Moby-Dick: Chapters 1-7

"There is magic in it."

I love Rockwell Kent’s illustrations for Moby-Dick

Hello readers!

How are we doing after our first week of reading? Right out of the gate, I was reminded how utterly unique this book is. Starting with etymology and “extracts” (basically a super long epigraph) showed us the level of detail — and obsession — that we can expect in this book.

The style is unlike anything else. It’s lyrical and poetic, but also stilted, verbose, and not grammatically correct at times. I don’t even quite understand it in places. And yet it works beautifully. Some of the sentences are just stunning.

Now remember, this isn’t a scholarly assessment of Moby-Dick — this is a group of readers trying to make sense of an all-time classic that’s been known to be difficult to get through. Below, I’ll walk through why I loved the first chapter so much, as well as a couple other notes.

In the comments, let me know what you thought of this first week of reading. I’d love to hear.

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The Pull of Water — and Simplicity

Ishmael

I loved the first chapter. My goodness what a beautiful opening and introduction to our narrator, Ishmael. (How interesting that the line “Call me Ishmael” implies that it may not be his real name.)

“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul . . . I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.”

Ishmael is feeling down, having some kind of crisis of the soul, and decided it was time for him to hit the water. While he later describes the pull of the sea as a universal feeling, it’s also particular to him. In his time of need, he knows what can restore his soul and seeks it out.

“If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.”

“There is magic in it.”

Indeed, there seems to be a cosmic pull of humans towards water. It’s no surprise, given its importance in our biology and survival, but there’s also perhaps something more elemental about the draw:

“Yes, as every one knows, meditation and water are wedded for ever.”