Sea vs Land
Part of our reading for today that we didn’t get to discuss much in class was Chapter 58 Brit. Ishmael compares the animals on land vs. those of the sea and says that there really is no comparison. The monsters of the sea are so mysterious because we cannot see them beneath the depths of the vast ocean. On land everything is visible, where as in the ocean, anything could be swallowed up never to be seen again. I think this is an important chapter because Ishmael highlights the fact that the ocean is unpredictable and there is so much that is unknown, even though seasoned sailers like Ahab might think he has it all figured out. A quote that stuck with me was “Consider, once more, the universal cannibalism of the sea; all whose creatures prey upon each other, carrying on eternal war since the world began.” Ishmael, who at first saw the sea as a place to escape his problems, now sees it as this black hole from which there is no escape.
Hi Haley, I think you make an interesting point. We see Ishmael transitioning from someone who views the sea as a place to escape his problems to someone who views it as a black hole, from which there is no escape. Perhaps you are alluding to the ship’s ultimate demise at the end of the book? I think this chapter is an important once too because it demonstrates how brave and naive the whalemen are. Despite knowing that the ocean is unpredictable and that they could die at any moment, the whalemen nonetheless embark on a dangerous journey to capture Moby Dick. And sailors like Ahab, who might think that they have it all figured out, are naïve to think that 1) they will come across Moby Dick in the vast sea and 2) that they will successfully capture him and still be alive.