Need help with Moby Dick.

[RichardHresko]

One of the things to keep in mind is that the expectations of the reader in the 19th Century were different than those now. This is both a good and a bad thing, I suppose. Bad because there is stuff we find excruciating now that was great then. Good, since it invites us to put aside how we are now accustomed to how a story should be told and look at story-telling from another angle.

Why is there so much detail in Moby Dick? Well, in part, to give credibility to the story -- Melville was selling this and other stories on the idea that he had been there and done that. (In a way he is a kin of Hunter Thompson -- now wouldn't that be an interesting paper!) Also, it helps develop the idea of how bizarre Ahab's idea is, when put against the prosaic. Also, in the days before TV, these chapters were the equivalent of the Discovery Channel.

Interestingly, the book was originally a flop, so your appraisal was shared by many readers in the day.

[Mojo Pin]

Here's why Moby Dick is a stunning piece of literature - Melville creates a piece of writing that delves into some very intense metaphysical ideas - the key question Moby Dick asks is this: What is real, and how do you know?

If you pared the book down to the "action" or "narrative" chapters (the ones where something "happens"), then it becomes a simple adventure story of not much literary weight. Trust me on this: those "useless" info chapters function in the "background" of the story to carefully fill out the larger thematic points Melville wishes to make. Literature is rarely about "what happens" and all about characters and ideas. There's no point in reading just the chapters where whales are being killed or chased - because Moby Dick isn't really about a big white whale. If you think it is, you need to read the book again (which, luckily, will improve your chances of seeing Melville's grander master plan). Good luck

I agree when you say that "Literature is rarely about "what happens" and all about characters and ideas". BUT: the great author is able to weave these two things together, instead of hopping from the adventure story narrative into long rantings about his ideas. A novel, in the end, is meant to be a pleasant read, whatever the "ideas" the author wants to share with his public. A perfect example of such an author that manages to write highly readable multi-layered stories is Salman Rushdie. Melville, I'm afraid, is not.