading books in his 30s instead of writing
Hey, maybe I will write that novel. Thank you for the encouragement anon.
First read it at 21 just got out of a crank house and was destroying myself mentally and physically. Book is still my favorite book. Years later I’m married with children and am feeling like it’s time for a read again
Fellow zoomer here. I can confirm it is quite heavy for someone who's starting to get into literature. I read the Wordsworth Edition which has an annotation for literally everything. These notes will help you understand the references Melville does, and appreciate them more.
I have a book but it doenst have any annotation. I currently use this
http://www.powermobydick.com
to understand stuff after reading a chapter, is there a more easier/better way than this?
I do the same thing lol. Maybe pirate the norton critical edition.
Why does it start reading like a play half-way through?
It detaches you from your reliance on a single narrator, and forces a more objective view of the situation.
Also, it casts the characters as mere players in a drama authored by some higher authority, robbing them of agency and presaging their inescapable fate.
It's ok you just need to learn to post as if you did to fit in on this subreddit.
Ishmael is black.
yea, i got to the chapter with the sermon and decided ill just read it later. half of what im reading i have no clue what the frick is going on
just going to finish all the cormac and murakami novels i havent read then go back to it
>yea, i got to the chapter with the sermon and decided ill just read it later. half of what im reading i have no clue what the frick is going on
The Bible and Paradise Lost are integral to Moby Dick, so are the American socio-political dynamics of the period. Moby Dick is a novel about America as a whole, you need to understand that, and you also need to understand that it is filled with tangents that tie together into a greater whole and that Ishmael, Melville's voice through this journey - is an author in doubt.
Read on the context surrounding the American literary scene at the time and watch an introductory lesson about the novel or read the introduction in your physical copy.
>read the introduction in your physical copy
Can't I rip those out if they're not by the same author
I mail the pages back to the publisher, or burn them, or wipe my ass with them if I've run out of toilet paper, or use them as target practice, or frame them and jerk off onto them if the author of those pages was an attractive woman (this has happened very rarely), or throw them in the trash
I liked it, it was oddly comfy.
I got about a third of the way into this book and then got bored. I am debating trying again but I already know whats going to happen from watching so many adaptations of the story. The Solomon Islander is best character though and Ishmael wants to frick him.
>stops reading when bored
go back
>I waste my time just to get points on IQfy
loser
“What’s going to happen.”
You are not ready. The plot is not why you read Moby Dick.
I know it's about the philosophy you get out of it. Which I found banal. I don't care what Melville thinks. I'm not obligated to give him my time.
“About the philosophy.”
Strike 2 for moron.
If you can’t appreciate how absolutely magnificent Melvilles prose is, then there is no hope for you. Come back to it in a decade.
I don't waste my time reading books I don't enjoy. If that makes me a moron I don't want to be smart.
>getting bored of Moby Dick
This is why I haven't read any prolific books like Moby Dick, Animal Farm or 1984 yet, I just know I won't understand the deeper meaning of them so there's no point in me reading them.
Nah, read Animal Farm, it's the most angry recently disillusion college age capitalist, that was raised by commie parents b***h fest.
It's very 2D, but bonus points for how funny and easy it is to follow.
You'll actually feel smarter after reading it, because A.) Communism is dumb and doesn't deserve an extremely thought out expose B) Talking animals for "still basically kids" gen z teenagers and young adults.
Decent book, super fricking simple.
Then take a step up and read Fight Club.
Once you get some experience you get read some more nuanced and difficult materials like Goosebumps #42. In that book it explores the different themes of globalization on a small developing nation, using eggs as a symbol for economies.
>This is why I haven't read any prolific books like Moby Dick, Animal Farm or 1984 yet
I don't think this is a good approach to reading great works that require you to know the main socio-political, historic, philosophical and scientific trends at the time because the thing that makes a work great is its plethora of layers and that you get to peel through them with each new reading, thereby changing your perception of it or heightening it. Abandon the "read x books before attempting to read y in order to fully grasp it" mentality because you will never read enough, you will never know enough, you will always need to return to something and to know more. That is the nature of reading, after all, and that's where the fun lies, as well. But if you're unsure of your knowledge and familiarity with something and feel lost and like you're missing a lot when reading a given novel, read about the context of the times, the artistic trends of the time and a little about the author and his artistic aims and occupations, as well. It will help you a lot and there's no shame in doing so.
>bro with cannibals, go on an adventure, fight some fish
Let me guess, you need "deep meanings" before you can enjoy this earnest work of self-expression and beauty.
What is there not to get?
bros why is it so fricking gay
Skill issue
>t. also a zoomer
my favourite chapter is the one where he talks about the colour white not always representing something good or peaceful, and how when sailing it can mean your death is near. The rest of the book is genuinely forgettable textbook whale facts.
My favorite chapter is the one where Stubb earns a whale meat steak supper and keeps pestering Fleece to make it impossibly rare.