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"for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending."

Lovely.

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Thanks for sharing that one. I think that line is particularly beautiful as well.

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On first read I think it is 'cracked' that makes the impact: I imagine the crack of a whip from authority figures, the cracking timber masts, the crack of Ahab's leg bone as the whale bites. The word evokes a lot of different sounds, even the background creaks and groans of the ship and crew shouting and sea storms. Once drawn in though, 'dreadfully' takes over for me: its literal foreboding, the word's place at the near-end of Act 1 at the end of the novel's set-up, the mystery surrounding Ahab, and the risks and dangers of the whaling expedition all escape into the subconscious through the crack. I guess it's also worth adding that this is a sentence fragment; that the whole sentence is promoting a view of religious tolerance which this fragment drives home with, some may say, the crack or break inferring a Christian notion of original sin and religion (any religion) acting as cure for us broken humans. But I prefer to side-step the religious debate and just let 'dreadfully cracked' reach out from 19th century, re-purposed today as a comment on the prevalence of uncertainty and lack of control which many (not all) feel. No idea whether Melville intended this and yes, I have just been mowing the lawn and doing the washing and letting my thoughts drift :-) Loving this way of reading. Thank you for putting it all together.

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" Devil-dam, the Tit-bit, and the Pequod. Devil-Dam, I do not know the origin of; Tit-bit is obvious; " ummm, does this mean what I think it means? Or am I reading with a 21st century boob joke lens?

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lmao, i did not even catch that. but i think you're right?!

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"I respect all religions, even the stupid ones." -- Ishmael, basically.

Father Mapple encouraged Ishmael to surrender wholly and joyfully to God's authority. The captains Peleg and Bildad echo that. They both keep warning Ishmael there's literally nothing here for him, not money or worldly sights -- just surrender to this job. By contrast, the "savage" Queequeg is like, "Make your own decision about which ship." He's a lot more contented and individualistic than the Christian characters we've met.

These comparisons remind me of Ishmael's thing about being cold. "...there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast." Even Peleg's description of Ahab is like this. "He's sick but not SICK-sick. He's educated but weird, and he's a good guy but not as good as Bildad. He's nuts but like not really, though. He's moody and hates everyone, but he's got a family so relax."

PS. I'd wondered if the name Peleg was meant to evoke "peg leg." Turns out, it's Hebrew for "little river," and shares a root word with "sailing." And Bildad is, according to my copy's footnotes, another Biblical name, one of Job's comforters.

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Thought the same about Peleg/Peg leg.

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“They are fighting Quakers; they are Quakers with a vengeance.”

I love this line.

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