Bits of Life 2

M-6 Words-975

thus:
“"He's a grand, ungodly, god-like man" who nevertheless "has his humanities".

Interestingly, the chief mate is a thirty-year old named Starbuck. Captain Ahab announces that whoever spots Moby Dick will get a doubloon as reward. He hangs on a plug right on the deck within everyone’s sight. He tells them that he seeks revenge against the giant white whale because it bit off his leg from knee down and caused him to suffer from a prosthesis fashioned from a whale's jawbone.

Starbuck retaliates saying, he wouldn’t like to lose his life for the sake of captain Ahab’s revenge motive. Despite disapproval he had no option other than following the captain’s directions.

Moby Dick is spotted and, over the course of three days, engages violently with Ahab and the Pequod until the whale destroys the ship, killing everyone except Ishmael. Ishmael survives by floating on Queequeg’s coffin until he is picked up by another ship, the Rachel.

The novel consists of 135 chapters, including the epilogue and the front matter.

How did Captain Ahab meet his watery grave?

The sperm whale Moby Dick was spotted near Japan and Ahab keeps chasing it. He tried to kill it with his harpoon and two of his mates were caught in it and were drowned. His small whale boat capsizes and but luckily they return to safety and the boat was righted. Starbuck warns him not to attempt is because to him it looked suicidal.

But Ahab goes ahead and aAt the final throw of the harpoon, Ahab is caught in the line and he is hanged and drowned with his own rope. Moby Dick turns and smashes the ship Pequod and caused it to sink. Everyone is killed except Ishmaeal. It seems he escapes death in order to “tell the tale” by floating on till he reaches the safety of another ship called Rachel. This marks the end of the novel.

What is he the symbolism of Moby Dick?

Moby Dick is a complex allegory which explores existence, human nature and the dominance of nature.
The white whale Moby Dick represents the mysterious nature which is powerful and beyond the control of human beings.
Captain Ahab is a symbol of extreme, obsessive and egotistic nature of man who for the sake of his personal revenge leads his crew to death at sea.
The ultimate truth cannot be missed. It is futile to fight against nature. For a mortal it is a self-destructive goal.

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Almost a hundred years later, Earnest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea was published in the year 1952.

The differences between Melville’s Moby Dick and Hemingway’s The old man and the sea were obvious and impressively different from each other.
Both Captain Ahab and the old man Santiago fight the huge sea creatures. But they significantly differ in theme and tone.

Moby Dick is a long novel about man’s destructive nature to wreak revenge on the white whale.

The Old Man and the Sea is a short, realistic novella focused on honorable endurance, respect for nature, and finding dignity in failure.

It focuses on the idea that "a man can be destroyed but not defeated," as Santiago gains inner peace and dignity despite losing his catch.

Ernest Hemingway was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature specifically for his mastery of the art of narrative, in The Old Man and The Sea.

The novel, which also won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize, helped solidify his legacy and proved his skill as a writer after critics thought his career was finished.

One of the most honored and read novelist in the annals of American Literature is Ernest Hemingway.

He was an iconic American writer known for his sparse writing style and adventurous life. Some of famous works, such as "The Old Man and the Sea" and "A Farewell to Arms," delve into themes of courage, loss, and resilience, securing his place in American literature.

We had this book for our exam in the post graduate class. Our Professor(bless him) had explained the underlying themes, the symbolism and the trendsetting style and language of Earnest Hemingway.

He died at the peak of his excellent career proving the tragic ethos of human beings. It is no use delving into the reasons why he committed suicide. There are several levels on which this happened as I have learned later.

Whatever be the kind of end he had, he left a rich legacy of literature for the world and for the Americans particularly to feel proud about.

We have noted his four rules of writing.
Use Short Sentences. Hemingway insisted writers use short sentences. ...
Use Short First Paragraphs. (See the beginning of this blog post.) ...
Use Vigorous English. ...
Be Positive, Not Negative. ...
He followed what he said about writing.


A number of his quotes are relevant and inspiring.
"The way to make people trust-worthy is to trust them." ...
"When people talk listen completely. ...
“But man is not made for defeat… ...
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” ...
“Forget your personal tragedy.
I was told to follow his method of writing, short and meaningful sentences. Edit, edit and edit more to make a perfect piece of story essay or nonfiction.
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Indo- English Literature was a part of our curriculum.
Indo- English literature is defined as literature produced by the Indians. English was introduced in India after the colonial regime began and it almost became a national language before Independence on August fifteen ninety forty seven.

First-generation Indian writers in English (mid-19th to early 20th century) established Indian English literature, often blending colonial education with nationalist sensibilities. Key figures include Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (Rajmohan's Wife, 1864, first Indian English novel), poets Toru Dutt and Henry Derozio, and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.


Rajmohan’s Wife-
This is the first Indian Novel in English