A meaningless read? or is there something deeper here?
Review
Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville is an epic novel written in the perspective of Ishmael, a sailor who followed a monomaniacal Captain Ahab in his pursuit to vengeance against Moby Dick, a sperm whale who bit off his leg during a previous voyage of his.
The writing style of this novel is very fitting within the context of the setting of the story. Set in the 19th century, it very heavily utilises the commonspeak of sailors in New England. Although it can be often mistaken or confused with piratespeak, it is important to always be reminded of the historical and social context of the book. The book is definitely not written with common English - not of that current time period and not of present. Ishmael narrates the story not so much like a log or record, but rather much more like an epic, akin to the epics of Homer. A very direct, energetic and masculine way of describing his happenings.
The plot of Moby-Dick is exactly as one can gather about the book before reading it: it’s about a captain’s revenge on a sperm whale - but is that really all there is to this book? It is a fairly lengthy read, and there really isn’t many plot points or significant events. So why is it so long? Melville didn’t only include a story in Moby Dick, but he also detailed a lot of nautical and sailing concepts appropriate to the time period. He elaborates on these ideas through Ishmael’s personal narration with the reader, but does it very formally as if he were mentor and you were apprentice.
The nuances and subtleties of Moby-Dick is… well, very much beneath the surface of what’s written. No, Moby Dick isn’t just about revenge. It isn’t about the dangers of whaling. It isn’t about animal conservation. It isn’t about life as a sailor. It isn’t about racism. It isn’t about homosexuality. It’s about… something else. There is definitely a lot to explore in the intricacies of Melville’s writing and what exactly he’s trying to suggest throughout the novel, but you have to dig deep for it.
Moby-Dick is a book that is actually pretty hard to recommend to just anyone. If you’re not really interested in sailing, whaling or anything nautical, this novel will feel like it just drags on forever. On the contrary, if the whole whaling theme is something you’re already interested in, then Moby Dick might be an interesting and fun read. The book isn’t great, nor is it bad. If you think you’ll enjoy Moby Dick after doing your research, you’re likely to enjoy it.
Discussion - spoilers ahead
Picking up Moby-Dick on a whim took me by surprise. Really the only thing I knew about the book was that it was about a captain’s revenge on a sperm whale. And it was exactly that. I managed to pull through this story solely because I was actually interested in the contexts of whaling and sailing during that time period, as well as the epic battles with the whales. If it weren’t for that, it might have been rough to read through.
The pacing of the book was actually bygod horrendous and Moby-Dick only appears in the last 5% of the story (but was the book really about Moby-Dick?). For a first time read, it was a solid experience, however I did lack certain contexts and commentaries that were present in various editions of the novel. It might have helped me understand more of what was actually happening in the story as Ishmael’s description of certain things can get a bit confusing if an illustration was described alongside it (which I know some editions of Moby-Dick has). This didn’t really hinder my reading experience all that much because many of it were small details that were nondescript to the larger event that was going on (but was the book really about sailing?).
I wasn’t really able to dive deep into the subtleties and contrivances of Melville’s text. There were definitely several pieces and themes of the story that lay hidden within the text that I have noticed, however due to the nature and overall reception of this novel - I wasn’t sure if I was actually digging into anything or not, or if it was even the point Melville wanted to get across. I don’t regret spending my time on Moby Dick.