Chapters 22-31

This section is for discussion re: Chapters 22-31

Oh and another reference to Bunyan and Cervantes.

We are exposed to the singlemindedness of Ahab as well and in his assertion that ALL the crew will serve him in his mission. he is able to get Starbuck to agree even against his better judgement. We are then allowed a little insite on what the crew members are thinking indivdually about what they have gotten themselves into.

When getting into this book I thought how boring, but now I'm seeing that Herman Melville is trying to achieve. He wants to write the longest book he can to see if he can. The descriptions in this book are wonderful, but they do drone on. I also need to remember this was written 200 years ago. They had less entertainment at that time. Now adays we are in such a fast paced world that we want fast paced stories to keep our interest.

I also realized that "harpooners" were a special breed just like the cowboy in the west at this time. They are in their own world and culture from language to traditions.

Culture is brought into this book in a lot of ways, from the cannibals to the New England "harpooners."

Yes, once again we have an author who really pads his description. I do think that was the style of the day. James fenimore Cooper/ Hawthorne and others all did the same. We are used to newspaper style writing which is spare. many of todays books lean that way and i agree with you we are in a hurry up society that wants to get to the point.