My Fellow Whalers I Love You

My fellow whalers I love you

"That glad, happy air, that winsome sky, did at last stroke and caress him; the step-mother world, so long cruel—forbidding—now threw affectionate arms round his stubborn neck, and did seem to joyously sob over him, as if over one, that however wilful and erring, she could yet find it in her heart to save and to bless. From beneath his slouched hat Ahab dropped a tear into the sea; nor did all the Pacific contain such wealth as that one wee drop."

To me this is one of the most moving passages of the whole book so far. The visual of the of the cruel and indifferent universe hugging Ahab and that allowing him to cry a single tear. That tear being more valuable than the entire Pacific.

"The harpoon was darted; the stricken whale flew forward; with igniting velocity the line ran through the grooves;—ran foul. Ahab stooped to clear it; he did clear it; but the flying turn caught him round the neck, and voicelessly as Turkish mutes bowstring their victim, he was shot out of the boat, ere the crew knew he was gone."

Holy shit the way Melville kills Ahab.

i wake up feeling back to normal -> get out of bed and gets ready -> i'm tired again ):

i think i finally got covid, lost my sense of smell and taste. haven't had fever for almost five days, but i'm still so goddamn tired. starting to get stressed out about missing classes urgh

"of the broken keel of Ahab’s wrecked craft the carpenter made him another leg"

Yeah sure why not let's throw another omen on the pile

Starbuck is wishing so so hard that he'd killed this maniac when he had the chance

does anyone have that unsettling oil painting of a dark window with a sheet leading out into the darkness? it did the rounds on tumblr a while ago and i need itttt