Posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Online Flash-Cards!
Flashcardexchange.com has flash cards for pretty much any subject you could imagine, but its cards for 'AP lit terms' have especially high ratings.
Here is the link for a set of digital flash cards that I liked:
http://www.flashcardexchange.com/flashcards/view/466521
When you get the this web-page, click the link that says 'Study', to access the cards. Very neat little site.
It's a very extensive set (102 card), with very basic terms (like irony, novella, narrator) as well as more challenging terms (like 'in medias res', euphony, frame story, cacophony, hubris)
_
Poetry Term Quiz!
Famous-Poems.org has created an awesome little quiz to test our knowledge of poetry terms- such as Anaphora, Hyperbole, Idyll, Assonance, Alliteration, Epizuexis...and a kazillion other poetical terms that we either NEED to know, or would be IMPRESSIVE to use on the AP exam.
You should give it a try: http://www.famous-poems.org/quiz
You should give it a try: http://www.famous-poems.org/quiz
| I took the Poetry Terminology Quiz at Famous Poems.org |
My results:Super Poetry Expert!My Score Average How's that for a poetry expert? |
| Think you can do better? Head to the Famous Poems Library and Take the Quiz! |
Friday, April 24, 2009
Renaissance: A Rebirth
During the Middle Ages, books were expensive and few people were even able to read. Those who were educated and literate, generally clergy men, ignored 'pagan' works by the romans and greeks and focused primarily on biblical texts.
The renaissance represented a break from the medieval pattern of thought. Economic prosperity and relative peace inspired a growth in literature and a rediscovering of ancient 'classical' texts. The idea that the church should only be conerned with people's spirituality and not their civic lives rose in popularity, and art flourished. Literature appearing this age of science and creation is considered to be part of the 'Renaissance Literary Movement'.
Major Influences:
* classic Greek and Roman literature * art and ideology of Italy * quattrocento architecture and symmetry * protestantism *
Reoccuring themes:
* the value of Chivalry * humanism vs. church * struggle for moral purity * freewill of men * search for 'truth' *
Common Literary Devices:
* symmetrical verse and metre * harmonic alliteration and rhyming * 'poems within poems', short, concise sections * Imagery and depictions of art *
Other Stylistic Devices:
* philosophy and ideology that reflected developing science of the period * love stories, or romantic dramas * tragic stories of struggling heroes *
Representative Poets and Authors:
* Shakespear * Christopher Marlowe * Edmund Spencer * Aemilia Lanyer * Mary Herbert * Sir Walter Ralegh *
Sonnet by Sir Thomas Wyatt
Some fowls there be that have so perfect sight Again the sun their eyes for to defend; And some because the light doth them offend Do never 'pear but in the dark or night. Other rejoice that see the fire bright And ween to play in it, as they do pretend, And find the contrary of it that they intend. Alas, of that sort I may be by right, For to withstand her look I am not able And yet can I not hide me in no dark place, Remembrance so followeth me of that face. So that with teary eyen, swollen and unstable, My destiny to behold her doth me lead, Yet do I know I run into the gleed.
Major Influences:
* classic Greek and Roman literature * art and ideology of Italy * quattrocento architecture and symmetry * protestantism *
Reoccuring themes:
* the value of Chivalry * humanism vs. church * struggle for moral purity * freewill of men * search for 'truth' *
Common Literary Devices:
* symmetrical verse and metre * harmonic alliteration and rhyming * 'poems within poems', short, concise sections * Imagery and depictions of art *
Other Stylistic Devices:
* philosophy and ideology that reflected developing science of the period * love stories, or romantic dramas * tragic stories of struggling heroes *
Representative Poets and Authors:
* Shakespear * Christopher Marlowe * Edmund Spencer * Aemilia Lanyer * Mary Herbert * Sir Walter Ralegh *
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Augustan Literature
This movement draws its title from the Roman Emperor Augustus who ruled during the time of Virgil and Horace- two poets who heavily influenced writers in the eighteenth century. Augustan poets both held Virgil and Horace in high esteem, and said of the writing:"Those rules of old discovered, not devised, Are nature still, but nature methodized."
Meaning, that roman epic poetry was the purest, natural, form of writing. However, at the same time they mocked that style and used exagerated versions of 'epic poetry' to create comedic satire and comment of current events and human nature. These parodies often mocked the achievements of men and the idea of ambition.
Major themes:
- Human Frailty
- Order in the universe
- The providential design of God
- Standards of human potential
- Satire, irony, and brevity
- Parody
- Allusions to Epic roman poetry
- Political commentary and Allegory
- Heroic couplets
- Mundane, or painfully ordinary, non-eventful, plots
- Mock Epic
- Criticism of the 'ambiguity' of Metaphysical poets
- Harmony and precision in diction and syntax
- Alexander Pope
- John Dryden
- Johnathan Swift
- Joseph Addison
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Piety of 1984: Virgil and Orwell
It has just crossed my mind, that perhaps Orwell drew or grew from a prior writing, the Aenied, in the same way Virgil expanded from Homer's epic poems.
Like the Aenied, and all epic poems, 1984 begins in the middle of things. Winston's character is modeled off of an historic leader (Winston Churchill). He has experience great hardships and losses. His actions seem out of his control.
Like the Aenied, and all epic poems, 1984 begins in the middle of things. Winston's character is modeled off of an historic leader (Winston Churchill). He has experience great hardships and losses. His actions seem out of his control.
Augustus Ceasar
"In extreme danger, fear feels no pity."
It's clear that Virgil modeled Aeneas, in many aspects, off of the Roman leader Augustus, who transformed a crumbling republic into the powerful empire. So, in order to have a better understanding of Virgil's text, I've begun some research on this Roman emperor. Here are some of the more interesting or helpful sites I've encountered thus far:
De Imperatoribus Romanis
This site is great! It includes both a brief summary of Augustus, his life and role, and an indepth biography.
Kids Net- Augustus Ceasar
Why is it that children's websites are the most interactive and engaging? that it is assumed adults no longer need colors and graphics to maintain interest?
The Bust of Augustus Ceasar
Uhhh...I'm only posting this because someone might find it funny. I don't really get it. It's short video, supposedly about Augustus Ceasar.
In the Middle
Interesting blog by a child about Augustus Ceasar- also kind of wierd and scary.
Augustus Quotes
and finally some Augustus Quotes. Some enlightening, others, not so much.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Dido in the Underworld
Throughout the Aeneid, depictions of women can easily be interpreted as sexist and degrading, but in the final scene with Dido, she is endowed with an amount of honor and dignity that no other charater, leastly Aeneas, has yet to display.
Although much of the descriptions of the underworld are horrific and disgusting (mutlilated limbs, wailing infants), the scene of Dido is fairly placid. She is wandering, drifting like a fog, not suffering or wailing. Her appearance is compared to that of a raising moon. In this sense the tone associated with her is calm, and new. Moon is also a symbol of femininity, and while it was the control of her heart and emotions by a man that lead to her suicide, the moon could be symbolic of her independence from men and passions. This seems to enforce the idea that she has achieved redemption in death.
While Aeneas is crying, throwing a tangent, utterly unstoic in her presence, she maintains her control. Her 'fiery glance' is doubtfully due to an angry grudge, but disappointment in his new appearance. Compared to the Aeneas that arrived on her shores, so full of purpose, and stole her heart, this blubbering child-like mound of pity must be a disgrace, and insult to the dignity she still retains. Forests are traditionally places of mystic freedom, the uncontrolled. The fact that Dido returns to the forest, as stoic as marble, enforces the idea that in the underworld she has achieved freedom at last. She is not doomed to infinite suffering, but subjected to a final place of peace.
Although much of the descriptions of the underworld are horrific and disgusting (mutlilated limbs, wailing infants), the scene of Dido is fairly placid. She is wandering, drifting like a fog, not suffering or wailing. Her appearance is compared to that of a raising moon. In this sense the tone associated with her is calm, and new. Moon is also a symbol of femininity, and while it was the control of her heart and emotions by a man that lead to her suicide, the moon could be symbolic of her independence from men and passions. This seems to enforce the idea that she has achieved redemption in death.
While Aeneas is crying, throwing a tangent, utterly unstoic in her presence, she maintains her control. Her 'fiery glance' is doubtfully due to an angry grudge, but disappointment in his new appearance. Compared to the Aeneas that arrived on her shores, so full of purpose, and stole her heart, this blubbering child-like mound of pity must be a disgrace, and insult to the dignity she still retains. Forests are traditionally places of mystic freedom, the uncontrolled. The fact that Dido returns to the forest, as stoic as marble, enforces the idea that in the underworld she has achieved freedom at last. She is not doomed to infinite suffering, but subjected to a final place of peace.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Funeral Games for Anchises
The most prominent feature of this chapter is of course, the competitions and Aeneas' awards. What stands out about these awards is how generous Aeneas is with them. In the end, everyone seems to be a winner. Even in the boat competition, the captain of the losing vessel is given a beautiful slave girl! This is extremely ironic, because has been shown through the history and hardships of the Trojans, in the end, the all are losers, they all will die, and they all will suffer. Actually, I find it freaking hillarious. For a moment they are all comforted and then...THEIR BOATS GET LIT ON FIRE!---by their WIVES!! HAHAHA. It seems this situation speaks to the pattern of this book. Happiness is just the preparation for suffering.
Also, while this chapter fulfills its purpose of giving Roman citizens an anniversary, a tradition, a right to celebrate, it also, again, mocks all human purpose. The games seem miniature reenactments of what has happened (boat race) and what is to become (other competitions). All their achievements are nothing but a game. And as is proven in even single game that takes place, it matters not how hard you work, or how certain your success may seem, anything can tip at any given moment, and you have no power over your own success.
I really don't think Virgil bought into the whole 'destiny of Rome'. Also, he was probably a pessimist.
Also, while this chapter fulfills its purpose of giving Roman citizens an anniversary, a tradition, a right to celebrate, it also, again, mocks all human purpose. The games seem miniature reenactments of what has happened (boat race) and what is to become (other competitions). All their achievements are nothing but a game. And as is proven in even single game that takes place, it matters not how hard you work, or how certain your success may seem, anything can tip at any given moment, and you have no power over your own success.
I really don't think Virgil bought into the whole 'destiny of Rome'. Also, he was probably a pessimist.
The Tragic Queen of Carthage
Something that this Chapter has made clear for me, and that I find quite interesting, is that Virgil writes from the perspective of the Gods. It makes sense that if this book is to become the history of Rome, readers should be endowed with a sense of god-like authority in the text.
From the point of view of the narrator, Gods are given credit for all that takes place on earth. Humans are but the pawns that gods utilize in their affairs.
So, on the surface, Dido's love for Aeneas is created entirely from cupids arrow, at least that's how the narrators tells it. But if one looks deeper, and has any faith in human souls and self-control, it seems Dido fell for Aeneas before Cupid ever entered the scene. Having experienced hardships herself, hearing Aeneas' tale of suffering evokes compassion towards him. Although hesitant to pursue him, it is because she does not want to attach herself to him and lose dedication to her duty as queen. What seems to differ Dido from Aeneas is that she perceives her duty to be self-determined, to have some control over her own fate. Aeneas on the other hand, can feel free of obligation and responsibility because all of his actions he feels are 'dictated by the gods'. He has the mind-set that control belongs only to the gods, and accepts whatever fate they may bestow on him.
After the two become unofficially married, and Dido becomes deeply attached, Aeneas is able to console himself in leaving by saying, he has a fate predetermined by the Gods. This makes Dido's story far more tragic. In her final attempt to control her fate and be free from the twisted, tortuous games of the gods, she throws herself into death. Of course, this fits exactly into the plans of Venus, and proves that she has no control.
What are the gods anyway? This chapter seems to represent them as nothing but an array of emotions. Any human being overcome with any emotion, has been employed by a god for some purpose. Is freedom, to have absolute control of ones emotions? Is this even possible? If Dido had accepted her fate, controlled her emotions, and thus destroyed Venus' plan, would she have been at all free? It certainly would not have made a better story if she had.
*I hope this made sense...
From the point of view of the narrator, Gods are given credit for all that takes place on earth. Humans are but the pawns that gods utilize in their affairs.
So, on the surface, Dido's love for Aeneas is created entirely from cupids arrow, at least that's how the narrators tells it. But if one looks deeper, and has any faith in human souls and self-control, it seems Dido fell for Aeneas before Cupid ever entered the scene. Having experienced hardships herself, hearing Aeneas' tale of suffering evokes compassion towards him. Although hesitant to pursue him, it is because she does not want to attach herself to him and lose dedication to her duty as queen. What seems to differ Dido from Aeneas is that she perceives her duty to be self-determined, to have some control over her own fate. Aeneas on the other hand, can feel free of obligation and responsibility because all of his actions he feels are 'dictated by the gods'. He has the mind-set that control belongs only to the gods, and accepts whatever fate they may bestow on him.
After the two become unofficially married, and Dido becomes deeply attached, Aeneas is able to console himself in leaving by saying, he has a fate predetermined by the Gods. This makes Dido's story far more tragic. In her final attempt to control her fate and be free from the twisted, tortuous games of the gods, she throws herself into death. Of course, this fits exactly into the plans of Venus, and proves that she has no control.
What are the gods anyway? This chapter seems to represent them as nothing but an array of emotions. Any human being overcome with any emotion, has been employed by a god for some purpose. Is freedom, to have absolute control of ones emotions? Is this even possible? If Dido had accepted her fate, controlled her emotions, and thus destroyed Venus' plan, would she have been at all free? It certainly would not have made a better story if she had.
*I hope this made sense...
Landfalls, Ports of Call
While the Aenied was ordered to be written for a singular purpose (to provide the roman empire with divine right through literature), it seems Virgil wrote with another intent.
On the surface, the Aenied is achieving its goal by seemingly giving the Romans a sense of purpose, a dignified and tragic history, especially in book 3. Here, the Trojans suffer greatly. Any roman would swell with pride knowing the obstacles overcome, the hardships faced, the suffering experienced. Also, this books makes the path for Italy very rigid. Every location the trojans land, rejects them. Thus, the idea of Italy being the one spot to rebuild is reenforced. For Romans inhabiting italy, this chapter is effective in proving why Italy must be the homeland, why it is their divine right to inhabit it.
However, on a deeper level, this Chapter begins a process of mocking divinity, purpose, fortune, and fate. While the hero, Aeneas seems to be battling bravely on, if one looks at the chapter deeply, what is happening? He is being tossed around like a worthless toy! No god fully protects the Trojans, every god in some way abandons them. After the loss of his father, Aeneas has simply gone mad with avengance. While often referred to proudly as 'stoic', its clear that Aeneas is led by nothing but emotions and prayers.
Jove, observing the plight of Aeneas and the Trojans.
On the surface, the Aenied is achieving its goal by seemingly giving the Romans a sense of purpose, a dignified and tragic history, especially in book 3. Here, the Trojans suffer greatly. Any roman would swell with pride knowing the obstacles overcome, the hardships faced, the suffering experienced. Also, this books makes the path for Italy very rigid. Every location the trojans land, rejects them. Thus, the idea of Italy being the one spot to rebuild is reenforced. For Romans inhabiting italy, this chapter is effective in proving why Italy must be the homeland, why it is their divine right to inhabit it.
However, on a deeper level, this Chapter begins a process of mocking divinity, purpose, fortune, and fate. While the hero, Aeneas seems to be battling bravely on, if one looks at the chapter deeply, what is happening? He is being tossed around like a worthless toy! No god fully protects the Trojans, every god in some way abandons them. After the loss of his father, Aeneas has simply gone mad with avengance. While often referred to proudly as 'stoic', its clear that Aeneas is led by nothing but emotions and prayers.
Jove, observing the plight of Aeneas and the Trojans.Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Interactive Moby-Dick Map!
The Voyage of the Pequod from Moby-Dick.
For all those studying Melville's classic Moby-Dick in school, or simply reading it for pleasure, this website is a delight! It allows you to visually see the voyage of the Pequod, from launching to capsizing. You can also follow a short time-line complete with illustrations.
To see the sight, click the link above or go to this URL: http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/features/011/Wanderlust/
For all those studying Melville's classic Moby-Dick in school, or simply reading it for pleasure, this website is a delight! It allows you to visually see the voyage of the Pequod, from launching to capsizing. You can also follow a short time-line complete with illustrations.
To see the sight, click the link above or go to this URL: http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/features/011/Wanderlust/
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Moby-Dick: Ch. 107
Chapter 107: The Carpenter
"If he did not have a common soul in him, he had a subtle something that somehow anoalously did its duty."
Most of Melville's novel has seemed dedicated to redefining religion and religious practices. Many allusions have been made to Jesus and many characters display characteristics that seem representative of Jesus- Pequod launching on his birthday, Moby-Dick's seeming rebirth and immortality, Ishmael's lack of parental information, Queequeg's 'miracles' and heroic saviors, and Ahab's sense of higher power. This chapter, in a sense, define's what Ishmael percieve's Jesus (the greatest carpenter) to be. A humble man who was 'no duplicate', and simply followed out his orders and purpose willingly and succesfully. Hey, perhaps every character in Moby-Dick corresponds to a character from the bible? Melville did call this a 'wicked text'...did he rewrite- maybe even mock- the holy book?
"If he did not have a common soul in him, he had a subtle something that somehow anoalously did its duty."
Most of Melville's novel has seemed dedicated to redefining religion and religious practices. Many allusions have been made to Jesus and many characters display characteristics that seem representative of Jesus- Pequod launching on his birthday, Moby-Dick's seeming rebirth and immortality, Ishmael's lack of parental information, Queequeg's 'miracles' and heroic saviors, and Ahab's sense of higher power. This chapter, in a sense, define's what Ishmael percieve's Jesus (the greatest carpenter) to be. A humble man who was 'no duplicate', and simply followed out his orders and purpose willingly and succesfully. Hey, perhaps every character in Moby-Dick corresponds to a character from the bible? Melville did call this a 'wicked text'...did he rewrite- maybe even mock- the holy book?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Moby-Dick: Chapters 82-106
Chapter 82: The Honor and Glory of Whaling
Throughout this novel, Ishmael has implied that whales are immortal, Gods. Now he takes a new approach, detailing the whalers as heroes, Gods. If whalers are the Gods, then what are the whales? This chapter emphasizes the idea of whales as the hunted mortal beings. Do Gods worship the worshippers? Is whaling a battle of the Gods? Are are there no Gods at all?
Chapter 83: Jonah Historically Regarded
The validity of myths is something debated to this very day. But his chapter seems to make clear that the myths themselves are the source of wonder, and they are capable of creating miracles.
Chapter 84: Pitch Poling
"Annointing" the Pequod is evidently a ritual for certain sailors. Like most forms of worship viewed objectively, it neither hurts nor benefits in any particular way. Yet for Queequeg, it satisfies the soul. Perhaps that is the 'soul' purpose of worship, and has nothing to do with the Gods above.
Chapter 85: The Fountain
How is that that which creates rainbows, can also be poisonous in nature? This is Double-think to the extreme. But wait, Ishmael also observes that a whale's spout is 'nothing but mist'. It inspires goodness, evil, and nuetrality. Triple-think? ...or the Holy Trinity?
Chapter 86: The Tail
In legend, it was the provocative tail of the Mermaid that drew men to their deaths. Ishmael seems as entranced by the tale of this whale as any sailor was to a siren.
Chapter 87: Grand Armada
The calm before the storm. The calm within the storm.
The plot of this book has remained fairly flat throughout. Here it is foreshadowed, that this is the point of rest before the plot begins to rise. At the same time, it mentions that within every storm there is a center of stillness. It seems that the plot of this book is like a storm. Circling around and around, tossing the reader from place to place without obvious direction. It can be exhausting and chaotic. However, at its center remains the same stillness, the same message and purpose, that there is in any storm. It is perhaps the same stillness found int he motivation of each sailors, whose lives are like storms.
Chapter 88: Schools and School-Master
The men on the Pequod are, in a sense, very feminine. It is traditionally believed that only females can share close, intimate friendship, and that masculine men must be indepdent and without attachment. That would be the reason you don't often see men hugging in public. However, aboard the Pequod, all the men show open affection for one another. Not neccessarily in a sexual way, but friendly and affeciontately. Ahab, on the other hand, lacks that sense of femininity, and is disconnected from the other men. Is the Pequod a Harem? Like the schools of whale's which they pass? Is Ahab the great Leviathan?
Chapter 89: Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish
The ownership of whales is an illusion. The chapter makes ownership of a whale seem only a conception of the human-mind. It concludes saying that the reader is both a fast-fish and a loose-fish. The soul of any human being is both trapped and free.
Chapter 90: Heads or Tails
Tails- haha, what artificial victory. The title itself is interesting, because in a coin-toss 'Heads or tails' determines whether one 'wins or loses'. The idea of presenting the tail of a leviathan to a queen- a sign that the have conquered that which tries to lure them to their death- is a complete scam. It is a false front. What the leviathan is, will never be conquered.
Chapter 91: The Pequod meets the Rosebud
Gold from the rotten. One man's decayed flesh is another man's pay-day.
Chapter 92: Ambergris
Interesting, that only man create's the tarnished/smelly image of the whale. Only when man interferres, harvests blubber, and allows it to rot, that whale's produce a disgusting scent. Otherwise, they smell good, and their oil is pure.
Chapter 93: The Cast Away
Perhaps you must be on the verge of death before you can truly see God- Like Ishmael before heading out for Nantucket- Like Ahab when he lost his leg. Oh, Pip will grow to be a great sailor I predict.
Chapter 94: A Sqeeze of the Hand
Again, Matrimony found through cooperation. Is love synonymous with bliss? This chapter makes it seems so. Why do children play with mud? dream of swimming through spaghetti? squich Pla-doh in their hands? Is it any different a reason than why Ishmael find such happiness and affection squeezing sperm?
Chapter 95: The Cassock
The greatest example of 'maleness' aboard the Pequod. For a ship which attempts to exclude all things feminine, and believes it has found perfect relationships without the presence of women, it makes perfect sense they would use the penis of whale's as protective gear. It is much the same as men using the whaling vessel to protect them from the outside world.
Chapter 96: The Try-Works
Madness is only one state of wisdom.
Chapter 97: The Lamp
In perfect rhythm with the rest of the novel, whaler are depicted in a holy way. The ship itself seems to be an alter in the lamp light, or a sacrfice. Or the whalers, seems blessed by the light of whales, the light of God.
Chapter 98: Slowing Down and Clearing Up
Moby-Dick must be arriving soon. It is predicted that the Pequod will be crushed by the whale- obliterated. Now, in a ritualistic manner, it is clean and purified. Prepared for sacrifice. It is a 'death bath'.
Chapter 99: The Doubloon
Haha, Pips interpretation is best! The coin, symbolic of the whale quest, is in actuality nonsensical. Crazy, Loony. They have been warned about whats coming to them for pursueing the White Whale- crows unfaltered by the scarecrow. Caw Caw!
Chapter 100: Leg and Arm
I had at first assumed that Ahabs madness and obsession were driven fully from his encounter with Moby-Dick. Now we see that the White Whale does not consume everyone in the same sense that it has consumed Ahab. Because it is made quite clear that the other ship is English, and that Samuel is from Longon, perhaps this is a commentary on American and its independence- the pilgrims did afterall leave England in search of religious freedom. The english are spiritually dead :)
Chapter 101: The Decanter
Ishmael goes further to discuss the glutonous characteristics of English vessels, particularly their love for alcohol. Oh how effective subtle insults can be.
Chapter 102: A Bower in the Arsacides
A mock of credibility. While he begins attempting to justify himself as an expert on whales, taking measurement of bones, and telling a story that enforces his position- the story is completely false. For all we know, so is the descriptions of whale bone measurements. Concluding the chapter by discussing how he was going to tattoo a poem on his body only further mocks the credibility he was 'trying' to establish. But I do like the idea that your identity, your body, is a poem waiting to be written.
Chapter 103: Measurement of the Whale's Skeleton
Again, Ishmael uses the most mortal aspect of a whale, it's physical bones, to make it immortal. Perhaps whales are like Hercules and Tea Cake, half gods.
Chapter 104: The Fossil Whale
Moby-Dick, the novel, is a Leviathan. Perhaps Melville's entire purpose was to recreate the enormity of a Sperm Whale, in text. The blood of it is certainly as old as the whales'.
Chapter 105: Does the Whale's Magnitude Diminish?- Will He Perish?
Immortality is claimed not in the everlastingness of an individual, but in a species. Ishmael knows humans could be wiped of the face of the earth at God's hand, and the species will eventually cease. However, Whale's will be the creatures which survive Armegeddon. This is where man and whale differ.
Chapter 106: Ahab's Leg
How ironic that Ahab would consider the bone of any whale a trustworthy leg. Ahab's command for a new lege seems remiscent of a command for the preparation of battle, assigning all mens to their posts. It seems that the new leg could serve as battle armor. Is the battle with Moby-Dick to happen soon?
Throughout this novel, Ishmael has implied that whales are immortal, Gods. Now he takes a new approach, detailing the whalers as heroes, Gods. If whalers are the Gods, then what are the whales? This chapter emphasizes the idea of whales as the hunted mortal beings. Do Gods worship the worshippers? Is whaling a battle of the Gods? Are are there no Gods at all?
Chapter 83: Jonah Historically Regarded
The validity of myths is something debated to this very day. But his chapter seems to make clear that the myths themselves are the source of wonder, and they are capable of creating miracles.
Chapter 84: Pitch Poling
"Annointing" the Pequod is evidently a ritual for certain sailors. Like most forms of worship viewed objectively, it neither hurts nor benefits in any particular way. Yet for Queequeg, it satisfies the soul. Perhaps that is the 'soul' purpose of worship, and has nothing to do with the Gods above.
Chapter 85: The Fountain
How is that that which creates rainbows, can also be poisonous in nature? This is Double-think to the extreme. But wait, Ishmael also observes that a whale's spout is 'nothing but mist'. It inspires goodness, evil, and nuetrality. Triple-think? ...or the Holy Trinity?
Chapter 86: The Tail
In legend, it was the provocative tail of the Mermaid that drew men to their deaths. Ishmael seems as entranced by the tale of this whale as any sailor was to a siren.
Chapter 87: Grand Armada
The calm before the storm. The calm within the storm.
The plot of this book has remained fairly flat throughout. Here it is foreshadowed, that this is the point of rest before the plot begins to rise. At the same time, it mentions that within every storm there is a center of stillness. It seems that the plot of this book is like a storm. Circling around and around, tossing the reader from place to place without obvious direction. It can be exhausting and chaotic. However, at its center remains the same stillness, the same message and purpose, that there is in any storm. It is perhaps the same stillness found int he motivation of each sailors, whose lives are like storms.
Chapter 88: Schools and School-Master
The men on the Pequod are, in a sense, very feminine. It is traditionally believed that only females can share close, intimate friendship, and that masculine men must be indepdent and without attachment. That would be the reason you don't often see men hugging in public. However, aboard the Pequod, all the men show open affection for one another. Not neccessarily in a sexual way, but friendly and affeciontately. Ahab, on the other hand, lacks that sense of femininity, and is disconnected from the other men. Is the Pequod a Harem? Like the schools of whale's which they pass? Is Ahab the great Leviathan?
Chapter 89: Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish
The ownership of whales is an illusion. The chapter makes ownership of a whale seem only a conception of the human-mind. It concludes saying that the reader is both a fast-fish and a loose-fish. The soul of any human being is both trapped and free.
Chapter 90: Heads or Tails
Tails- haha, what artificial victory. The title itself is interesting, because in a coin-toss 'Heads or tails' determines whether one 'wins or loses'. The idea of presenting the tail of a leviathan to a queen- a sign that the have conquered that which tries to lure them to their death- is a complete scam. It is a false front. What the leviathan is, will never be conquered.
Chapter 91: The Pequod meets the Rosebud
Gold from the rotten. One man's decayed flesh is another man's pay-day.
Chapter 92: Ambergris
Interesting, that only man create's the tarnished/smelly image of the whale. Only when man interferres, harvests blubber, and allows it to rot, that whale's produce a disgusting scent. Otherwise, they smell good, and their oil is pure.
Chapter 93: The Cast Away
Perhaps you must be on the verge of death before you can truly see God- Like Ishmael before heading out for Nantucket- Like Ahab when he lost his leg. Oh, Pip will grow to be a great sailor I predict.
Chapter 94: A Sqeeze of the Hand
Again, Matrimony found through cooperation. Is love synonymous with bliss? This chapter makes it seems so. Why do children play with mud? dream of swimming through spaghetti? squich Pla-doh in their hands? Is it any different a reason than why Ishmael find such happiness and affection squeezing sperm?
Chapter 95: The Cassock
The greatest example of 'maleness' aboard the Pequod. For a ship which attempts to exclude all things feminine, and believes it has found perfect relationships without the presence of women, it makes perfect sense they would use the penis of whale's as protective gear. It is much the same as men using the whaling vessel to protect them from the outside world.
Chapter 96: The Try-Works
Madness is only one state of wisdom.
Chapter 97: The Lamp
In perfect rhythm with the rest of the novel, whaler are depicted in a holy way. The ship itself seems to be an alter in the lamp light, or a sacrfice. Or the whalers, seems blessed by the light of whales, the light of God.
Chapter 98: Slowing Down and Clearing Up
Moby-Dick must be arriving soon. It is predicted that the Pequod will be crushed by the whale- obliterated. Now, in a ritualistic manner, it is clean and purified. Prepared for sacrifice. It is a 'death bath'.
Chapter 99: The Doubloon
Haha, Pips interpretation is best! The coin, symbolic of the whale quest, is in actuality nonsensical. Crazy, Loony. They have been warned about whats coming to them for pursueing the White Whale- crows unfaltered by the scarecrow. Caw Caw!
Chapter 100: Leg and Arm
I had at first assumed that Ahabs madness and obsession were driven fully from his encounter with Moby-Dick. Now we see that the White Whale does not consume everyone in the same sense that it has consumed Ahab. Because it is made quite clear that the other ship is English, and that Samuel is from Longon, perhaps this is a commentary on American and its independence- the pilgrims did afterall leave England in search of religious freedom. The english are spiritually dead :)
Chapter 101: The Decanter
Ishmael goes further to discuss the glutonous characteristics of English vessels, particularly their love for alcohol. Oh how effective subtle insults can be.
Chapter 102: A Bower in the Arsacides
A mock of credibility. While he begins attempting to justify himself as an expert on whales, taking measurement of bones, and telling a story that enforces his position- the story is completely false. For all we know, so is the descriptions of whale bone measurements. Concluding the chapter by discussing how he was going to tattoo a poem on his body only further mocks the credibility he was 'trying' to establish. But I do like the idea that your identity, your body, is a poem waiting to be written.
Chapter 103: Measurement of the Whale's Skeleton
Again, Ishmael uses the most mortal aspect of a whale, it's physical bones, to make it immortal. Perhaps whales are like Hercules and Tea Cake, half gods.
Chapter 104: The Fossil Whale
Moby-Dick, the novel, is a Leviathan. Perhaps Melville's entire purpose was to recreate the enormity of a Sperm Whale, in text. The blood of it is certainly as old as the whales'.
Chapter 105: Does the Whale's Magnitude Diminish?- Will He Perish?
Immortality is claimed not in the everlastingness of an individual, but in a species. Ishmael knows humans could be wiped of the face of the earth at God's hand, and the species will eventually cease. However, Whale's will be the creatures which survive Armegeddon. This is where man and whale differ.
Chapter 106: Ahab's Leg
How ironic that Ahab would consider the bone of any whale a trustworthy leg. Ahab's command for a new lege seems remiscent of a command for the preparation of battle, assigning all mens to their posts. It seems that the new leg could serve as battle armor. Is the battle with Moby-Dick to happen soon?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Insights on 'The Whale': Ch. 78-81
Chapter 78- Cistern and Buckets
"Only one sweeter end can readily be recalled- the delicious death of an Ohio honey-hunter, who seeking honey in the crotch of a hollow tree, found such exceeding store of it, that leaning too far over, it sucked him in, so that he died embalmed. How many, think ye, have likewise fallen into Plato's honey head, and sweetly perished there? "
The oil cavern in he head of a Sperm whale, while not veiwed as the brain or mind necessarily, represents the most valuable part of the whale. Perhaps Tashtego's near-death experience slipping into that 'honey-comb' is symbolic of how easily sailors are sucked into whaling. How easy that which you desire can overtake and destroy you. From Ishmael, who was saved from suicide by the sea, to Queequeg, who was drawn to the whaling ships since the first time he saw them, to Ahab, whose future is inextricibly twined with that of the White Whale, all men on board are captured in the vortex of the whaling industry. Of course, when you spend upwards of 3 years at sea at a time, how could you not be?
Chapter 79- The Prairie
Again, Ishmael nominates himself as the great whale expert. Like a priest, he interprets and dictates meaning, sometimes finding a greater truth, othertimes making a great fool of himself. As he discusses the nature of a whale's genius, the question is posed "What would we humans be without tongues?" Ishmael seems to argue that genius and communication, in its purest form, is found in the whale, although it has never written a book or spoken a speech. Is this how humna society determines 'genius'?
Chapter 80- The Nut
"It is plain, then, that phrenologically the head of this Leviathan, in the creature's living intact state, is an entire delusion. As for his true brain, you can then see no indications of it, nor feel any. The whale, like all things that are mighty, wears a false brow to the common world. "
Discussion of the Whale's skull seems to compliment the potential of high-intelligence in a whale, adding power to the malicious stories of Moby Dick. However, the whale has no immediatly apparent brain, also encouraging the idea that whale's are powered by a higher force. Moby Dick, powered by a darker force.
Chapter 81- The Pequod Meets the Virgin
"But still more curious was the fact of a lance-head of stone being found in him, not far from the buried iron, the flesh perfectly firm about it. Who had darted that stone lance? And when? It might have been darted by some Nor' West Indian long before America was discovered. "
The great whale harpooned in this chapter emphasizes the potential age of a whale. A stone harpoon found embedded in the skin implies the whale may have lived before the discovery of iron. It almost like he existed from the beginning of time. This inturn emphasizes the immortal nature of whales. How old could Moby Dick be? Or is he, and what he represents, ageless?
"Only one sweeter end can readily be recalled- the delicious death of an Ohio honey-hunter, who seeking honey in the crotch of a hollow tree, found such exceeding store of it, that leaning too far over, it sucked him in, so that he died embalmed. How many, think ye, have likewise fallen into Plato's honey head, and sweetly perished there? "
The oil cavern in he head of a Sperm whale, while not veiwed as the brain or mind necessarily, represents the most valuable part of the whale. Perhaps Tashtego's near-death experience slipping into that 'honey-comb' is symbolic of how easily sailors are sucked into whaling. How easy that which you desire can overtake and destroy you. From Ishmael, who was saved from suicide by the sea, to Queequeg, who was drawn to the whaling ships since the first time he saw them, to Ahab, whose future is inextricibly twined with that of the White Whale, all men on board are captured in the vortex of the whaling industry. Of course, when you spend upwards of 3 years at sea at a time, how could you not be?
Chapter 79- The Prairie
"But how? Genius in the Sperm Whale? Has the Sperm Whale ever written a book, spoken a speech? No, his great genius is declared in his doing nothing particular to prove it. It is moreover declared in his pyramidical silence. And this reminds me that had the great Sperm Whale been known to the young Orient World, he would have been deified by their child-magian thoughts."
Again, Ishmael nominates himself as the great whale expert. Like a priest, he interprets and dictates meaning, sometimes finding a greater truth, othertimes making a great fool of himself. As he discusses the nature of a whale's genius, the question is posed "What would we humans be without tongues?" Ishmael seems to argue that genius and communication, in its purest form, is found in the whale, although it has never written a book or spoken a speech. Is this how humna society determines 'genius'?
Chapter 80- The Nut
"It is plain, then, that phrenologically the head of this Leviathan, in the creature's living intact state, is an entire delusion. As for his true brain, you can then see no indications of it, nor feel any. The whale, like all things that are mighty, wears a false brow to the common world. "
Discussion of the Whale's skull seems to compliment the potential of high-intelligence in a whale, adding power to the malicious stories of Moby Dick. However, the whale has no immediatly apparent brain, also encouraging the idea that whale's are powered by a higher force. Moby Dick, powered by a darker force.
Chapter 81- The Pequod Meets the Virgin
"But still more curious was the fact of a lance-head of stone being found in him, not far from the buried iron, the flesh perfectly firm about it. Who had darted that stone lance? And when? It might have been darted by some Nor' West Indian long before America was discovered. "
The great whale harpooned in this chapter emphasizes the potential age of a whale. A stone harpoon found embedded in the skin implies the whale may have lived before the discovery of iron. It almost like he existed from the beginning of time. This inturn emphasizes the immortal nature of whales. How old could Moby Dick be? Or is he, and what he represents, ageless?
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