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Moby Dick
On a previous voyage, a mysterious white whale had ripped off the leg of a sea captain named Ahab. Now the crew of the Pequod, on a pursuit that features constant adventure and horrendous mishaps, must follow the mad Ahab into the abyss to satisfy his unslakeable thirst for vengeance. Narrated by the cunningly observant crew member Ishmael, Moby-Dick is the tale of the hunt for the elusive, omnipotent, and ultimately mystifying white whale—Moby Dick. On its surface, Moby-Dick is a vivid documentary of life aboard a nineteenth-century whaler, a virtual encyclopedia of whales and whaling, replete with facts, legends, and trivia that Melville had gleaned from personal experience and scores of sources. But as the quest for the whale becomes increasingly perilous, the tale works on allegorical levels, likening the whale to human greed, moral consequence, good, evil, and life itself. Who is good? The great white whale who, like Nature, asks nothing but to be left in peace? Or the bold Ahab who, like scientists, explorers, and philosophers, fearlessly probes the mysteries of the universe? Who is evil? The ferocious, man-killing sea monster? Or the revenge-obsessed madman who ignores his own better nature in his quest to kill the beast? Scorned by critics upon its publication, Moby-Dick was publicly derided during its author’s lifetime. Yet Melville’s masterpiece has outlived its initial misunderstanding to become an American classic of unquestionably epic proportions.
Includes unique illustrations
Includes unique illustrations
DVD-ROM
First published January 1, 1851
351 people are currently reading
7585 people want to read
About the author
Rod Espinosa
292 books39 followersEspinosa's work on The Courageous Princess (Antarctic Press) got him on the nomination list for “Promising new talent” and also “Best artist” for the 2000 Ignatz Awards and the 2002 Eisner Award nomination list for “Best Title for Younger Readers”.
As both writer and artist, he has also authored the Neotopia series (4 volumes, 140 pages each), which was published in graphic novel form. In 2006, Novotopia, the German edition of Neotopia, got a nomination for the Max und Moritz Prize in the category 'Bester Comic für Kinder' (best comic book for younger audience).
His past work include the Battle Girlz series, a manga adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, The Alamo and Metadocs. He has also written and conceptualized popular Antarctic Press titles such as I Hunt Monsters, and Herc and Thor. His work is also be featured in a series of American History comic books dealing with the subjects of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark, The Boston Tea Party, The Alamo, Jackie Robinson, The Underground Railroad, Abraham Lincoln, Patrick Henry, Cesar Chavez, The American Revolution, the Transcontinental Railroad, and Clara Barton. He has also worked on Classics such as: Around the World in Eighty Days, Moby-Dick, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. His latest graphic novel from Antarctic Press, is called Dinowars. He is currently working on an online graphic novel entitled The Prince of Heroes.
(Taken from here.)
As both writer and artist, he has also authored the Neotopia series (4 volumes, 140 pages each), which was published in graphic novel form. In 2006, Novotopia, the German edition of Neotopia, got a nomination for the Max und Moritz Prize in the category 'Bester Comic für Kinder' (best comic book for younger audience).
His past work include the Battle Girlz series, a manga adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, The Alamo and Metadocs. He has also written and conceptualized popular Antarctic Press titles such as I Hunt Monsters, and Herc and Thor. His work is also be featured in a series of American History comic books dealing with the subjects of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark, The Boston Tea Party, The Alamo, Jackie Robinson, The Underground Railroad, Abraham Lincoln, Patrick Henry, Cesar Chavez, The American Revolution, the Transcontinental Railroad, and Clara Barton. He has also worked on Classics such as: Around the World in Eighty Days, Moby-Dick, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. His latest graphic novel from Antarctic Press, is called Dinowars. He is currently working on an online graphic novel entitled The Prince of Heroes.
(Taken from here.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
March 11, 2014
Hallelujah! Finished! Finally! Not that it wasn't a good book, but it was also extremely tedious at times. Melville had no grievances about doing the research and then pouring every bit of research into the novel. EVERYTHING is explained, from the 'crow's nest' to the type of rope they use on the line. This is where it gets tedious. The story, however, is fantastic and though the book is massive, the chapters are very short, making it a tad easier. So, if Melville devotes an entire chapter to the face of the whale, you can rest easy that it will only last 2-4 pages.
Ishmael is an extremely lovable narrator. He and Queequeg made the story for me, as well as second mate Stubb. Ahab is a total bad ass mofo. All in all, tough read but great story.
Ishmael is an extremely lovable narrator. He and Queequeg made the story for me, as well as second mate Stubb. Ahab is a total bad ass mofo. All in all, tough read but great story.
September 16, 2014
This has replaced the Great Gatsby as my all-time favorite. The language is advanced (which is off-putting to some people, but I love learning new words), -and when Melville describes the sea, he does so with breathtaking eloquence.
This is one of the few novels out there that, when reading it, you can tell that the author poured his soul out onto the pages, putting everything he had into it (it took Melville 4 years to write this magnum opus). What a great tragedy that it was panned in his life, and didn't achieve widespread acclaim until "rediscovered" in the 1920's!
One of the chapters toward the end, when Ahab is lamenting and pondering on why he is the way he is, and a single solitary tear falls from his eye (consequently indicating in a brilliant moment of writing that were it not the White Whale, Ahab would be seeking to give vent to his wrath on some other Ahab-imagined manifestation of God's Will, for it was simply in his stubborn nature) was so beautiful, so haunting, and all around magnificent.
This book inspired me to write again after several years of writers block, and for that I am forever indebted to Melville. He gave life to my own creativity.
I highly recommend this book to anyone brave enough to plod through this wordy, highly-detailed "myth-in-the-guise-of-a-novel." If you love language, you won't regret it.
This is one of the few novels out there that, when reading it, you can tell that the author poured his soul out onto the pages, putting everything he had into it (it took Melville 4 years to write this magnum opus). What a great tragedy that it was panned in his life, and didn't achieve widespread acclaim until "rediscovered" in the 1920's!
One of the chapters toward the end, when Ahab is lamenting and pondering on why he is the way he is, and a single solitary tear falls from his eye (consequently indicating in a brilliant moment of writing that were it not the White Whale, Ahab would be seeking to give vent to his wrath on some other Ahab-imagined manifestation of God's Will, for it was simply in his stubborn nature) was so beautiful, so haunting, and all around magnificent.
This book inspired me to write again after several years of writers block, and for that I am forever indebted to Melville. He gave life to my own creativity.
I highly recommend this book to anyone brave enough to plod through this wordy, highly-detailed "myth-in-the-guise-of-a-novel." If you love language, you won't regret it.
June 7, 2014
Is this book long-winded? Absolutely. Pretensions of classical epic and Shakespearean tragedy? Definitely. Does it live up to what it wants to be? Does it ever.
The tale is such an epic one that it would be impossible to tell it any other way. The incredibly long explanations of the whaling technique and culture are there, but once the jargon has been served up to you less than one third of the way through the book, you can safely read the rest without wondering what they are talking about. And some of the explanation chapters actually raise interesting philosophical questions. The book also offers a commentary on the racial beliefs of the time, as well as religion.
It is even still culturally relevant today, having been made into several movies, and a really good Mastodon album.
The tale is such an epic one that it would be impossible to tell it any other way. The incredibly long explanations of the whaling technique and culture are there, but once the jargon has been served up to you less than one third of the way through the book, you can safely read the rest without wondering what they are talking about. And some of the explanation chapters actually raise interesting philosophical questions. The book also offers a commentary on the racial beliefs of the time, as well as religion.
It is even still culturally relevant today, having been made into several movies, and a really good Mastodon album.
April 3, 2015
The whale was a metaphor for the book itself. I was Ahab trying to conquer this beast. Twas long.
August 19, 2014
I thought this book would have a story... but it was literally about whales. All about whales. The types, their bodies, their skin, what they eat, their anatomy, their blow holes...
Not enjoyable.
And SPOILER ALERT:
they spend the whole freaking book hunting this whale (500 pages) and you finally meet the whale in the last 100 pages and THE WHALE LIVES AND THEY ALL DIE. WHAT THE FUCK.
Very well written but never again...
Not enjoyable.
And SPOILER ALERT:
they spend the whole freaking book hunting this whale (500 pages) and you finally meet the whale in the last 100 pages and THE WHALE LIVES AND THEY ALL DIE. WHAT THE FUCK.
Very well written but never again...
September 5, 2018
Is this book one of those long, heavy, and deep metaphors? It doesn't matter. I enjoyed it and it was a nice quick read. I'm not going to write a deep-understanding review because I'm stupid.
And I didn't actually quite grasped the meaning.
And have I ever mentioned that I'm an stupid?
I love whales. 3 out of 5. Too much water.
May 10, 2014
I swear to almighty Ahab, I feel like I've gone after the whale, slaughtered it, and then had to cook and eat it all in one setting. This was the most painful thing I have ever gone thru, reading this damn book. Not that it didn't have its moments. However, this is not the seafaring adventure they try to sell you in high school. I admit, I've said I read this book but I "read" it in high school: ie: I just followed along in class. I didn't actually read it. Now I can say that I have. Now that I have, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I didn't enjoy it. Or much of it. I enjoyed a little of some of it. I don't know what to say. I feel wounded. Like I've climbed a mountain and now i"m all exhausted and everyone wants me to tell them how I feel about climbing the mountain. I just want to go to sleep.
Basically, this is a great novel but not such a great book. If you were to take the actual story and plot of the book it would be 1/3 of the length. Most of the book goes on and on about whaling, whales, fishing, Nantucket....when something exciting happens (which is given a sentence or two) we break away and go on and talk about whaling for five or six chapters. And despite starting out "call me Ishmael" the books does not keep to first person - it rambles around, sometimes giving first person pov to the first mate, the harpooners, etc, then it goes to third person omniscient. And sometimes it reads like a play, with stage directions. It's weird. It's almost like reading a first draft mixed up with a bunch of research and at the end, Melville just went frack it, I'm sending the book in like this.
The thing I don't understand - I read lots of classical novels. I love the novels of this period - I read Hardy, Dickens, the Brontes, Ann Radcliffe, etc. What I am saying is that I read far and wide in this era. However - I cannot understand many of the sentences. They seriously make no sense. My eyes start to glaze over. I just found it really hard to follow and I don't have that problem with other novels.
so A: too long B: reads like a fractured mess and C: made me feel stupid. There you go.
The only reason I even read it was to tick one more off of my "BBC reading list."
Basically, this is a great novel but not such a great book. If you were to take the actual story and plot of the book it would be 1/3 of the length. Most of the book goes on and on about whaling, whales, fishing, Nantucket....when something exciting happens (which is given a sentence or two) we break away and go on and talk about whaling for five or six chapters. And despite starting out "call me Ishmael" the books does not keep to first person - it rambles around, sometimes giving first person pov to the first mate, the harpooners, etc, then it goes to third person omniscient. And sometimes it reads like a play, with stage directions. It's weird. It's almost like reading a first draft mixed up with a bunch of research and at the end, Melville just went frack it, I'm sending the book in like this.
The thing I don't understand - I read lots of classical novels. I love the novels of this period - I read Hardy, Dickens, the Brontes, Ann Radcliffe, etc. What I am saying is that I read far and wide in this era. However - I cannot understand many of the sentences. They seriously make no sense. My eyes start to glaze over. I just found it really hard to follow and I don't have that problem with other novels.
so A: too long B: reads like a fractured mess and C: made me feel stupid. There you go.
The only reason I even read it was to tick one more off of my "BBC reading list."
November 3, 2024
I have never hated anything like this man hates this whale.
Glad I listened to this, but it had a lot of dry factual sections and is definitely a time capsule.
Glad I listened to this, but it had a lot of dry factual sections and is definitely a time capsule.
February 26, 2016
Documentary about whaling & whales.
(a short story about moby dick included, which referring to human greed)
(a short story about moby dick included, which referring to human greed)
January 23, 2016
Call me impatient... men jeg legger inn årene noen timer fra mål. Dette ble mer enn tålmodigheten min kunne strekkes. Omtale kommer!
May 12, 2016
All I can say is that it is over! Wow, I've forgotton how classical writers can take days to work up to a plot.
May 17, 2022
Probably my favorite novel. This is the fourth time I've read it and it gets easier to read each time. The chapters about cetology and the anatomy of the whale don't bother me anymore and I kind of enjoy them. I read MOBY DICK this year for a book club - a 766 page challenge that normally takes me 3 months to read, I read in 3 weeks. I came away with several observations that I had not made before, such as the fact that Ahab isn't insane or psychotic - he is misunderstood, as brilliant, impatient and driven men often are. He is preoccupied with heavy, existential and metaphysical concerns like life and death and God's relationship with man and interference in the affairs of men. The scene in Chapter 70 of Ahab talking with the head of the dead whale reminded me of Hamlet in the graveyard talking to poor old Yorick's skull - both men interrogating the afterlife for answers to earthly mysteries. I also wondered what might've happened if Ahab had won? What if he had killed the White Whale and lived? What happens to a man that defeats and destroys the one thing that gives his life purpose? That's why this is such a great book - maybe the greatest American book ever written. Every time I read it, I feel like it's the first time.
October 26, 2023
Ticked another one off my list in my quest to fill in some of my personal literary gaps. I loved Moby Dick. I was wary of the frequent asides the novel is famous for, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying them. Ishmael is a passive dreamer, and honestly barely even a character, but I found him to be the perfect vehicle to convey the epic journey. I loved his airy, philosophical asides in response to his very earthy prompts. Ahab is a character I won’t soon forget. Up there with the greats of classical and Shakespearean literature.
June 24, 2020
It's a classic for a reason. If you have not... you should. Man vs nature, man vs himself and many other other important themes are prevalent.
When you read this book you will realize that some of the struggles we experience today are exactly the same ones as the current issues we face.
Just call me Ishmael. My next boat might be called the Pequod, but it will have a self-inflating life raft.
When you read this book you will realize that some of the struggles we experience today are exactly the same ones as the current issues we face.
Just call me Ishmael. My next boat might be called the Pequod, but it will have a self-inflating life raft.
July 11, 2022
Hab ausversehen ne gekürzte Fassung gelesen, deswegen ist meine Rezension wohl kaum aussagekräftig.
War schon ganz nice, aber mehr auch nicht. Das war mir irgendwie zu plump alles und viel zu viel Tempo, logischerweise. Hat auf jeden Fall mein Interesse an der Vollversion geweckt, mal gucken.
War schon ganz nice, aber mehr auch nicht. Das war mir irgendwie zu plump alles und viel zu viel Tempo, logischerweise. Hat auf jeden Fall mein Interesse an der Vollversion geweckt, mal gucken.
September 21, 2020
Pretty good book adaptation of metal gear solid 5, very long
October 22, 2023
The only good thing about this book is that everyone die at the end except the Whale. Otherwise only one star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 21, 2025How can this always be one of my least favorite yet favorite classics?
January 27, 2024
a fast read (i read a children's version of the book)
June 26, 2013
"Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli!" - Ahab
I finished Moby-Dick last night. What maddening, passionate, horrifying, and beautiful poetry lies within those pages. What wonder and philosophy is lodged within that spine, what secrets to life rest their heads upon ink pillows. Moby-Dick is a masterpiece of American literature and is unrivaled. Yes, there are good books in American literature.
Yes, there are even great ones.
But how many wake day to day, upon the sea, their heads swaying amongst the sails, the sounds of hammers beating and bashing at molten-bright iron ringing through their ears, with sea foam as their breakfast, supper, and dinner?
How many stand amongst the yardarms, perched within their crows rest, and see the natural wonders of their world?
How many can state their own observations with such rigor and such passion that all other speeches those their meaning, that all great things in life should take place upon the sea, and rightfully so; for it is the sea from which all life was founded and it is there in that house of Neptune does all the last great mysteries of our world lie unsolved, unseen, and undreamed.
And it is there that we face our devils and ye Gods, some being the same entity, with nothing but the sweat of our brows, the strength in our backs, and the harpoon, whose irons are baptized not in water, as of all Godly and christian things, but with the blood of faithful pagans, who care not for the promises of gold but rather simply for the adventure of the quest itself; and it is with that fiendish weapon that we seek to find that thing of madness, that beast which haunts our dreams, that foul thing that stalks our everything waking moments, and then to end him upon the very floor of his home.
And even more it is here that we find that despite our passions, despite our choices, are we not but the pawns of bigger things, the pieces of a machine much greater and all knowing that us? And if such is the case, then how else could we do but that which we are so impassioned to do?
"What is it, what nameless, inscrutable, unearthly thing is it; what cozening, hidden lord and master, and cruel, remorseless emperor commands me; that against all natural lovings and longings, I so keep pushing, and crowding, and jamming myself on all the time; recklessly making me ready to do what in my own proper, natural heart, I durst not so much as dare? Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts his arm? But if the great sun move not of himself; but is as an invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I. By heaven, man, we are turned round and round in this world, like yonder windlass, and Fate is the hand-spike."
I finished Moby-Dick last night. What maddening, passionate, horrifying, and beautiful poetry lies within those pages. What wonder and philosophy is lodged within that spine, what secrets to life rest their heads upon ink pillows. Moby-Dick is a masterpiece of American literature and is unrivaled. Yes, there are good books in American literature.
Yes, there are even great ones.
But how many wake day to day, upon the sea, their heads swaying amongst the sails, the sounds of hammers beating and bashing at molten-bright iron ringing through their ears, with sea foam as their breakfast, supper, and dinner?
How many stand amongst the yardarms, perched within their crows rest, and see the natural wonders of their world?
How many can state their own observations with such rigor and such passion that all other speeches those their meaning, that all great things in life should take place upon the sea, and rightfully so; for it is the sea from which all life was founded and it is there in that house of Neptune does all the last great mysteries of our world lie unsolved, unseen, and undreamed.
And it is there that we face our devils and ye Gods, some being the same entity, with nothing but the sweat of our brows, the strength in our backs, and the harpoon, whose irons are baptized not in water, as of all Godly and christian things, but with the blood of faithful pagans, who care not for the promises of gold but rather simply for the adventure of the quest itself; and it is with that fiendish weapon that we seek to find that thing of madness, that beast which haunts our dreams, that foul thing that stalks our everything waking moments, and then to end him upon the very floor of his home.
And even more it is here that we find that despite our passions, despite our choices, are we not but the pawns of bigger things, the pieces of a machine much greater and all knowing that us? And if such is the case, then how else could we do but that which we are so impassioned to do?
"What is it, what nameless, inscrutable, unearthly thing is it; what cozening, hidden lord and master, and cruel, remorseless emperor commands me; that against all natural lovings and longings, I so keep pushing, and crowding, and jamming myself on all the time; recklessly making me ready to do what in my own proper, natural heart, I durst not so much as dare? Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts his arm? But if the great sun move not of himself; but is as an invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I. By heaven, man, we are turned round and round in this world, like yonder windlass, and Fate is the hand-spike."
July 12, 2020
Do not bother unless you are studying whales. This is more of a creative scientific study on whales and whale ships than it is an actual novel.
Theres maybe 10 pages of actual plot related events. About 80-90% of the book could be cut without any damage to the very non-existent plot.
Writing would be beautiful if the author wasn't so damn determined to show off his whale based boating knowledge.
If ever there was a book that should have been lost to history and does nothing to deserve its acclaim, it's this one.
Would give zero stars if I could.
It took more time to read than a single page was worth, and I fell asleep reading it due to the sheer exhaustive dudgery I had to force myself through in hope's that at some point, some redeeming feature would occur...and none ever did.
I regret reading it. I will never again read it.
I recommend that everyone who wants to read it expecting some kind of whaling pirate epic to reconsider because all they will get is not very interesting, incredibly long biology lesson in whales (he spends several chapters listing every whale in the bloody whale genus) and for anyone thinking it might be like a David attenborough documentary with lovely calm explanations and imagery...you would not be more wrong, you get pages and chapters of very bland but very scientific explanations about very tiny facts that make it clear the author just wanted to show off his knowledge.
The author also cannot make up his mind about style, he switches between something akin to stage play, to novel, to scientific journal, to poetry etch and it is not done smoothly or well, it is just a mess of random styles, as though he would write it in bursts with the intent to transcribe the non-prose into the novel and just never bothered. Not a single word of editing has been done.
His storytelling (when it happens) is confusing-with near deaths, randomly bringing people you assume are dead back only to fling them back into the abyss again a page later. He doesn't give you enough time to actually get to know the cast- despite prattling on about Wales sperm and rope for 1000+pages- and so names are essentially meaningless as you imagine the crew as one faceless machine rather than individuals, so when they are injured or killed, personally I didn't really care because they were just part of the ship, like furniture.
Any metaphors for man vs God are swept under the information on whales that he batters you over the head with.
Moby Dick is only actually present for like 20 or so pages, it is ridiculous.
I do not understand how the reviews are so high, or why it is so successful and has endured for so long.
Theres maybe 10 pages of actual plot related events. About 80-90% of the book could be cut without any damage to the very non-existent plot.
Writing would be beautiful if the author wasn't so damn determined to show off his whale based boating knowledge.
If ever there was a book that should have been lost to history and does nothing to deserve its acclaim, it's this one.
Would give zero stars if I could.
It took more time to read than a single page was worth, and I fell asleep reading it due to the sheer exhaustive dudgery I had to force myself through in hope's that at some point, some redeeming feature would occur...and none ever did.
I regret reading it. I will never again read it.
I recommend that everyone who wants to read it expecting some kind of whaling pirate epic to reconsider because all they will get is not very interesting, incredibly long biology lesson in whales (he spends several chapters listing every whale in the bloody whale genus) and for anyone thinking it might be like a David attenborough documentary with lovely calm explanations and imagery...you would not be more wrong, you get pages and chapters of very bland but very scientific explanations about very tiny facts that make it clear the author just wanted to show off his knowledge.
The author also cannot make up his mind about style, he switches between something akin to stage play, to novel, to scientific journal, to poetry etch and it is not done smoothly or well, it is just a mess of random styles, as though he would write it in bursts with the intent to transcribe the non-prose into the novel and just never bothered. Not a single word of editing has been done.
His storytelling (when it happens) is confusing-with near deaths, randomly bringing people you assume are dead back only to fling them back into the abyss again a page later. He doesn't give you enough time to actually get to know the cast- despite prattling on about Wales sperm and rope for 1000+pages- and so names are essentially meaningless as you imagine the crew as one faceless machine rather than individuals, so when they are injured or killed, personally I didn't really care because they were just part of the ship, like furniture.
Any metaphors for man vs God are swept under the information on whales that he batters you over the head with.
Moby Dick is only actually present for like 20 or so pages, it is ridiculous.
I do not understand how the reviews are so high, or why it is so successful and has endured for so long.
September 27, 2025
Moby Dick or The Whale by Herman Melville – another attempt at making some sense of it is at http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/01/n...
Ahab and Don Quixote – are they members of the same club, obsessive-compulsive men, chasing myths, explained in The Myths of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky and Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert?
7 out of 10 in my view, but a chef d’oeuvre for most readers
Moby Dick is not the only magnum opus that I did not get access to, with my feeble accoutrements, in that I did not get why everyone – with few exceptions, perhaps the daughter of The Whale aka Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, would be one, her essay on Herman Melville’s work seemed to be quite critical, albeit maybe I did not even have that right – is so enthralled, enraptured by this strange novel.
Instead of a spoiler alert – not the case, for I do not even know how this ends, and even worse, I do not give a damn if the obsessed captain Ahab gets his Whale, although let me just put down that I do see some of the symbols and merits of this, I may not be so dumb after all, and in fact I wish he does not, for one of the reasons why I (and you for that matter) reject this story is because it is about killing an intelligent, impressive beast…yes, yes, it is all a metaphor and there is so much that a sophisticated, erudite mind could extract, if only he, she, they take the trouble and see that this has to do with our obsessive compulsive disorders, the wrong goals we choose and pursue with fervor…
‘Happiness Activity No 10: Committing to Your Goals-picking one, two or three significant goals that are meaningful to you and devoting time and effort to pursue them…’ this is from the life changing The How of Happiness by majestic Sonja Lyubomirsky http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/t... a marvel from which we learn that Goals, the meaningful one, are essential for our wellbeing, and Captain Ahab, could be taken as the ‘The How Not To’ example, or at least it looked like this to me.
There is something to say in favor of the famous or infamous character, who has been mauled, disabled by the White Whale and then maybe he tries to redress the balance – in the scheme of Character Strengths there is a chapter for bravery, and under it you have Perseverance, surely Ahab has that aplenty, or in the view of Aristotle, he has too much…Aristotle argued in favor of the Golden Mean, with the view that virtue is in the middle, you could be reckless or a coward, but in between, you find bravery
There is also the Justice section of Character Strengths http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/07/c... and in there we find fairness, which is how we could see the captain, being fair in that he tries to balance out, and determines that he and the crew have to get the White Whale, no matter what, at the cost of missing all other creatures – there is a need to emphasize here that at the time, humans saw whales as a source of oil and revenue, just like today, billions, actually most of the nine billion that live on earth, eat and torture (if not directly) poultry, cattle and billions of other beasts to eat them, and future generations, if there is an earth for them, will look at us and think what Inglorious Bastards, monstrous creatures we have been for doing all this – just to pay back and animal that was fighting for its life…
http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/02/t... Sonja Lyubomirsky has this other mesmerizing book, The Myths of Happiness, where we could find some explanation for the Ahab obsession, and perhaps an interpretation of Moby Dick – we are talking of a Myth here, poor Ahab is vainly searching for the White Whale – which is the metaphor that can remind us of Don Quixote, another fellow that is chasing a dream, fighting wind mills, as he thinks these are awful monsters…
alas, Don Quixote is yet another great work (masterpiece as rated by others, luminaries interviewed by the Norwegian Book Club have in fact chosen this to be The Greatest Book Ever Written, no less) that I have failed to enjoy (this is really an indication of obtusity, I mean you must be crazy to keep reading what such a dope has to say, an eejit) http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/11/d... and Don Quixote is indeed part of the same club with Ahab and other ghost chasing lunatics
Richard III is a more interesting figure, indeed, we have recently found that, talking of myths, this is yet another one – we have been fed the story that this was a ghoul, sometimes shown as a crippled, hunchback, as in The Goodbye Girl – but we find in the Hideous Kinky detective novel (maybe the best one, rated high on both the British and American Writers Guild top 100) The Daughter of Time by Josephine Fey http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/10/t... that the king was in fact a benign royalty, and Shakespeare and others have done him injustice with their portrayal…
http://realini.blogspot.com/2013/06/s... from The Myths of Happiness and Stumbling on Happiness by august Harvard Professor Daniel Gilbert we get that much of what we think will make us happy, in reality does not – and I am again connecting Ahab, Moby Dick with chasing chimeras, and the Hedonic Adaptation Effect – it is assumed that ‘if only we were to do this, or move to that place, then we would be happy’, but research has looked at what happens when people enter that matrix, say they move to California (oh, I would be so happy there, I used to think, only now I have read those magic books and I know better) and what happens is not the Magic Joy descended…
instead, we get used to the new circumstances, the good aspects, palm trees, ocean, and then see the negative, the traffic jams, pollution, wild fires and the like, this is called Hedonic Adaptation, and we stop noticing almost anything (we find it much harder, sometimes impossible to adapt to the loss of a dear one, unemployment, very loud noise) and the upside of this is that we can also go through very hard times (paraplegics, people going through debilitating events return to the base level of happiness after some months, on the whole) money is not the panacea that we assume it to be, as the lottery winners research has demonstrated…this could work though, and you could call be for coaching and special cut rate offers:
http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u...
Ahab and Don Quixote – are they members of the same club, obsessive-compulsive men, chasing myths, explained in The Myths of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky and Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert?
7 out of 10 in my view, but a chef d’oeuvre for most readers
Moby Dick is not the only magnum opus that I did not get access to, with my feeble accoutrements, in that I did not get why everyone – with few exceptions, perhaps the daughter of The Whale aka Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, would be one, her essay on Herman Melville’s work seemed to be quite critical, albeit maybe I did not even have that right – is so enthralled, enraptured by this strange novel.
Instead of a spoiler alert – not the case, for I do not even know how this ends, and even worse, I do not give a damn if the obsessed captain Ahab gets his Whale, although let me just put down that I do see some of the symbols and merits of this, I may not be so dumb after all, and in fact I wish he does not, for one of the reasons why I (and you for that matter) reject this story is because it is about killing an intelligent, impressive beast…yes, yes, it is all a metaphor and there is so much that a sophisticated, erudite mind could extract, if only he, she, they take the trouble and see that this has to do with our obsessive compulsive disorders, the wrong goals we choose and pursue with fervor…
‘Happiness Activity No 10: Committing to Your Goals-picking one, two or three significant goals that are meaningful to you and devoting time and effort to pursue them…’ this is from the life changing The How of Happiness by majestic Sonja Lyubomirsky http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/t... a marvel from which we learn that Goals, the meaningful one, are essential for our wellbeing, and Captain Ahab, could be taken as the ‘The How Not To’ example, or at least it looked like this to me.
There is something to say in favor of the famous or infamous character, who has been mauled, disabled by the White Whale and then maybe he tries to redress the balance – in the scheme of Character Strengths there is a chapter for bravery, and under it you have Perseverance, surely Ahab has that aplenty, or in the view of Aristotle, he has too much…Aristotle argued in favor of the Golden Mean, with the view that virtue is in the middle, you could be reckless or a coward, but in between, you find bravery
There is also the Justice section of Character Strengths http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/07/c... and in there we find fairness, which is how we could see the captain, being fair in that he tries to balance out, and determines that he and the crew have to get the White Whale, no matter what, at the cost of missing all other creatures – there is a need to emphasize here that at the time, humans saw whales as a source of oil and revenue, just like today, billions, actually most of the nine billion that live on earth, eat and torture (if not directly) poultry, cattle and billions of other beasts to eat them, and future generations, if there is an earth for them, will look at us and think what Inglorious Bastards, monstrous creatures we have been for doing all this – just to pay back and animal that was fighting for its life…
http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/02/t... Sonja Lyubomirsky has this other mesmerizing book, The Myths of Happiness, where we could find some explanation for the Ahab obsession, and perhaps an interpretation of Moby Dick – we are talking of a Myth here, poor Ahab is vainly searching for the White Whale – which is the metaphor that can remind us of Don Quixote, another fellow that is chasing a dream, fighting wind mills, as he thinks these are awful monsters…
alas, Don Quixote is yet another great work (masterpiece as rated by others, luminaries interviewed by the Norwegian Book Club have in fact chosen this to be The Greatest Book Ever Written, no less) that I have failed to enjoy (this is really an indication of obtusity, I mean you must be crazy to keep reading what such a dope has to say, an eejit) http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/11/d... and Don Quixote is indeed part of the same club with Ahab and other ghost chasing lunatics
Richard III is a more interesting figure, indeed, we have recently found that, talking of myths, this is yet another one – we have been fed the story that this was a ghoul, sometimes shown as a crippled, hunchback, as in The Goodbye Girl – but we find in the Hideous Kinky detective novel (maybe the best one, rated high on both the British and American Writers Guild top 100) The Daughter of Time by Josephine Fey http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/10/t... that the king was in fact a benign royalty, and Shakespeare and others have done him injustice with their portrayal…
http://realini.blogspot.com/2013/06/s... from The Myths of Happiness and Stumbling on Happiness by august Harvard Professor Daniel Gilbert we get that much of what we think will make us happy, in reality does not – and I am again connecting Ahab, Moby Dick with chasing chimeras, and the Hedonic Adaptation Effect – it is assumed that ‘if only we were to do this, or move to that place, then we would be happy’, but research has looked at what happens when people enter that matrix, say they move to California (oh, I would be so happy there, I used to think, only now I have read those magic books and I know better) and what happens is not the Magic Joy descended…
instead, we get used to the new circumstances, the good aspects, palm trees, ocean, and then see the negative, the traffic jams, pollution, wild fires and the like, this is called Hedonic Adaptation, and we stop noticing almost anything (we find it much harder, sometimes impossible to adapt to the loss of a dear one, unemployment, very loud noise) and the upside of this is that we can also go through very hard times (paraplegics, people going through debilitating events return to the base level of happiness after some months, on the whole) money is not the panacea that we assume it to be, as the lottery winners research has demonstrated…this could work though, and you could call be for coaching and special cut rate offers:
http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u...
October 26, 2025
im queer and i like queer men loving queer men also the bias of the author lowk seeos through (idek if this is the right book why r there variations of moby dick what)
OKAY EDIT: i didnt continue it because grahhhhh it's not very beginner friendly so to speak AND yes i might be gay yes yes of courze im queerious buttt..... uh 🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑 ITS TOO MUCH too much descriptive language i cannot keep up im afraid its like readjng thatone book about moths and sisters and veing bombarded with infodump about... ANIMALS. INSECTS..whatever okay bye
OKAY EDIT: i didnt continue it because grahhhhh it's not very beginner friendly so to speak AND yes i might be gay yes yes of courze im queerious buttt..... uh 🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑 ITS TOO MUCH too much descriptive language i cannot keep up im afraid its like readjng thatone book about moths and sisters and veing bombarded with infodump about... ANIMALS. INSECTS..whatever okay bye
June 9, 2013
I loved this book. I loved the comedy in the beginning where Ishmael meets the harpooner. I loved the often horrible-- yet profound and engaging descriptions of the whaling industry in the 1800s that are such precious anecdotes of history. I enjoyed Melville's descriptions of Ahab and the rest of the crew, the humor he put into descriptions, the curiosity of this intoxicating spermaceti he describes that is no longer accessible today and for great reason. This book was often shocking to me due to the horrors of whaling, but beloved at the same time describing the hard life and work of a whaling ship crew. Half-way through the book, I started to get frustrated at not finding Moby Dick, and this feeling continued up to the very end until well, there was the great white whale. I suppose all of the anticipation was worth it--because I got to be aboard a whaling ship! Loved this book and the old English in it--I would read it again, and again--but it's thick and I'd need to make the time!
September 24, 2022
Moby Dick (Graphic Classics) Rod Espinosa (Adaptation), Herman Melville -novel- Ishmael, the narrator, announces his intent to ship aboard a whaling vessel. He has made several voyages as a sailor but none as a whaler. He travels to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he stays in a whalers’ inn. Since the inn is rather full, he has to share a bed with a harpooner from the South Pacific named Queequeg. At first repulsed by Queequeg’s strange habits and shocking appearance (Queequeg is covered with tattoos), Ishmael eventually comes to appreciate the man’s generosity and kind spirit, and the two decide to seek work on a whaling vessel together. They take a ferry to Nantucket, the traditional capital of the whaling industry. There they secure berths on the Pequod, a savage-looking ship adorned with the bones and teeth of sperm whales. Peleg and Bildad, the Pequod’s Quaker owners, drive a hard bargain in terms of salary. They also mention the ship’s mysterious captain, Ahab, who is still recovering from losing his leg in an encounter with a sperm whale on his last voyage. The Pequod leaves Nantucket on a cold Christmas Day with a crew made up of men from many different countries and races. Soon the ship is in warmer waters, and Ahab makes his first appearance on deck, balancing gingerly on his false leg, which is made from a sperm whale’s jaw. He announces his desire to pursue and kill Moby Dick, the legendary great white whale who took his leg, because he sees this whale as the embodiment of evil. Ahab nails a gold doubloon to the mast and declares that it will be the prize for the first man to sight the whale. As the Pequod sails toward the southern tip of Africa, whales are sighted and unsuccessfully hunted. During the hunt, a group of men, none of whom anyone on the ship’s crew has seen before on the voyage, emerges from the hold. The men’s leader is an exotic-looking man named Fedallah. These men constitute Ahab’s private harpoon crew, smuggled aboard in defiance of Bildad and Peleg. Ahab hopes that their skills and Fedallah’s prophetic abilities will help him in his hunt for Moby Dick. The Pequod rounds Africa and enters the Indian Ocean. A few whales are successfully caught and processed for their oil. From time to time, the ship encounters other whaling vessels. Ahab always demands information about Moby Dick from their captains. One of the ships, the Jeroboam, carries Gabriel, a crazed prophet who predicts doom for anyone who threatens Moby Dick. His predictions seem to carry some weight, as those aboard his ship who have hunted the whale have met disaster. While trying to drain the oil from the head of a captured sperm whale, Tashtego, one of the Pequod’s harpooners, falls into the whale’s voluminous head, which then rips free of the ship and begins to sink. Queequeg saves Tashtego by diving into the ocean and cutting into the slowly sinking head. During another whale hunt, Pip, the Pequod’s black cabin boy, jumps from a whaleboat and is left behind in the middle of the ocean. He goes insane as the result of the experience and becomes a crazy but prophetic jester for the ship. Soon after, the Pequod meets the Samuel Enderby, a whaling ship whose skipper, Captain Boomer, has lost an arm in an encounter with Moby Dick. The two captains discuss the whale; Boomer, happy simply to have survived his encounter, cannot understand Ahab’s lust for vengeance. Not long after, Queequeg falls ill and has the ship’s carpenter make him a coffin in anticipation of his death. He recovers, however, and the coffin eventually becomes the Pequod’s replacement life buoy. Ahab orders a harpoon forged in the expectation that he will soon encounter Moby Dick. He baptizes the harpoon with the blood of the Pequod’s three harpooners. The Pequod kills several more whales. Issuing a prophecy about Ahab’s death, Fedallah declares that Ahab will first see two hearses, the second of which will be made only from American wood, and that he will be killed by hemp rope. Ahab interprets these words to mean that he will not die at sea, where there are no hearses and no hangings. A typhoon hits the Pequod, illuminating it with electrical fire. Ahab takes this occurrence as a sign of imminent confrontation and success, but Starbuck, the ship’s first mate, takes it as a bad omen and considers killing Ahab to end the mad quest. After the storm ends, one of the sailors falls from the ship’s masthead and drowns—a grim foreshadowing of what lies ahead. Ahab’s fervent desire to find and destroy Moby Dick continues to intensify, and the mad Pip is now his constant companion. The Pequod approaches the equator, where Ahab expects to find the great whale. The ship encounters two more whaling ships, the Rachel and the Delight, both of which have recently had fatal encounters with the whale. Ahab finally sights Moby Dick. The harpoon boats are launched, and Moby Dick attacks Ahab’s harpoon boat, destroying it. The next day, Moby Dick is sighted again, and the boats are lowered once more. The whale is harpooned, but Moby Dick again attacks Ahab’s boat. Fedallah, trapped in the harpoon line, is dragged overboard to his death. Starbuck must maneuver the Pequod between Ahab and the angry whale. On the third day, the boats are once again sent after Moby Dick, who once again attacks them. The men can see Fedallah’s corpse lashed to the whale by the harpoon line. Moby Dick rams the Pequod and sinks it. Ahab is then caught in a harpoon line and hurled out of his harpoon boat to his death. All of the remaining whaleboats and men are caught in the vortex created by the sinking Pequod and pulled under to their deaths. Ishmael, who was thrown from a boat at the beginning of the chase, was far enough away to escape the whirlpool, and he alone survives. He floats atop Queequeg’s coffin, which popped back up from the wreck, until he is picked up by the Rachel, which is still searching for the crewmen lost in her earlier encounter with Moby Dick. This book is a classic for readers of age groups.
November 28, 2016
"What is a great hunter"?-In the search for raw unadulterated yarns, no one spins it as dramatically as Melville . Hark cockney eyed saviorists enter the taverns and quench the imagination with Captains loading ships, down the New England coastline recruitment and a yesteryear hiring fair ...And so begins the yearly businesses of coastline livelihoods- In the harsh, risky and competitive sport of whaling only the brave needed apply...
Lines of bawdy ruffians, skilled warriors and vagabonds need only apply ... I love steampunking into a text where maidenhead banter tickles our fancy...Our orator harkens us to awaken and bask in the glory of an emerging hunt for colonial doubloons to sweeten the emerging Americanas -Ah "Call me Ishmael" greets our attention ....Off the moors of time, in the hushes of a yesteryear stand the mighty seafaring men of whaling...Herman Melville baits his rod with a salty ole spun yarn of yesteryear...All aboard The Pequod....SAHNBCT2018
Lines of bawdy ruffians, skilled warriors and vagabonds need only apply ... I love steampunking into a text where maidenhead banter tickles our fancy...Our orator harkens us to awaken and bask in the glory of an emerging hunt for colonial doubloons to sweeten the emerging Americanas -Ah "Call me Ishmael" greets our attention ....Off the moors of time, in the hushes of a yesteryear stand the mighty seafaring men of whaling...Herman Melville baits his rod with a salty ole spun yarn of yesteryear...All aboard The Pequod....SAHNBCT2018
December 11, 2015
I really wanted to like this book, but I found it plodding and very boring. Considering how well loved it is I may give it another chance but I just don't get why it's so loved. I guess I'm just no that into 19th century whaling.
January 26, 2016
うわー、やっと読み終わった。
途中、いろんな本に寄り道しながら読んだ。
物語半分、鯨サイエンスと捕鯨についての解説が半分で、結構読むのきつかった。
でも最後1/4は話の展開が早くて一気読み。
さすがMoby Dick。他の鯨とは違うね。
エイハブが執着するのも分かる。
昔は、日常生活に必要な鯨油をとるために、命がけで捕鯨に向かうのね。
でも、やっぱり鯨を捕るのは可哀想だな。
捕鯨禁止になって良かったよ。
途中、いろんな本に寄り道しながら読んだ。
物語半分、鯨サイエンスと捕鯨についての解説が半分で、結構読むのきつかった。
でも最後1/4は話の展開が早くて一気読み。
さすがMoby Dick。他の鯨とは違うね。
エイハブが執着するのも分かる。
昔は、日常生活に必要な鯨油をとるために、命がけで捕鯨に向かうのね。
でも、やっぱり鯨を捕るのは可哀想だな。
捕鯨禁止になって良かったよ。
October 8, 2012
I love to read, but this one took me all summer plus to read. Learned more about whaling in the 1800s, but have lost several months of my life as a result.
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