Hello :)

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Hey everyone, I’m Jimmy Dirstine, I’m an English major in my senior year here at SDSU. I grew up in the Bay Area, but my family now lives in San Luis Obispo, but I call both of them home. I love going to the beach, hiking, cooking with my girlfriend, hanging out with my friends, working out at the gym, playing basketball, and a lot of other stuff that I can’t think of right now.

I’m excited to dive into Moby-Dick, especially after it got hyped up these past two classes. I am slightly concerned with the difficulty of the reading, especially because it’s hard for me to get into something if I’m not understanding it, but I am looking to challenge myself as a reader and I think this novel is the best one to do it. There’s not a whole lot I know about Moby-Dick, besides that there’s a guy named Ishmael and he’s going after a really big whale, so I’m looking forward to reading it and having my life be changed.

I’m excited for this semester, especially this class, and I can’t wait to discuss the novel with you guys!

oh hi

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Hello everyone, my name is Zach, and I’m an ECL (English and Comparative Literature) major. I just transferred from Grossmont College with an AA on English/Creative Writing with a focus on novel writing, so this is my first semester in SDSU. I’ve been working on a sci-fi novel series and a ninja-based modern fantasy story for over a decade, gathering research and data for worldbuilding and improving my craft, but these aren’t the only genres I work with. I also specialize in writing dialogue for video games and wrote a few scripts for some indie ones.

Reading books is the last hobby I indulge in. I’m mostly playing video games (I saw a lot of posts mentioning games I’ve played), listening to music, watching anime, or arguing with ChatGPT about the authenticity of my characters and the plot of their lives. When I don’t feel like doing any of those, I read light novels and manga. I haven’t read novels for a while now, even though Tom Clancy and Rick Riordan has been in my shelf for a few years (and as I checked, I STILL haven’t read Ender’s Game either).

I was intrigued about Moby Dick when I first heard of it, until someone said it’s 800 pages or so. Um, if it’s about someone hunting a whale, why the heck is it that long? Taking this class finally answered that question I’ve had for as long as I started considering writing as a career path, and though it’s intimidating, I’d probably rather read it over making progress on my books…

I got hooked while reading this article.

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After reading The True-Life Horror That Inspired ‘Moby Dick’, written by Gilbert King, the one question I would pose for this blog is: Is the book Moby Dick as disturbed as the true-life stories that this article claims to be? And my answer for this is: probably yes. The reason why I think the book is going to be disturbing is that it was inspired by stories that actually happened in the past. The events of cannibalism are what disturbed me the most, not because of how disgusting it is, but because of the thought of what a human being could do when they have reached the lowest point in their life. In this case, it is starvation, which led to cannibalism. Coming back to the question, some might ask what disturbed elements would be in Moby Dick? I would theorize ‘hallucination’ and ‘mythical creatures of the sea’. I have never seen Moby Dick before, but I would say that the reason why these two elements exist in the book is that once the men reach the point of starvation, they will start to hallucinate to the point where they do not know if what they are seeing is real or not. They will hear voices speaking to them out in the sea, and they will probably encounter the sperm whale for quite some time. Perhaps they will meet mythical creatures that humans do not believe are real. Perhaps they will hear voices echoing out into the sea, and it will sort of lure them to join with the water. Coming back to the article, I like how King included a short paragraph of Melville’s life with his published novel, Moby Dick. It saddened me knowing that he suffered a lot while thinking his book is not worth the goal that he was aiming for. I believe nobody deserves to feel this way, and all of his effort in creating the book should be praised and remembered for generations to come. This article is actually a stepping stone for the book because it feels like I am getting a little bit familiar with the materials, and I really do hope I find a lot of hidden meanings while reading Moby Dick. And at the same time, I do hope the book contains dark elements that I mentioned above.

HI HI HI EVERYONE!

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Hi everyone! It is a pleasure to meet everyone!

My name is Darian Murillo. My pronouns are she/her/they/them, but I identify as gender fluid so it’s perfectly fine with whatever pronouns. I am a transfer student from San Diego City College and I’m majoring in English. My dream is to become an author and write about fantasy (my favorite genre) and express my feelings towards writing, but mostly be able to express myself creatively because I want to connect with people who maybe have similar passions or feelings when it comes to certain obstacles in life. I got back into writing after my grandma passed away, it helped me be able to let go of the anger and sadness I was holding onto, so now its become my salvation.

I have a passion for reading and writing , hence why I work in a bookstore (BEST JOB EVER!) so far my favorite books are the ACOTAR series, Jane Austen, Hunger Games, Fourth Wing and others. I love anime and K-pop, soooooo if anybody has recommendations let me know!!! I enjoy getting tattoos once in a while, but I mostly get anime and video game tattoos and they all have a different meaning to me. I have two dogs which we named Max and Rambo and three cats which we called Luna, Momo and Ume. I also love love LOVE MATCHA!!!!

I’m excited and nervous to be in this class and getting to understand more about Moby Dick because I want to challenge myself in order to understand more about classic literature.

Hello Hello HELLO

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What it do, My name is Howard, but you can call me Brock, but my family calls me by my chosen name… Dis-Appointment. I was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL until I was 19 years old and then I went off into the military where I lived and breathe the sea life for 10 years. Ive been to 26 different countries and lived in Spain for over a year! Anchors Aweigh my boy!

I don’t take myself or life too seriously, but I suppose I’ll try to approach this course as seriously as I can. I love to read, but my best reading and writing comes after I have had a bottle of Rosé in me, so please be aware that my future blog posts may show signs of me being half inebriated and possibly emotional.

I’m a very social person who loves to talk and listen to others. I love sex, drugs, and rock N roll (in that order)! My escape is the gym, where I go to be antisocial. It’s my way to let off steam and be in my own world for an hour or two, focusing, meditating, and working out these chest-ticles. I’m an open book, so please feel free to approach me and ask me anything. I do not get offended. I look like Tazran and sound like Jane, so it’s the best of both worlds.

I’m ready to “dive” feet first into Moby Dick. I say that now, but I’m sure I and half of the class may be regretting this later. Like Troy Bolton and Gabriella said, “We are all in this together!”

Hey Everyone! I’m Ashley

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I am an English and Comparative Literature major starting my junior year. I just transferred in from Mesa College. Although it is my first year since transferring, it is not my first year at SDSU. Years ago (longer than I care to admit) I attended SDSU fresh out of high school. I dreamed of being a writer. But a lack of self-confidence, combined with the pessimistic attitude of an 18-year-old led me to drop out. Now, after five years of chipping away at an AA in English, I have returned with a sense of optimism and a true desire to learn. In other words, I am SO excited to be here, but we’ll see how I feel in the middle of the semester.

Anyways, a little bit about the non-academic side of my journey, I was born and raised in San Diego. Specifically, the Pacific Beach community. I grew up surfing, playing tons of sports, and just always at the beach. My upbringing has made the ocean like a second home to me, sometimes even a first, and I am tremendously grateful for that. I have recently discovered a passion for doing triathlons, which may be evolving into a love for open water swimming. My last class at Mesa was a Marine Biology class. I wrote a short paper on sperm whales and have become fascinated with them. My dream is to free dive with sperm whales in Dominica. Overall, I am existing in a realm of self-discovery right now and absolutely loving it. Oh, for work, I’m in the restaurant industry. Bartender, server, barista, you name it, I’ve even worked the line. If you’re ever in PB you can usually find me at Kono’s Coffee cart. I’ll make you a pretty good coffee.

Introduction:

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Hello! My name is Athena; I’m a senior majoring in Native American studies and minoring in recreation. I’m a San Diego local but I often travel back and forth to visit my family on our tribal reservation. 

I’m a writer, currently working on an experimental novel involving; the undead, grief, time travel, my own tribal cosmology, and curses—ones that can be afflicted or born with. I’ve always loved writing, and I believe the best way to improve my own work is to study and analyze the classics. 

In my free time I enjoy drawing characters, playing with my lovely cats, altering and making my own clothes and mosh pits. My favorite book series of all time is the Hunger Games trilogy! I am equally excited and pre-devastated for the new movie—the book was brutal. 

I’m eager to partake in this class, despite the fact that I am terribly introverted. I tend to let my appearance speak for me—so I don’t have to, but I’d love to meet new people and learn why this book is so peculiar. 

Hello everyone, Im Sam.

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Hello, looking forward to getting know my classmates. Im Sam/Samuel, Im a transfer student coming from Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz. I’m a 3rd year and an English major and I’m very excited to dive into this world of Moby Dick and see what the hype is all about. I get scared of public speaking but Im super exited for the challenge. I want to practice public speaking more because that is a skill i would just love to have.

To talk about myself a little, I love to read poetry more than novels,,,, scary, I love T.S Elliot and Slyvia Plath, I love movies a lot too if my brain will be rest and focus but I love Wes Anderson. I love Lana Del Rey and Charli xcx.

Introduction

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Hello everyone! My name is Francisca and I am majoring in English. I was born and raised in San Diego and I am an incoming transfer from Southwestern College. I have always enjoyed reading since I was a kid, so I am excited to be reading Moby Dick and taking this class. Some things I like to do are listen to music, hang out with my sister, play video games and go to punk rock/hardcore concerts.

I am looking forward to reading this book and discussing it with you all!

Week 1 – Introduction: Fifty Shades of Jeannnnnne

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            Hi y’all, my name is Jeanne Taylor (she/her)! I’m majoring in both Film and English, hoping to be a director and writer. This is my last semester here so I’m hoping to really push myself this time around, doing as much as I can and all. I love writing and am so excited to see what experimental writing looks like, as opposed to an experimental film or screenplay. My films are typically about Queer Identities and Queer Self-Love, things I feel passionately about and look for in art everywhere. Moby-Dick, naturally, will be no exception! I hope to really dig into the novel and hope to find something I never expected, or perhaps something even more sour than once thought, if you will. I look forward to this class and cannot wait to begin to dig, as it were. Should be good!

For those wondering about my personal taste—there has to be one of y’all that’s wondering—some of my favourite films include Grave (dir. Julia Ducournau), Sibyl (dir. Justine Triet), Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (dir. Céline Sciamma), and, of course, I Saw the TV Glow (dir. Jane Schoenbrun). A little bit of body horror and some messy drama and broken hearts can’t really go wrong with it in my opinion, and even in my damned heart if we’re being real here. I adore experimental filmmakers like Maya Deren, David Lynch, other such beautiful names, I have not seen their films in what feel like forever. I would love to know some favourites of any of y’all, if anyone feels compelled to do such a wonderous thing as sharing about one’s tastes.