My Initial thoughts about Moby Dick

Gustavo Quintero
December 5, 2007
English 48A
Journal #25 Herman Melville


Quote:
There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very neatly the same feeling towards the ocean with me"(Melville 2321).


Summary:
In the introduction paragraph of Moby Dick, Ishmael the narrator, describes to the reader his fondness for the ocean. Ishmael is a sailor who goes out to sea whenever he is feeling suicidal. Instead of a God or the bible the ocean saves Ishmael.


Response:
I want to start off by saying that Scott did such a good job "advertising" Moby Dick that I feel compelled to start reading it. As big a chore as it may be. The book seems so entertaining and full of adventure that I found myself picturing Moby Dick tearing the ship apart the ship, while I was Daydreaming at work.

The way that Ismael starts off this great epic book is a very strange but fascinating one. There are not many stories that start off with the main narrator telling the reader about his depressive and suicidal mood swings. This really helps add a dark and gloomy tone to Moby Dick from the get go. The imagery only gets gllomier as we are taken into the hotel where Ishmael describes the intertior along with the huge strange painting that he is enthralled with. As Scott said the painting acts as a warning or heads up to the reader that the next several hundred pages will be dark and at times vague. To me this all helps to set the gloomy mood that I believe Melville wanted to recreate through his writing. When we discussed Moby Dick in class I could picture myself entering a old dark and smoky hotel. I can clearly see the picture that Ishmael is descrbing. By the way the Spouter Inn is describes it seems like only a place a weathered, veteran sailor would want to step into. Moby Dick is a classic piece of American literature and from just reading a few pages out of the enormous book I can see why it is so celebrated and read. Moby Dick has a swagger about it that is tough to create.