"It will be a strange sort of a book, tho', I fear; blubber is blubber you know; tho' you may get oil out of it, the poetry runs as hard as sap from a frozen maple tree;--& to cook the thing up, one must needs throw in a little fancy.... Yet I mean to give the truth of the thing, spite of this." Moby-Dick has a monumental reputation. Less well known are the novel's unexpectedly weird, funny, tantalizing, messy, and wondrous moments. Narrator Ishmael, along with the whaleship Pequod's other "meanest mariners, and renegades ...
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"It will be a strange sort of a book, tho', I fear; blubber is blubber you know; tho' you may get oil out of it, the poetry runs as hard as sap from a frozen maple tree;--& to cook the thing up, one must needs throw in a little fancy.... Yet I mean to give the truth of the thing, spite of this." Moby-Dick has a monumental reputation. Less well known are the novel's unexpectedly weird, funny, tantalizing, messy, and wondrous moments. Narrator Ishmael, along with the whaleship Pequod's other "meanest mariners, and renegades and castaways", is beguiled into joining Captain Ahab in his vengeful pursuit of the white whale that "dismasted" him. But along the way, Ishmael takes the reader along many a detour into variegated ways of knowing. In a tone "strangely compounded of fun and fury", Moby-Dick brings outlandish curiosity to bear on the multitudinous, oceanic scale of our diverse world. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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Add this copy of Moby Dick (Wordsworth Classics) to cart. $0.99, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Wordsworth Editions Ltd.
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This copy has clearly been enjoyed-expect noticeable shelf wear and some minor creases to the cover. Binding is strong and all pages are legible. May contain previous library markings or stamps.
Add this copy of Moby Dick (Wordsworth Classics) to cart. $1.17, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books East rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale Heights, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Wordsworth Editions Ltd.
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Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of Moby Dick (Wordsworth Classics) to cart. $1.22, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Wordsworth Editions Ltd.
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Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of Moby Dick (Treasury of Illustrated Classics) to cart. $1.34, fair condition, Sold by Gulf Coast Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Memphis, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Modern Pub.
Add this copy of Moby Dick (the Great Classic for Children) to cart. $1.39, fair condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Intervisual Books Inc.
Add this copy of Moby-Dick (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels) to cart. $1.70, fair condition, Sold by Aspen Book Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Dover Publications.
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Fair. Shows signs of wear. Jacket may be torn cover may have creases pages have some writing and highlighting. May have some water damage. May be a former library book.
Add this copy of Moby-Dick (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels) to cart. $1.70, fair condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Dover Publications.
Add this copy of Moby-Dick (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels) to cart. $1.75, fair condition, Sold by Zoom Books East rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale Heights, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Dover Publications.
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Fair. Book is in acceptable condition and shows signs of wear. Book may also include underlining highlighting. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
This book was just like new & in excellent condition.
dekesolomon
Oct 31, 2009
Whaling is a deep subject.
A lot of people can't understand Moby-Dick. And I think, to an extent, nobody can fully understand this book who doesn't know at least a little about the transcendentalist movement in American literature.
Transcendentalism, to Thoreau and Emerson, et al., was the idea that one can get to know God by studying nature. Thoreau was transcendentalism's greatest proponent. That's what 'Walden Pond' was all about.
Melville used Ahab and the whale to show (to put it as simply as possible) that one thing we learn when we study nature is that God isn't necessarily a creature we'd like to be closely acquainted with. When little Pip, the cabin boy, falls out of the whaleboat -- to take one example -- he sinks down and down, then he goes down a little farther, then farther still, and then he sinks some more until, bye and bye, he sank so far down in the ocean that he 'saw God's foot on the treadle of the loom.' At that point his mind snapped and when he finally broke surface, he was as crazy as a crap-house mouse. Having seen God, he became a madman, and his derangement was permanent.
Ahab is crazy because he, too, has met God -- and the damned thing took his leg off. He was not happy about losing his leg. He has sworn vengeance on God (manifest in the unstoppable power of the whale) and he will have it if it kills him -- as of course it finally does. Ahab's rage against God reflects the human creature's rage to order the insane universe (God) in which we live.
I mean, that vein is deep and rich. Moby-Dick gives us plenty of room to think and plenty of material to think about, and if we bother to think about it we'll be thinking for a long while. How about the scene where the men sit in a circle around a tub, squishing spermaceti between their fingers? Is there a circle-jerk going on there? Is there a hint at the homosexuality that was so common in all-male crews who spent months and years at sea?
In sum, I believe the novel has at least three purposes and at least two of those are didactic. On the one hand it discourses on transcendentalism, on the nature of God and the nature of man and the relationship between them. On the other hand, it discourses on the life of the whalers. We learn from reading Moby-Dick a very great deal about life and work on a wooden, wind-powered, Yankee whaling vessel. You can read it one way, you can read it the other way, or you can read it as a straight-up, meaningless adventure yarn. No matter how you read it, it's a whale of a tale and it's one that always yields more to those who re-read it.
I give it five stars because I think it earns every one of 'em.
abc20
Aug 6, 2007
Where to start with Moby Dick...
Had to read this book for English. The opening was really interesting, and it wasn't too bad until they were on the boat and Melville goes on and on about whale parts. I was warned about this in advance, so I just skimmed over those parts. It's really a great classic story if you can get beyond Melville's style at times.
