I don’t really have much to say about the etymology or extracts other than I wonder how an extracts section would look now post Moby Dick; how would the “bird’s eye view” of the Leviathan have changed across nations and generations? My focus for this week’s reading was mostly directed towards a quote at the end of Chapter 2 which reads “it’s too late to make any improvements now. The universe is finished: the copestone is on, and the chips were carted off a million years ago” (12). The passage this is in involves a biblical reference to Euroclydon, a “tempestuous wind” in the Mediterranean, which in this context, Ishmael uses to position The Spouter-Inn as his final hope of respite, it being too late to find another lodging. But I was completely oblivious to this, all biblical references in this book will go over my head so I’m hoping that some of you will be able to give more insight into those as we read.

In my initial reading of this quote, I took it in a more philosophical sense; “The universe is finished” reminded me of Nietzsche’s “God is Dead”. I’m no expert in philosophy, so correct me if I’m off the mark, but I’ve always viewed this quote “God is Dead” as a way of saying that we have started to lose the structure, and maybe even the answers, that religion provided for so long. Similar to this, I saw “the universe is finished” as a way of saying that there are no more developments or answers that the universe has to offer for humanity. We were kind of just plopped here without any definitive structure, rules, or guidebook on how to live and it’s up to us to make of it what we will. To connect it back to Ishmael and even the blue humanities, this lack of structure is what provides more potential and freedom, as Ishmael willingly lets the Euroclydon lead him to The Spouter-Inn where he will meet Queequeg and begin his journey.