The journey of reading through the first three chapters of Moby-Dick was certainly chaotic but also amazing! The way that Melville writes was definitely something I had to get used to, he often goes into long explanations that left me confused until going back and rereading the passages. The aspects we have spoken about in class that past few weeks were instantly present within the first few chapters of the novel. Something that has gained my interest is our human fascination with the sea. Most people are terrified of it, however we are drawn to the ocean and water as a whole. As Ishmael says in chapter three, “Ignorance is the parent of fear” (Melville 24). Water makes up over 70% of Earth yet we still do not fully understand it, just like in many cases our lack of knowledge creates an overwhelming sense of fear within us. However, even with this fear many of us are still deeply drawn to the water in some way. A passage that stuck with me throughout the reading was speaking of the human connection to water, “Why is almost every robust healthy boy with a robust healthy soul in him, at some time or other crazy to go to sea? Why upon our first voyage as a passenger, did you yourself feel such vibration, when first told that you and your ship were now out of sight of land? … It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life; and this is the key to it all” (Melville 5). The water draws humans in because of the vastness and the drastic unknown. As much as we might believe that we hide from the things that scare us, they are always what bring out life altering moments that influence and change our perspective. This brought me back to the ideas within the blue humanities in the way that if we change our perspective and see the ocean as motivation on how to view our own lives we can be let go of the boxes we create for ourselves. We are drawn to the water for the beauty of what it can represent within our own lives with constant changes and the unknown becoming exciting rather than terrifying. This passage solidified exactly what we have been talking about, this is not just an adventure story but rather a novel that will draw amazing ideas and realizations out from each of us. Within just the first three chapters I was surprised at how quickly I became hooked to the characters and the journey. I can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts, likes, and dislikes in class!
Moby-Dick
ECL 522: Fall 2025. Professor Pressman
Glad to see you making connections between the readings. The strongest part of your blog is where you use a quote from the text– stay there, with the text– and keep at your interpretations of what it is doing and why it matters (the Blue Humanities part). Good start!
Hi Alyssa, I also liked the quote “ignorance is the parent of fear”. I didn’t make the connection between our fear of the water and our lack of knowledge about it, so I appreciated reading your post and thinking about this connection. I think we also have this pull to the ocean because it’s so mysterious, and we don’t know what lies beneath the surface. Kind of like meeting a new person and getting to know their depths
Hey Alyssa. I enjoyed reading your post for the first few chapters of the novel. The part where you bring up human fascination with the sea is something that I had focused on in my post. I like the quote that you use, “Ignorance is the parent of fear,” I think that by connecting that with the fact we know so little about the ocean definitely could play a role in that fear factor. Our fascination with the sea could be because we know so little about it, as we’ve discussed in class it’s something that has been greatly overlooked as people tend to focus more on the land rather than the water. I think we definitely do see, and will see more of, blue humanities being apart of the novel, even if Melville had no acknowledgement of what that meant.
Hi Alyssa. I agree about the first part of the novel relating to the blue humanities articles that we have been reading. When Melville continuously mentions water, not just the ocean, and the ways we are connected to it sounded just like Steve Mentz’s push for blue humanities. The push to move beyond the ocean and into exploring all bodies of water for the current of blue humanities. It is the same passage that he pulled the quote from so it makes sense. I am glad we got to look into the blue humanities before starting the novel. I also agree, this is not just an adventure story.
Hey Alyssa,
I love the connection between Moby-Dick and the Blue Humanities. The idea that most people are terrified of the ocean is absolutely true. The average person would never want to explore the unexplored ocean. The interest Melville takes in the ocean open up the doors for the average person to get to view the ocean.