Question #7 Allusions-Jessica Huff
Chapter 42 devotes itself to trying to describe Moby Dick in depth. It begins to examine the significance of Moby Dick especially since he is a white whale. Melville used many allusions to help the reader develop a sense of Moby Dick. This chapter is filled with allusions that can be categorized mainly into four categories: political, religious, cultural, and natural.
Political
-The old kings of Pegu
-The modern king of Siam
-The Hanoverian flag
-The Austrian empire
-Whitsuntide marshal
-Pizarro
Religious
-Persian fireworshippers
-Greek mythologies
-The great Jove himself
-The sacred white dog of the Iroquois
-The Great Spirit of the Iroquois
-Christian priest
-The vision of Saint John
-Adam
-Protestant
-White friars and White nuns
-The veil of Christian's deity
Cultural
-Romans
-Red Men of America
-White Steed of the Prairies
-Xerxes
-Froissart
-White Hoods of Ghent
-White Tower of London
-Byward Tower
-Bloody (Tower)
-The fairy tales of Central Europe
-The tall pale man of the Hartz forrest
-The imps of Blocksburg
-The native Indians of Peru
-The willful travelers of Lapland
Natural
-White polar bears
-White sharks
-Albatross
-Coleridge's poetry
-Albino man
-Nature
-White Mountains
-White Squall
-Blue Ridge
-White Sea
-Yellow Sea
-New England colt
-Black bison of Oregon
Overall, the reader begins to see the importance that Moby Dick's whiteness plays. Moby Dick's coloring induces mized emotions similar to the polar bear and the white shark. All of the animals are considered dangerous and ferocious, yet the coloring is white, which is the color of "celestial purity and love." Because of the enormous difference between the emotions experienced at the sight of the white whale, it seems even more frightening. People are unable to handle these emotions and fear it. This chapter also points out the power that Mody Dick has based upon all of the political allusions. In conclusion, this chapter gives the reader a better idea of Moby Dick.
-Jessica
posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 9:53 PM
1 Comments:
allusions good/conclusion lacks specificity. 4/5 What then does the whiteness of the whale mean when all the various allusions to white contradict each other?
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