Am I the only one?

[Anonymous No.10458773]

This stupid book is kicking my ass. I’m no stranger to literature but I’m trying to go back and read some essentials that I never really got to. I’m having a hell of a time understanding what exactly Melville is trying to say sometimes.

Am I the only one? Am I actually an idiot? I’m surprised this bad boy is giving me trouble. Any tips? Should I skip it for now and come back to it later?

[Anonymous No.10458782]

>doesn't post the name of the book

[Anonymous No.10458787]

>>10458782
>being such a brainlet
Why do you even browse /lit/?

[Anonymous No.10458792]

>>10458787
s-sorry dad I'll try harder next time

[Anonymous No.10458796]

>>10458782
Well it's a book about a big whale by Melville. Hopefully that will narrow it down a little

[Anonymous No.10458797]

>>10458782
it's the old man and the sea

[Anonymous No.10458802]

Maybe you should have paid attention in sunday school you dimwit.

[Anonymous No.10458816]

>>10458773
>understanding what exactly Melville is trying to say sometimes

The metaphorical nature of this novel is overstated, it is the thematic overlay that Melville borrows so liberally from British high lit. Just read the book and watch what is happening.

[Anonymous No.10458820]

>>10458773
I'm reading Mobi Dicc rn and quite like it, I don;t see the big issue, his bible references are not terribly obscure. Even if you don't have the book of Job or whatever memorized you should be able to understand

[Anonymous No.10458890]

It’s not that I don’t understand the references. I don’t understand his prose.

[Anonymous No.10459021]

>>10458782
Are you a retard?

[Anonymous No.10459058]

>>10458890
This is pretty much impossible for me to comprehend. It is fairly clear 19th century American prose.

[Anonymous No.10459061]

>>10458890
I don't understand you, do you have trouble with vocabulary?

[Anonymous No.10459065]

>>10458773
You're asking me how a clock works. For now, let's just keep an eye on the time.

[Anonymous No.10459073]

>>10458890
yeah this is really post-modern obscurantist prose right here.

[Anonymous No.10459135]

>>10458773
>>10458782

[Anonymous No.10459581]

>>10458782
Something something about Dicks

[Anonymous No.10460552]

>>10459058
>>10459061

Possibly the vocabulary, yes. Just finished the the Cetology chapter, which was fine. But the chapters after that which have to do with chain of command, and then dining, I feel like he's giving some insight into the characters but I don't understand what he's saying about them.

I won't pretend to be well educated. I'm a 30 year old plumber. Haven't been to school since I was 18. I just want to get into literature as I feel it's my favorite way of learning and thinking about things that don't have anything to do with work.

[Anonymous No.10460572]

>>10459073
See, this stuff is straight forward. It's when Ishmael starts blabbing and getting long winded. The "O! Ahab" dramatic stuff. It reads like Shakespeare which I never understood either.

I know the only way to get better at understanding what I'm reading, is to continue reading. Which is what I'm doing. I just hope it clicks eventually.

[Anonymous No.10460581]

>>10458782
>>10458792
>he's actually not trolling
holy fucking shit

[Anonymous No.10460737]

>>10460581
I’m just thankful he got in here right away and made my retarded post seems not as bad in comparison.

[Anonymous No.10460770]

>>10460552

You sound like a really down to earth guy. Don’t let the faggots get you down. Melville was a brilliant writer and his prose is hard to parse out if you’re unfamiliar with very decorative language. It’s a bit of a tall order, but what might be best is muscling your way through each chapter and then reading it over again when you’ve finished. Once you’ve read it once, the second time through should be a bit easier. If it’s still too difficult, then perhaps read something that is similarly poised in its language. I’m currently reading The Sorrows of Young Werther, and it too has some decadent language. Maybe that would be good to read first?

t. Probably a brainlet as well.

[Anonymous No.10460810]

>>10460770
Thanks for the help and kind words man. I’ll definitely check that out.

[Anonymous No.10461508]

>>10458773
Listen to this while you read it.

[Anonymous No.10462283]

>>10458773
Melville is hard. I've read Barnaby and it was like trying to parse poetry. I'm not ready for Moby Dick

[Anonymous No.10462303]

>>10458773
Does this help?

[Anonymous No.10462920]

>>10458782
so this is the power of /lit/....

[Anonymous No.10462938]

>>10458782

[Anonymous No.10462960]

>>10462303
well, now im listening to the album.

im so ashamed i forgot about it

[Anonymous No.10462962]

>>10458782
infinite jest

[Anonymous No.10462982]

>>10460552
This is what lack of pretence looks like /lit/.

Fuck you all for being snobs.

[Anonymous No.10464231]

>>10458773
>I’m having a hell of a time understanding what exactly Melville is trying to say sometimes.
Then Melville was bad at explaining things and the work is bad art.

[Anonymous No.10464442]

>>10458782
It’s Leviathan by Mastodon.

[Anonymous No.10464457]

>>10462982
this would only be true if the prose in the novel under discussion was actually difficult

[Anonymous No.10464470]

>>10458782
Tony Penis

[Anonymous No.10464494]

>>10458782
Are you fucking kidding me?

[Anonymous No.10464539]

>>10458773
*SPOILER*

It's about whales.

Don't feel bad, OP. Not everyone was born to read.

[Anonymous No.10466201]

>>10464231

[Anonymous No.10466896]

>>10460552

Good for you, dude. Good literature will improve your life. Don't feel badly if there are realms of prose beyond you currently and maybe start with something more digestible. It's to be expected that a classic like Moby Dick (which has a reputation for difficulty, even among classics!) might give you pause. After all, you can't play a complex melody without learning individual chords first. But the effort is well worth it. Our minds themselves are formed by language and internalizing the themes and lessons and characters of great literature enables one to better understand both other people and their own path in life.

[Anonymous No.10467866]

Thanks for the encouragement everybody.

I think my main problem is that most of my reading is usually done while distracted. During quick breaks at work and what not. When I finally sat down this morning to get some pages under my belt I was having a much easier time.

[Anonymous No.10467913]

>>10460552

if you read a chapter and have no clue what is going on, you could always just read a summary of the chapter online, then read the chapter again. if you can't decipher something then it can just get more frustrating and boring if you keep trying without any external help

[Anonymous No.10467958]

>>10458782
Holy...

[Anonymous No.10467961]

>>10458802
... hm?

Oh no
Anon

[Anonymous No.10467992]

>>10458773
I’ll go easy on you, OP.

Firstly, Moby-Dick is an intensely symbolic and metaphorical work which questions the nature of symbols and identity itself (Ahab has to “strike through the mask” to get to the truth of any matter). What Moby-Dick actually represents isn’t a single definable thing so much as a collection and amalgamation of forces beyond mans control which ultimately dictate his life (See the Prologue and The Whiteness of the Whale). At its core, Moby-Dick is about the vain pursuit of attaining knowledge and mastery over nature, both in ourselves and the world as a whole. Thus Moby-Dick represents A deistic and detached God, or rather nature or fate itself. As Ahab muses, “Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts this arm? But if the great sun move not of himself; but is an errand-boy in heaven; nor one single star can revolve, but by some invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I. By heaven man, we are turned round and round in this world, like yonder windlass, and fate is the hand spike”

Ahab is Heroic evil, his pursuit to attain knowledge and master over his own fate(i.e.-Slaying moby-dick) is noble, but the cost he and his crew pays is an evil result due to his selfish list for knowledge.

This is Moby-Dick 101. Hopefully that gives you a better idea of what you’re reading