Ishmael's affectionate scorn for the sub-sub is one of my favorite parts of what we read this week. Even wine can't warm him, not at all like Ishmael, that personification of manly virility. When Ishmael feels sad he takes to the sea and quaffs with sailors (who for some reason are kind of awkward around him idk why.) Not like these sub-sub librarians who are basically a human ctrl+F key. A mopey one.
I also love the Hawthorne-drop in the middle of that section. If Hawthorne exists in this universe, does that mean Melville is also there, writing him love letters somewhere? I can't decide if it was just name-dropping a friend or an intentional breaking-of-suspension-of-disbelief. Melville always strikes me as the kind of writer who likes to mess around with the distance between writer-narrator-reader so I'm somewhat inclined to guess the latter.
Ishmael is my favorite narrator. I mean, I wouldn't want to be friends with him because he DOES. NOT. SHUT. UP. But if you're in the right mood, it's fun to immerse yourself in his weirdness. He has kind of an off-the-wall sense of humor, but he's also so earnest about everything.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2016-01-12 02:01 am (UTC)I also love the Hawthorne-drop in the middle of that section. If Hawthorne exists in this universe, does that mean Melville is also there, writing him love letters somewhere? I can't decide if it was just name-dropping a friend or an intentional breaking-of-suspension-of-disbelief. Melville always strikes me as the kind of writer who likes to mess around with the distance between writer-narrator-reader so I'm somewhat inclined to guess the latter.
Ishmael is my favorite narrator. I mean, I wouldn't want to be friends with him because he DOES. NOT. SHUT. UP. But if you're in the right mood, it's fun to immerse yourself in his weirdness. He has kind of an off-the-wall sense of humor, but he's also so earnest about everything.