For my final project proposal, I wanted to analyze the symbolism of the fossil whale, or the whale as an artifact and history, through an essay. As stated in the asynchronous peer review, I’ll discuss the implications of Ishmael’s description of the whale as an archaeological site, both as living and as dead (fossil). My focus will be on ch104: The Fossil Whale. I want to emphasize the conversations on history that are had in this book, the deconstruction of what counts as history, what gets told, and what gets tossed under the rug of time.
Thesis: Ishmael discusses the validity of the ‘American’ historical canon through the body of the whale, or “the fossil whale”. Whales have a deeper connection to the scope of American history as a continent, especially to the original hunters before colonization (the spear found in a whale). As a fossil, the whale is borderless, traversing the watery world, and leaving its print among the land, part of a momentary recession of the waterline. The whale, in this sense, dismantles the American idealism of permanence and ownership over a continent during an age of border expansion.
I like this idea very much, but I don’t yet see the connections between the points. I’ve made these suggestions before, but I think you need to explain what you mean by “Whales have a deeper connection to the scope of American history” and “As a fossil, the whale is borderless, traversing the watery world, and leaving its print among the land, part of a momentary recession of the waterline.” I don’t actually understand these lines.
I also don’t understand how a fossil, something that preserves a moment in time possibly forever, “dismantles the American idealism of permanence and ownership over a continent during an age of border expansion.” I think you need a bit more clarity in your writing… is this going to be an essay about the science of forensics, which were new in the 19 century? Is this about the concept of owning and possession and artifact, souvenir, from the past… so is this about capitalism? Is this about age and duration and power over temporality?