Yes, I read "Moby Dick" the entire way through. It was required for my American Literature class this semester and I have to say . . . it was HORRIBLE!The story itself is wonderful (and very sad) but Melville found it necessary to include every detail about every thing ever mentioned in this book. There are complete chapters on: the whale, the tail of the whale, the eyes of the whale, the rope used on the whale-ships, the harpoon, how the blubber is removed from the whale after it is killed, etc. etc. etc. for a grand total of 135 chapters! Not fun.
But! I do have to say I feel pretty proud of myself for having read it. And now that I'm done reading it, I'm really enjoying being able to talk about it. This book is overflowing with symbolism and Bible imagery. Everything stands for something else and each character is unique and interesting.
I wouldn't recommend reading this one unless you have a lot of time, a lot of patience, and a willingness to learn more about whales and whale-ships than you ever thought possible. Even then . . . it's not the best choice. But being able to say you've read it is pretty cool! Maybe not worth the hours it took to get through, but for an English Lit nerd like me, this is what cool looks like.
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:)
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