This semester really flew by, and even though Moby Dick was such a long book, it seems not so long ago that we opened those first pages, ignorant to what would occur between the cover and the back. I really enjoyed getting back into the practice of close reading this semester. There were so many parts of the book I would have skipped over or not found relevant, but the structure of the class and discussion based part of the class allowed for me to see and explore parts of the book that I wouldn’t have on my own. I doubt I would’ve had the patience or motivation to read Moby Dick on my own, so reading it in a class and alongside others was helpful. I also really enjoyed hearing other people’s interpretations, and seeing how different backgrounds influenced people’s interpretations. 

This was an important book for me to read because, like many others, I have heard this novel classified as a great American book, a story of adventure, of hunting animals. And before this class, I accepted that as what the book was about. However, reading this book, and considering the historical and social contexts surrounding it, changed this idea for me. I am not sure what this novel is exactly, but understanding how these ideas of classic, adventure, canon are formed was important to me. It brings up the question of how any idea of anything important is formed and how and why we attribute value to the things we do. I think this is in part due to Dr. Pressman’s teaching style, since I felt the last class I took with her also prompted many questions in myself about how the world is formed and how little understanding we have of the things we think we understand as a society or within scientific domains.