Chapter 16- Kate P, Patrick C, Kyle S
Ishmael, after arriving in Nantucket, encounters three ships who are about to set sail on a three year long voyage. Ishmael chose to travel on the Pequod along with his comrad Queequeg. Herman Melville briefly mentions the destruction of the Pequots, an indian tribe/fort, as an allusion to the name of Ahab's ship, the Pequod. Captain Peleg is one of the main owners of the Pequod and is in charge of hiring the ship's crew. The word "peleg" actually means "division." Ishmael described the old man that he saw wearing a cloth "cut in the Quaker style." Quaker is a common name used to classify people who were involved in the Religious Society of Friends. The quote "what dost thou want of him?" translates into "what do you want of him." This type of speaking is common in the old English speaking folks. Captain Ahab is the crazy, egocentric captain of the Pequod. Captain Ahab represents and resembles the characteristics of an ancient hero (has a single fatal flaw:confidence) in the sense that he believes he is immune to the forces of nature. It is apparent that he thinks this because he is very overconfident and believes that his fate is to destroy the "evil" White Whale. Captain Bildad is also an ex-Quaker and partial owner of the Pequod. He is stingy when discussing ishamel's wage. Ishmael is drawn to Captain Ahab for some strange reason that he is not aware of. He says that it is not awe, but perhaps it is admiration or curiosity that makes him want to find out more about the Captain.
kate pennebaker patrick collins kyle smith
posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 8:02 AM
1 Comments:
Your research is fine, but what does it all add up to? What sort of tone does a set of Quaker captains create? Why the use of biblical names (regardless of what they mean)? What does this say about the nature of this society? What sort of expectations are created by presenting Ahab "off-stage" before we actually meet him? These are the phenomena of the scene, its world, the way it feels to the reader. LO
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