A whopper of a tale in a whopper of a book.
Moby Dick was published in 1851, so some of the language is a little bit dated, but not as unreadable as one might expect. There is also some pirate-like banter among the crew. This can cause some pause for decipherment, but again, not a cause to put the book down. It is largely about life on a mid-1800’s whaling vessel. The strangest part of the book is the fact that it starts from the narrative of Ishmael, the main character of the book, but then it sometimes goes into a third person that is perhaps Melville himself. The funny thing is, based on Melville’s past experience, I believe Ishmael is the fictional version of Melville. Melville grew up in a well-to-do family, but his father died young and the family was left destitute. Melville worked and lived on ships for a time to earn money. This is likely where this story got its sails.
In third-person, Melville gives quite a lengthy lesson on types of whales and their characteristics and how accurately or inaccurately they are portrayed and described in literature and art of his time. He also gives a detailed account of a mutiny. These little history lessons are told outside of the actually story of the main characters. He leaves the fictional story many times to educate the reader on various whaling topics and then returns the narrative back to Ishmael’s view of the fictional account. It is a very odd way of telling a story, but it somehow works.
Melville takes quite a bit of time to introduce the reader to characters. He starts with Ishmaels’s cannibalistic South-Pacific islander bunk-mate, Queequeg. He takes 30 or so pages describing him and Ishmael’s initial aversion to the outwardly savage-looking character that ends up being his best friend. Queequeg is a very experienced harpooner. Ishmael is an experienced sailor, but without whaling experience, greatly relies on Queequeg for guidance when they both agree to be part of the crew of the wooden whaling vessel Pequod.
Captain Ahab is the captain of the Pequod. Melville introduces the character and then takes nearly 100 pages to physically describe him fully. Ahab is missing one leg which he has replaced with the polished carving of a whale jaw that serves as a peg leg. It has an ivory appearance and Ahab has a strategic hole in the deck that fits this peg so he can keep himself steady on the ship when stationed at top deck. He lost his leg to the great white whale, Moby Dick and Ahab is hell-bent on getting revenge on the creature that disassembled him.
More coming soon…