Harrison Hayford (1916–2001)

I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book going into it because some people had told me it was really boring--it was one of my "I'm *obligated* as a person educated about literature to read this book" additions to my library. But I turned out to really enjoy it. Parts of it were very exciting, the symbolism was intriguing, and even the "whaling manual" stretches I found interesting because I like it when books teach me about things I don't know anything about. The only times it lost me were when it went off on total tangents like "And now I'm gonna describe paintings people have made of whales!" Ishmael/Queequeg are my OTP, and I related just a bit too much to Ahab.… (more)

I read this in my first year at The Evergreen State College, in October 1982, under the guidance of Professor Bob Sluss, who loved this book, and so helped me to love it, too. I found a short essay I wrote in my Grinnell journal: "Call me Ishmael." Simply, yet strongly, Melville introduces his novel, Moby Dick. I am thoroughly enjoying that which I had so many assumed misgivings about The Christian allusions are confusing at times, but a web to unravel. Melville's descriptive style of writing brings the reader closer to the characters and situations, and adds humor an romanticism to his portentous story.

Melville's humorous allusion to Adam and Eve as "the two orchard thieves" and his story of Bildad using the Bible only to further his own practical needs, reveals, in part, his sarcasm and confusion about organized religion. His romantic style is revealed in the quote of "the landless gull" on the "Common Knowledge" page.

The life of a whaleman is tranquil at times - one hears no news and entertains no worries about the attainment of one's next meal. this reminds me of the time I've spent at a Wyoming dude ranch, eighty miles from the nearest large town. Often we didn't hear of the death of a notable person until days or even a week after the occurrence.
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When I rate a Norton Critical Edition, I don't usually rate it for the quality of the original work but for the quality of the NCE supplementary materials. In this case, I'll give the 150th Anniversary edition of Moby-Dick 4****, which is about average (or maybe just a little below average) in my NCE ratings.

This NCE of Moby-Dick has just a bit too much supplementary material devoted to critical reviews of Melville during his own lifetime, both pre-Moby reviews and reviews of Moby-Dick itself, along with lengthy pages of Melville's Moby-Dick source material. Unfortunately, as a result, there isn't as much current-day (late 20th century) criticism.

What there is of current-day criticism is generally quite good. As always, Camille Paglia makes for an interesting read. Walter Bezanson's "Moby-Dick: Work of Art" and Harrison Hayford's "Unnecessary Duplicates: A Key to the Writing of Moby-Dick" are also excellent reads, but John Wenke's "Ahab and 'the Larger, Darker, Deeper Part'" is as obscure as some of Melville's own text can sometimes be.

And a reminder. Moby-Dick is a single hyphenated name! (I hope I caught all the instances of hyphenation in what I've written above.)… (more)