Cecilia 

Moby Dick

            What can I say it is one of those books that is so rich that it would take years to explain and even then the way it is understood will keep changing as time passes.  Dr. Campbell said today that it would be 20 years and Moby Dick would be look and analyzed from the aspect of animal mistreatment.  I would like to address the idea that a person cannot find oneself when you are driven by one emotion.  It can destroy you and will only deliver your death.  When you face a blank space you will only know that your journey is at an end. 

            Ahab a character in the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville has inner daemons that he constantly fights with.  He is the corporal representation of madness and obsession.  He has a prosthetic stub of steel that he has in place of a leg.  This shows that nothing will stop him from his revenge and that is to destroy the beauty of an animal whose fault is creating a substance that many whalers seek.  Ahab wants to destroy goodness the wild pure thing that roams the seas as if he were the lord of the seas.  The sperm whale though it may be a pack animal can travel by himself.  Like Ahab Moby Dick is a loner who makes his own path and those who follow meet their doom.

            Ahab tries to find who he is but fails.  He is blinded by obsession and revenge.  With the death of Moby Dick he thinks he could finally be himself.  What he doesn’t realize is that killing Moby Dick is killing himself because Moby Dick has become a big part of his life almost the substance.  The substance that keeps Ahab semi sane through the voyage is Moby Dick.  Without him Ahab looses who he is.  Why when he met his for head with the whale he felt no connection?  That was because he could not see past any ones outside since we had been blind for many years that he himself could not recognize goodness.

            His loose of sight brings his death!

Cecilia

      

A Parallel Story

After class discussion I feel like Moby Dick written by Herman Melville is a parody of the Bible.  There are various references of the bible to it that sometimes take a bit of reading but eventually see that it is true. The beginning of the book starts with Ishmael the main character of the novel, saying he is grows tired of society  and on the seventh day he has nothing to do and decides to embark on adventure (Melville 18).  In the Bible we see that God is done creating the Earth and on the seventh day he rested.  The seventh day is seen as holy day by many Christians around the world.  At this point we are like well that doesn't mean anything.  If we go to read the book we discover passage that is very revealing and supports my argument.  In page 39 Ishmael observes that "in the morning any Christina would have washed his face; but Queequeg, to [his amazement] contented himself with restricting his ablutions to his chest, arms, and hands.  He then...commenced lathering his face" (Melville 39).  This quote provides another part of the bible where in the "Bible" the people who believed in God and Christ would be bathed in water to cleanse their sins.  Ishmael sees Queequeg's dirtiness and wildness as sinful and when he is cleansed sees him in a different light.    

As the novel continues and references various stories of the bible and parallel it I saw in class a passage that intrigued me.  The crews of the Pequod have just obtained a whale and Ishmael describes the ordeal.  Ishmael says,

            “…he must die the death and be murdered, in order to light the gay bridals and other merry-makings of men, and also to illuminate the solemn churches that preach unconditional inoffensiveness by all to all” (Melville 282).   

In the Bible we see that Christ is crucified, with his death he brings the happiness of men forgiveness for men kind.  In the passage above we see this creature be killed for the money that it can give these people.  The same happened with Jesus he was betrayed by a disciple and that disciple received a profit.  As I mentioned before Melville seems to write a story that parallels the Bible.  What could be his purpose?  It might be that he wishes to comment on the way of religion and perhaps the way to do it was by giving his opinion and hiding it between words.  Those who read his book thoroughly will see Melville’s opinions on various things. 

           

                      

Cecilia
9-13-12

The mask of a Cannibal

The word Cannibal usually describes those who eat their own kind.  In the text Moby Dick by Herman Melville we see “Cannibal” used to describe Queequeg, a fictional character, who is a native of a land where Cannibalism is performed.  In this text Cannibalism is given a persona, who is Queequeg.  Queequeg is this massive man that has distorted facial features.  He is described by Ishmael, the narrator of the story, as an outlandish man that just doesn’t fit in proper society.

In chapter 55 Ishmael describes cannibalism to be a thing that is natural process that happens in the sea and this is compared to the soul of man.  A soul is the essence of a person and could eventually eat the person metaphorically speaking.  Though Queequeg shows his cannibalism through a story we don’t truly know if he really eats people.  He tells Ishmael that in his country they cook and eat their enemies.  Is that really true?  Since we only hear Ishmael’s point of view we can’t tell if Queequeg was just saying this to mess with Ishmael.  Ishmael says that Queequeg likes to eat raw meat and has a way with washing and prayers.  This can all be a mask that Queequeg is putting up.

Why make people believe that you are a Cannibal?  This seems to work grate with Queequeg because he wants that reputation.  This can simply be for the purpose of people asking too many questions about his life.  He also gets to control what he tells people about himself.  Queequeg, in my eyes, becomes a great actor.  He is scary looking, carries a harpoon with him and has these facial features that are indescribable.  This all adds to his character when he is seen on the street people identify him as the cannibal.  Queequeg seems to fine with this because that is what he wants to show people.  Only with Ishmael we get a deeper look into who Queequeg might be.  We can see that Queequeg is devoted to his prayers and believes strongly in his little god.  Though he may seems like a harsh character we know better.  Queequeg shows his more tender side when he is in bed with Ishmael and they get close to each other like children to tell each other spooky stories. 

Though the mask Queequeg wears is horrifying we are able to see that it serves him for great purposes.  People are least likely to  go against him and tend to allow more things because they are afraid of the unknown.

Cecilia Cuevas

September 6, 2012

English 368_01

Post #2

Deceiving Looks

At the beginning of her story Alcott introduces us to a Miss Jean Muir who is to become the governess of Bella Coventry.  The family remarks how young, beautiful and delicate she is and hides it under a dark cloak. 

The cloak becomes a mask for a mask.  In the case of Miss Jean we see her without her cloak which is one of her mask the image she presents, is the one that will catch the eye of those around her.  In the case of the men in this story they all fall under the spell of her beauty.  Her first look at Gerald tells us that there is a darker side to this woman.  Alcott allows her readers to see it by taking us to a scene where the clocked beauty is a witch in appearance.   Jean says “Come, the curtain is down, so I may be myself for a few hours, if actresses ever are themselves” (Alcott 11).  She transforms in an instant in front of our eyes.  Jean seems to talk to us directly and inviting us to be her audience and observe her malice.  This immediately should have been our “oh” moment where we see a twist in the plot. 

The look that Jean portrays infers that society in those times warmed up to a beautiful face faster than an ugly one.  She even explains how she has to wear this custom that society likes or otherwise be rejected.  The reason why society looked at beauty in such a way was that according to previous reading a woman was to be delicate, beautiful, submissive and house maid.  This look only gives power to the character Jean.  She uses it to its fullest capacity and creating this image within her arrival as mentioned earlier. 

How does this make her powerful?  She is able to use this identity to obtain what she wants.  Her ultimate goal is to have a title and wealth.  Her looks becomes her weapon or tool to obtain that goal.  One look and the Coventry men will fall to their knees to profess their undying love for her.  Though her looks were deceiving her employers her words reveal her true nature and coming event.  She tells Ned at some point “Think of me what you will, but beware of me in time, for against my will I may do you harm” (Alcott 45).  This was Edward’s chance to be unhurt but he made his own decision to not listen. 

Which mask will be the last one that will finally reveal Jean?