'Moby Dick' Update: True Life Horror That Inspired 'Moby Dick'

Thanks to fellow Eternal Poet, Wade Klassen, for alerting me to this video and article from the Smithsonian about the history of Moby Dick.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-life-horror-that-inspired-moby-dick-17576/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia#ooid=12ZGxpeTpCzfLFiOoOFkV5eF9iLVu4Lu

 

Novel 5: "Candide" by Voltaire (90.5 points)

I just finished Voltaire's Candide, and it was a surprisingly easy read.  I feared that it might be heavy and dry when my friend suggested we read it for our next Eternal Poet's meeting this December, but I jumped at the chance to dig into the novel. 

The general message of Candide is to be cautious of simplistic and overly optimistic views of the world, especially when those views support, or allow, or gloss over (or Pangloss over!) pain and suffering.  Religion and governments and philosophical systems seem to be the major perpetrators of such views in Candide and Voltaire skewers them all in turn.  The climax of the novel is the last line where Candide, now mature and wise to the world, endeavors to cultivate his garden.  After all his adventures Candide doesn't simply just accept life as it is, that is passively, but rather seeks to make life how it ought to be, by tending to his garden.

A few personal notes that I found interesting: 1) Canada gets mentioned, but is dismissed as a 'few acres of snow'.  In typical Canadian fashion I was thrilled just to be noticed!  I had heard this quote of Voltaire's before, but it made more sense in context.  2) The discussion of slavery as 'the price of eating sweets in Europe' (or something to that effect) was a good reminder that we are not the first generation to think of 'fair-trade', or ethical eating.  Sometimes we get caught up in the eternal present and forget that other thinking, feeling beings have gone before us.  3) The comments about humans being 1/4 monkey pre-date Darwin and I found that interesting too.

A great little book and I recommend it.  Thanks Wade! 

Score: 90.5 points

Epic-ness: 22.5
- Who hasn't heard of Voltaire?  Glad I finally read him. 

Enjoyability: 23.5
- Surprisingly easy to read, understand, and follow.  I laughed out loud at times.

Exploration of the human condition: 22
- In the broadest sense Voltaire nails this by posing many questions about the state of the world, and asking why it is the way it is and why we tolerate it, but this novel isn't about deep character development at a more personal level.  Many questions are posed, but most are left unanswered.  You can only go so deep in a satire.

Eloquence: 22.5
- Simple in it's eloquence. Voltaire is a foil with his knowledge of literature and history and gracefully weaves them together with religion and philosophy throughout this novel.

A great little novel.  I recommend it for a quick read when you want something to sink you teeth into but don't have too much mental energy or time to invest.

      

Novel 4: "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville (91.5 points)

This is the the first book on my Top 100 Novels list that was originally written in English.  It is difficult to know how much gets lost in translation, but some certainly does, so it was comforting to know I was getting it all in the original. 

Now, I don't live on the coast, but I do enjoy fishing and have spent a considerable amount of time on or in or by the water, so I could relate in some ways to this book on that level, but not fully.  And, some have suggested that Moby Dick is in the running for the title of 'The Great American Novel' so it must have a grander theme than merely being a whaling trip.  In a big picture it is a revenge novel, a quest novel, and an adventure book.  I could see a bit of the Great American Road Trip in this novel, but on the sea rather than on land.  There is also the a hint of the concept of Manifest Destiny, especially the notion that man, American man, can rule the world, the seas, and nature itself.  On the whole the book is a cautionary tale, but the chase is romanticized, and one is left feeling that if any man will rule the world it will be American Man.  And when I say man, I mean man, the book is devoid of any significant presence of the feminine.  For this and other reasons, I doubt any 21st century publisher would pick this novel up if it was written today, which is odd considering it is often ranked as one of the best novels of all time. 

As an aside, I really enjoyed reading about the character Starbuck, if for no other reason than he is (I think) the namesake of the coffee company.  I felt like I was getting an insight into two American icons at once, Moby Dick & Starbucks.  However, I have no great insight as to why the coffee company would choose this name.

There is an underlying compassion in the novel, for the whales, for other races, for the characters themselves.  I found the tidbits, and phases of Melville's expansive humanity quite moving and touching within this masculine, predatory adventure novel, or maybe that was the whole point from the beginning.

The strength of the novel for me was two-fold.  First, the story, though a grind at times, made me feel like I was on the boat.  I was longing to find Moby Dick along with the characters, and I really thought we would get him!  Second, With the novel's conclusion leaving Moby Dick the 'winner' I thought Melville succeeded in presenting a morally impressive, critical story for Americans (in which I include Canadians).  Melville is not a blind cheerleader of all things technological and driven, but as a champion for thoughtful pursuit of our limits over controlling nature, and ourselves.  The take away for me is that we may destroy ourselves in our pursuit to control our destiny.  A great message within a grand adventure narrative. 

This book was strange, odd and delightful.  I now know more about cetology (the study of whales) and 'whale sperm' than I ever thought I would.

Epicness: 24.5 - In the running for 'The Great American Novel'.  Quoted and alluded to all over the place.
Enjoyment: 22.5 - At times quite interesting, but other times it was dragging. Odd and quirky, but delightful and full of little nuggets.
Exploration (of the human condition): 22.5 Queequeg, Ishemael, Ahad, Starbuck, the boat owners.  Man vs. Nature.  Religion, Faith (but no love)
Eloquence: 22.5 - lyrical quality, but a bit of a slog at times, purposefully like an encyclopedia.

The Restless Questometer: 91.5