"A Whale Ship Was My Yale College And My Harvard"
Context: Ishmael has signed up on the Pequod with his cannibal friend Queequeg for a whaling cruise. Now in a chapter called "The Advocate," he starts to set right some misapprehensions about the whaling industry: "As Queequeg and I are now fairly embarked in this business of whaling; and as this business of whaling has somehow come to be regarded among landsmen as a rather unpoetical and disreputable pursuit; therefore, I am all anxiety to convince ye, ye landsmen, of the injustice hereby done to us hunters of whales." He quotes statistics to demonstrate how much money is invested in and how much profit made from this industry. Then he answers such objections as "The whale no famous author, and whaling no famous chronicler?" "No good blood in their veins?" and "No dignity in whaling?" He concludes this chapter by saying:
. . . if, at my death, my executors, or more properly my creditors, find any precious MSS. in my desk, then here I prospectively ascribe all the honor and the glory to whaling; for a whale-ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.
