Of all the characters in The Great Gatsby I think that Tom is a character whose personality and behavior can be related to almost any individuals’ experiences. Everybody knows a Tom, he is the all star football player in high school or the co-worker who shows everybody up, he is slightly better for one reason or another and he knows it. Tom in this novel, is the adult version of the “Tom” everybody knows from high school, he is athletic, charming, and has an heir of superiority. His superiority its translated into his marriage, as he is careless with Daisy and uses her when he wants to, and when he doesn’t he finds himself a mistress. There is something to be said about somebody who is willing to risk there relationship for another woman, and that is that they are selfish to a degree that begins to severely damage the life of their partner. The fact that Tom is willing to cheat on Daisy is argument enough for her to divorce him. Not only is he willing to hurt Daisy by cheating on her, but he is also completely careless about his affair. He even introduces Nick to his mistress, showing his comfort with what he is doing. The thing that probably bothers me the most about Tom, is his hypocrisy. He goes out and has affairs, but when Myrtle mentions Daisy’s name, Tom is so enraged that he breaks her nose. He has no right to defend what he has already forsaken.
I was bothered by chapter 93 because of how cruel the crew members were to Pip. Pip had jumped out of the boat while the crew was pursuing whales for the second time, and consequently Stubb leaves Pip in ocean for a while. This drives Pip mad, and in my opinion is slightly similar to the maddness from which Ahab suffers, as it was developed because a tramatic, violent experiance and has roots in deep hatred and fear. Ishmael feels that Pip has been granted wisdom from the ordeal, however i disagree. I think that this experiance has scarred Pip and that it was so traumatic for him that he became crazy.
I thought it was interesting how in chapter 98 Ishmael describes a cycle of killing the whale, becoming dirty, and then extracting the oil and becoming clean because of the oil and then repeating the cycle over and over again. I think that it is metaphorical in some way because to me it means that even though the whalers continue to cleanse themselves, that they only get dirty later on. This may be refering to man’s inability to stay away from sin and to be clean in all definitions, and how no matter what, a man will always become dirty or sinful again.
After Stubb tricks the captain of the Rose Bud into abandoning the rotting whale carcasses that it towed, he looks inside of the whale and finds Ambergris which is a sweet smelling substance that is very valuable and found in the intestines of some whales. Ishmael discusses the idea of Ambergris and how clean and good-smelling whales actually are. This reminds me of the point that Ishmael made about the whale oil being used as a cleanser. It is interesting how the animal that they hunt down and kill has substances within it which can be used for perfumes and soaps. He then talks about how the oil is musky like “a woman”, and how it is actually quite clean which is surprising considering how it is extracted and from what it is extracted.
In chapter 86, Ishmael discusses the tail of the whale. He suggests that the whale’s tail being above water can either be interpreted as a praise of god, or as the shaking of the fist at god. I think by saying that it is the viewer’s mood that defines the meaning of the tail, Melville was trying to comment on the large impact that our moods and dispositions have on how we interpret everything we see. After reading this book for so long I have started to look for symbols in everything that Melville writes about. It is very easy to draw two completely different conclusions from reading the same passage in this book and I think that this passage may even touch upon how we interpret Moby Dick, based on our own moods.
In chapter 88, Schools and Schoolmasters, Ishmael comments on the behavior of whales and how they interact with one another. In this chapter I think that he is commenting directly upon human nature as he talks about how the male schools will abandon the wounded, while the female schools of whales will remain with the wounded whale even if there is apparent danger. I think he is commenting on the nature of men and woman and how each of them treat those around them.
Ishmael continues to glorify the whaling industry in chapter 82. He feels the need to glorify whaling because he wants to not only justify it morally but also so that he can feel that he is sharing part of the glory by being associated with it. Ishmael refers to Greek mythology and the Bible and other great texts and draws connections to whaling, considering that even Vishnu was a whaler. He streches out definitions and information in order to be able to relate them to whaling.
In the next chapter, he discusses the story of Jonah who was swallowed by a whale. He argues that the whale would digest the man and he would be unable to live within the whale. He is clearly bashing christianity and I think Melville is using it to possibly suggest that many of the things in the bible are untrue or unlikey to happen and therefore much of the bible may be wrong.
Old Fleece and Stubb have a conversation that shows how race still plays a powerful role in this time period. Stubb disrespects Old Fleece, originally attacking him for being a poor cook, his profession for many years, but then continues to make fun of him, making him “preach” to sharks for his own amusement. Old Fleece, being around ninety years old, should be respected and at the very least not bothered because he is weak in his old age. Fleece uses a cane to walk, and Stubb rouses him from his bed just to insult his cooking. More important than his direct insult, is the way he makes him preach to the sharks. He forces him to tell the sharks to be quiet and polite to other sharks, and obviously is unheard, however is made to speak to them multiple times until Stubb is satisfied with his sermon. Stubb then asks Fleece about his own thoughts on death. Fleece reveals that he thinks that he will be fetched by an angel, and that he won’t actually go anywhere, Stubb toys with him and asks questions in order to play with Fleece and taunt him, mocking his intelligence. After Stubb is finished critiquing Old Fleece’s cooking, Old Fleece compares Stubb to the sharks.
A part of this scene that is arguably more important than the racial remarks is the commentary on religion. It can be said that the sharks represent either the crew or man kind in general. How everybody tears away at the “whale”, pushing their neighbors aside, while a sermon falls upon deaf ears. Melville may be suggesting that although the sermon is given, that the human desire to consume will always prevail. That although the morals are known, or at least presented, that all of us will continue as we were, uncaring of the sins we commit.
When Ishmael talked about how Ahab’s pain from the trip back to port after Moby Dick bit off his leg, it made me realize how traumatic that would be and how much it would affect somebody. He had to wait such a long time before receiving medical, and he was in so much pain that it must have seemed like a ridiculously long time. Also because he was in so much pain, his thoughts were completely focused on his hatred of Moby Dick, and as a result, he now has an unnatural obsession with the whale. Ahab’s madness isn’t blatantly obvious, however the entire crew is aware. Even Ahab himself knows that he is mad. If i was a crew member on that ship I would be extremely worried about the possible decisions that Ahab might make as captain because he is obviously not fit to captain a whaling boat. Ahab isn’t even calmed by his pipe as he once was, he tosses it overboard, showing that he is not completely right in the head.
Having read up to chapter 28 in Moby Dick, Ishmael has revealed many things about himself. I think that one of the most important character traits of Ishmael would have to be his motivation to involve himself in whaling. Why would a school teacher, being paid a reasonable amount, commit to an extremely dangerous job where the pay is not high enough to account for the danger? His motivation is not clear, but Melville leaves evidence of Ishmael’s inner battle which helps to define Ishmael as a character.
We first see his motives in the very beginning of the book where we see him as a depressed and suicidal man, and we learn more about what drives him to this line of work. In chapter 23, he tells us about Bulkington, a sailor who has devoted his life to whaling and will most likely be in the business until the day he dies. Ishmael confides in the reader and offers that it would be a better way to die as opposed to dying of old age. This idea of “going out with your boots on” can be traced back to the earliest cultures where dying was meant to be an honorable thing. Ishmael wants to have this honor and sense of worth. I feel as though Ishmael has had a lot of trouble finding meaning in his life based on his depression and his position in life, and as a result has a rapacious desire for purpose. He wants to die with meaning, fighting the largest creature on the planet rather than wither away as a school teacher. (I also want to add that it is my opinion that Melville chose the role of a grammar school teacher in order to show the inner battles that many of us face when our lives become too mundane.)
This chapter really contributed to the idea I have of Ishmael as a character. In the next chapter, we see Ishmael fiercely defend whaling, and he continues to name references to whales in the Bible and in the constellations (just as Melville does in the beginning of the book) while also proclaiming all of whaling’s virtues. I think that the reason that he defends whaling in such an animated way is because of the meaning and sense of self that has found in this occupation. He defends it because it defines him.
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