Category Archives: Week 5: “Etymology” and “Extracts”

Melvilles Warning

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Herman Melville’s “Etymology” and “Extracts” preceding chapter one provides an insane amount of insight and context before starting the story of Ishmael. Although the etymology can be easily cast aside as readers usually begin with the first chapter, I believe Melville intended for the etymology and extracts to be read and be taken seriously (to an extent) as it provides context on how to approach the monstrosity of the book itself. Melville outright lets the reader know that he isn’t reliable and to read between lines. TO CLOSE READ! It’s genuinely insane how much thought went into the extracts as a warning to readers to NOT take his word seriously as you would the bible. “Therefore you must not in every case at least, take the higgley-piggledy whale statements, however authentic, in these extracts, for veritable gospel cetology. Far from it.” (Extracts, paragraph 1) This warning gives a whole new meaning to reading the book and what it means to simply read any book. You must read between the lines and manipulate sentences to unlock their true meaning. This is a huge reason why I think this novel is important now as it was when it was published and many years later. There will always be a new lens to unlock, something for the reader to question, and new interpretations to be discovered. Taking this and applying it to how you read the novel takes pressure off its size and focuses on what you, as the reader, take from the story at hand. 

Now with the Extracts taken into consideration, the first sentence beginning chapter one can be picked apart, despite its simplicity. “Call me Ishmael” (Melville, 3) The narrator is starting the story with a friendly greeting but giving the reader a pseudonym. This can be simply the narrator being just friendly. But also revealing Ishmael’s narration as a flawed one and possibly unreliable. Melville put deep thought and detail in the information preceding the first chapter and I thank him for it. 

Purposeful Language and What it Reveals in Melville’s “Extracts”

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There were two primary extracts that stood out to me, especially considering their purposeful language and what it reveals about Melville, his story, and the overarching historical context. Firstly, on page xliii, Melville quotes Schouten’s Sixth Circumnavigation, which describes how people “saw such huge troops of whales, that they were forced to proceed with a great deal of caution for fear that they should run their ship upon them.” Here, the word “troops” really stands out to me. I researched it, and a group of whales is actually referred to as a “pod,” which was coined in the early 1800s. This timeframe suggests that “troops” was purposefully used, which implies an automatic sense of conflict towards whaling ships and a natural unity amongst whales.

Secondly, contrasting the usage of “troops” and the implication of battle from Schouten, Melville quotes Paley’s Theology on page xlv. In this, he writes that “The aorta of a whale is larger in the bore than the main pipe of the water-works at London Bridge, and the water roaring in its passage through that pipe is inferior in impetus and velocity of the blood gushing from the whale’s heart.” The focus on the heart of the whale here is interesting, especially as hearts tend to humanize animals to audiences. Here, it’s explicitly used for perspective and sizing.

Both of these quotes reveal a significant amount of context on whales and whaling. Schouten’s quote points to an intentional use of aggressive language to point to whales as inherently unified and aggressive, almost justifying the violence performed against them on the whaling ships. However, Paley’s diction is, whether intentionally or not, a humanization of the whale. Even if the focus on a whale’s heart was used for scale, it’s still putting them into a general perspective for audiences.

Week 5: Significance of humanity and whaling

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I really enjoyed reading a brief intro of how the etymology and extracts became a part of the book through librarian research. In this perspective, rather than another notable figure or author, it gives the book a whole new meaning of what whaling was for the common people and the nation itself. Two separate quotes from the etymology and extracts that I found interesting was the intro to etymology and one of the extracted quotes. It is interesting to see how we as humans give importance to literary or figurative symbols in society. We inevitably interact with the symbols around us and maintain that with responsibility and care throughout time. The intro states that, “He loved to dust his old grammars; it somehow reminded him of his mortality.(Melville)” This quote illustrates how symbols have such an imprinted impact into our minds that we are reminded of our humanity, which I think the whole book argues is our greatest strength to acknowledge. To add to that, an extract quote states that, “…they saw many whales sporting in the ocean, and in the wantonness fuzzing up the water through their pipes and vents, which nature has placed on their shoulders.(Melville 43)” This emphasizes to the earlier statement so much more because, in our realization of how small we are, our humanity still plays a role in advancing and reflecting on the significance of whales as these intelligent yet dangerous beings that are marveled from terrestrial view. The quote’s word choice and usage is also an important aspect to look into, indirectly describing these whales as an essential mode in the seas. Our capitalization and use of these whales then in turn magnify the nation as an infrastructure that cleverly invests rather than fully dominate the whales or subject them to merely animals. When seeing the animals in this sort of light, the state has recognition for the responsibility to use the whale’s responsibility for good– whatever good meant or benefitted at that time. On the contrary, the last part of the sentence sounded as if it was social propaganda to spark the generative progression of revitalized working class people at that time. The vivid imagery of machinery being on the responsibility of the people to manage the nature around them paints the picture of human labor as “natural”. In that case, humanity is our strength, but can be manipulated for weakness and submission.

week 5: chapter 3

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Something I found most interesting, and in a way, quite entertaining was Ishmael’s obsession with his roommate- the harpooner, Queequeg, as seen in Chapter 3. He only knows about this mysterious man from what the landlord had told him, and was already forming ideas about him even though he had not met him yet. Whether the landlord was telling the truth or just trying to scare him, Ishmael should’ve formed his own opinions on the harpooner through his own experience with him. This can relate to society, both then and even now, about how people should go out and gain their own experience so they could think for themselves rather than listening and going based on other men’s thinking. Ishmael says, ”Ignorance is the parent of fear, and being completely nonplussed and confounded about the stranger, I confess I was now as much afraid of him as if it was the devil himself who had thus broken into my room…” (pg 24). When you don’t know something, you fear it. And like Ishmael here, because he was unfamiliar with the man, he started panicking and freaking out. He was psyching himself out for nothing, for example when Queequeg was telling him to get into bed, Ishmael says about him, “He really did this in not only a civil but a really kind and charitable way” (pg 26).

He also goes on to say after meeting him that, “the man’s a human being just as I am: he has just as much reason to fear me, as I have to be afraid of him. Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian” (pg 26). Ishmael was getting scared of his roommate for no reason because he ended up being a nice man anyways. This is why it is important to, yes, take other’s opinions into consideration but to also go out and gain the experience yourself, that way forming your own opinions and thoughts are true and genuine. I also want to add that Ishmael jumping to conclusions was also reasonable. He is going to be sharing a bed with a complete stranger. So, it is understandable to think the worst. 


We love whales

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Whales have been a long obsession of humanity beginning with some of the most influential written works. For what seems like forever, whales had been tied with viciousness as a natural extension of their size. Biblical stories describe the Levianthan, aka the whale, as “the piercing serpent…that crooked serpent…the dragon of the sea” (Isaiah). Yet, in modern times whales are culturally tied with ideas of serenity and natural beauty, a completely different viewpoint from the former. Where did this initial idea about whales come from and how has it changed to what we think of today? The one constant throughout this tale is that whales are a living embodiment of nature at its most wild, its power inspiring people into the storytelling that is seen throughout ‘Etymology & Extracts’. Melville captures our own history of obsession with power through the overrepresentation of the largest living creature in our culture. The whale is the size of thousands of men in one, representing entire armies inside of one creature. Humans have a complicated relationship with power, it has led to violence more often than not, and the whale is the most powerful, and logically would be the most capable of violence. Humans have reflected their own ability to do violence onto the whale. As Melville whips up every whale reference there is simultaneously a call out to evil & power, both human constructions that explain the long history of violence engrained within us. This creature has been a projection, and as we slowly shift away from violence being a daily commonality, the whale has been rebranded in our culture as a symbol of peace and the greatness of nature. I am excited to see how Melville projects human qualities onto Moby Dick, starting with giving the whale a name in the novel. I personally never realized how far back whales have been a cultural influence for people, it’s been an icon for many different human experiences, but overall it is its power that has continuously inspired. 

“Call me Ishmael”, Reveling in an Obscure Identity

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There is a lot to discuss within our first chunk of reading for Moby Dick, but I want to focus on one passage and then try to expand.

Before I do this, I thought it was curious how our narrator uses the pseudonym of “Ishmael”. He asks us to call him this, which made me look into the significance this name. Turns out it was a biblical reference used. Ishmael was born unto Abraham with Sarah’s hand maid Hagar. After, Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and she asked Abraham to expel the hand maid and her child into the desert. Though blessed by God, Ishmael became an outcast. This can open up discussion about the word “outcast” and how “Ishmael” ventures to meet people aboard a ship who have a common goal: whaling.

“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off–then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.”

“This is my substitute for pistol and ball.”

This is a huge sentence. I could have paraphrased it lol. What he is saying is that instead of inviting suicidal and/or fatal temptations, the sea is where he can find respite. Only the ocean can provide him this. We get this passage literally on the first page, so you can see how important the ocean is to our “Ishmael”. Arguably, this is an early glimpse of the feelings that our protagonist portrays to the natural unknown world on the horizon.

Week 5 : Extracting Value

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Simply put, I think the extracts chapter really put into perspective of what the audience can expect out of the book. Take a shot every time you read the word “Leviathan,” and I’m sure you’ll be feeling it by the end. Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Rabeleis, Lord Bacon’s Version of the Psalms, Paradise Lost, Ibid, list goes on. I personally know the Leviathan as a mythical creature in different kinds of media, but knowing its history from the Hebrew Bible, it goes to show just how much a Whale represented back then. It’s this huge, imposing, mythical creature to these people in the whaling industry, and I can already picture the kind of damage that is going to happen in this book. I specifically want to connect this description and this mention of Leviathan to a point Ishmael makes in chapter 1.

He mentions this large chunk about money and payment, saying, “Again, I always go to sea as a sailor, because they make a point of paying me for my trouble, whereas they never pay passengers a single penny that I ever heard of…The act of paying is perhaps the most uncomfortable infliction that the two orchard thieves entailed upon us. But being paid,–what will compare with it?” (6) We understand from the background of whaling that the industry utilizes (I hope) most parts of the animal, more specifically for things like blubber and oil. Ishmael makes it clear that going to sea as a sailor has more of a benefit than a passenger thanks to the work involved in such. Going after this “Leviathan” like creature surely poses a monetary benefit, but I think that this passage spells disaster. With how thick of a book Moby Dick is, I am so certain that Melville is loading this up to be a set of trial and tribulation that doesn’t end up keeping Ishmael’s monetary attention. I get a selfish kind of read from his statement about being paid, and while I can agree that getting paid is a great feeling, this Leviathan creature has to be humbling, or else I’m going to be very disappointed.

Extracting Extracts

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The multitude of differing opinions on the whales presented in these extracts, provides a fascinating view on the history of whale culture throughout time. In particular, I favored three extracts that I feel encapsulates the relationship between humans, industrial society, and whales. The first extract comes from the Book of Isaiah, which is based on the prophet Isaiah from 8th Century BC;

“In that day, the Lord with his sore, and great, and strong sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea” —Isaiah 

Considering how old this text is, I was astonished to see the recurring mention of the whale, known to them at the time, as a “Leviathan.” In terms of biblical texts, the word Leviathan is reserved to only the most powerful monstrous creatures of chaos. Framing our mindset towards the creature to be that of fear, particularly of its grandness and unpredictability—stemming from our lack of control over this beast.  

This extract paints a scene of two powerful forces, the Lord and the Leviathan as oppositions, furthering the idea that the Sea is the dominion of chaos and danger. Even the Lord wishes to vanquish this “dragon,” demonstrating not only the Lord position, but also the position of power the sea and whale hold—if only the Lord is capable of slaying the creature. 

The second extract that drew my interest, concerned the relationship of the sea to human industry;

“A tenth branch of the king’s ordinary revenue, said to be grounded on the consideration of his guarding and protecting the seas from pirates and robbers, is the right to royal fish, which are whale and sturgeon. And these, when either thrown ashore or caught near the coasts, are property of the king.” —Blackstone 

Our class discussions have led us to discuss the idea of coastlines representing boundaries of nations, especially considering there is no way to establish borders due to their fluidity. 

The idea of “royal fish” is an intriguing concept for two reasons; the first being that the Whale is considered a “royal fish. Breaking away from the stereotype of Whales being in opposition to God (as I discussed in the last extract) to having a formal relationship where they’re recognized by a sovereign as righteous. The second reason being that the concept of “royal fish” by law, means that this parliament is trying to claim ownership, establish their own border within the sea. It’s a bold endeavor that highlights the fallibility of attempting to conquer the seas, and also opens up the proposition of the sea representing itself as its own state. If the laws of the land extend out into the sea, then the sea can be considered its own sovereignty. 

The last extract I wanted to discuss, combines both of my previous points in a much more poetic narrative way; 

“No, Sir, ‘tis a Right Whale,” answered Tom; “I saw his spout; he threw up a pair of as pretty rainbows as a Christian would wish to look at. He’s a real oil-butt, that fellow!” —Cooper’s Pilot 

This scene depicts a beautiful moment of a person witnessing a rare phenomenon and equating it to the memory of God. However, in the very next sentiment, the person’s view shifts, seeing the value the whale can provide, rather than viewing the whale itself. 

This kinship to God, shows the divinity and power this creature holds over the human physic, much like God, this creature creates miracles. Unfortunately, in the same sense, humans view the whale as a source of use rather than worship—-being a summation of what it can provide for our industry, rather than a beautiful Godly creature. This juxtaposition is jarring and really goes to show the conflicting narrative history involving the Great Whale.  

The Whale that Refuses to be Defined

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Before Moby-Dick even begins its story, the “Extracts” overwhelm us with fragments: verses from the Bible, lines from Shakespeare, and snippets of travelogues and natural accounts. At first glance, they read like noise, a jumble of borrowed words that delay the narrative before it even begins. But Melville is doing this deliberately. By bombarding us with quotations, he insists that any single perspective cannot capture the whale. Instead, it exists at the intersection of voices, always slipping out of reach.

The contrast between two quotations makes this especially clear. In one, the whale is Leviathan, a biblical monster that embodies divine power and human helplessness. This image casts the whale as a cosmic force beyond understanding. But only a few lines later, Melville includes Shakespeare’s joke from Hamlet, when Polonius agrees that a cloud looks “very like a whale.” Suddenly, the whale shrinks into something absurd, an ephemeral shape in the sky. Side by side, these extracts jar the reader: is the whale the most powerful beast on Earth, or just a trick of the imagination?

This refusal of clarity sets the tone for the entire novel. If the whale can be both terrifyingly real and almost laughably unreal, then no definition will ever be stable. The Extracts remind us from the very beginning that the ocean’s mysteries are too vast for singular answers. We are forced to read in fragments, to dwell in contradictions, to accept ambiguity as the only truth available. Rather than beginning with certainty, Moby-Dick begins with uncertainty. The whale is many things at once: natural, mythical, terrifying, sacred, ridiculous. It is a mirror of the ocean itself, a force that exceeds comprehension. By frontloading the book with a cacophony of borrowed voices, Melville teaches us how to read the novel: not by searching for resolution, but by embracing the fragments.

Week 5: Chapter 3

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What I found most interesting from the reading this week was the contents of chapter three. Ishmael’s borderline obsession with this ‘roommate’ seems to elude the rest of the contents of the novel. I haven’t read Moby Dick before, but the idea of obsession seems to be a common theme from what I’ve heard. Take, for instance, this line: “I was all eagerness to see his face, but he kept it averted for sometime” (p.23). Ishmael’s curiosity shines through on this page (or perhaps Melville’s), as the page takes on a run-on about this new character. His mind runs amuck, making assumptions about this new character and wanting to discover who he is. This type of mind-running is fairly normal, but this feels obsessive in the way it takes up a whole chapter, consuming Ishmael’s mind. What is he hoping for?

Another thing on my mind while reading this chapter was the letters from Melville to Hawthorne. That was good context to have before reading this. Many lines from this chapter felt very… suggestive. Ishmael’s fear of sharing a bed with this strange man could be interpreted as projection, or simply the social context of sharing a bed with a man. From page 23 as well, Melville writes “It’s only his outside; a man can be honest in any sort of skin.” Although this appears to be about honesty, I have my doubts. This seems to refer more to who someone is, as opposed to how they look, and put in the context of these men sharing a bed… just reminded me of the letters. This does go into what we talked about in class, as Moby Dick is often seen as the great American novel, masculine, man’s quest, etc but this beginning chapter seems to already delve into a psychological battle on many levels – obsession, sexuality, trust.