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cirrus-grey · 1 year ago

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I know it's kind of the point, the passions of man versus the indifferent cruelty of nature, but it is amazing to me how much the Whale in Moby Dick just does not give a fuck.

The whole book sets it up as this malicious, intelligent demon that has it out for humans and wants to kill them all, and then when the Pequod finally catches up to it it's just... puttering along, enjoying the weather, having a grand old time. Even after they attack it and it destroys one of the boats it just kind of sits in the water nearby swatting at debris with its tail and ignoring them. Even at the end, the final destruction of the ship and deaths of all the crew, it kind of just has this attitude of like. Hey. You. I thought I told you to fuck off. Like -

Ahab: From Hell's heart I stab at thee!

The Whale: Oh, not you again. 🙄

#yes yes themes and symbolism but. its also really funny.#moby dick #moby dick spoilers #original post #i kid but that was a really gripping ending #one of those books where you read it and go‚ oh yeah i can see why this is a classic #...but also‚ oh wow writing styles have changed since then #556 pages to Hunt The Whale. 5 pages to Realize We Fucked Up. 1 paragraph epilogue.#barely any mention of our narrator or his [boy]friend at all during the final chapters #multiple long ass speeches bringing the action to a screeching halt #and a ~dramatic metaphor~ to finish it all off #anyway. glad i read it‚ would recommend to others‚ but certainly not what i expected going in

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