Scene on Three (8): Moby Dick

During my Moby Dick reading, I have been encountering some banter that at least can force you to smile. I have always expected Moby Dick as a serious reading, but I apparently was wrong, there’s a sense of humour too in this book. Well, I am now featuring this one on Scene on Three because it made me laugh (quite) out loud, just by imagining it!

Ismael was telling us in chapter 65 about how sperm whale (Moby Dicks’ ‘family’) meat was often served among the whale ships.

“In the case of a small Sperm Whale the brains are accounted a fine dish. The casket of the skull is broken into with an axe, and the two plump, whitish lobes being withdrawn (precisely resembling two large puddings), they are then mixed with flour, and cooked into a most delectable mess, in flavor somewhat resembling calves’ head, which is quite a dish among some epicures; and every one knows that some young bucks among the epicures, by continually dining upon calves’ brains, by and by get to have a little brains of their own, so as to be able to tell a calf’s head from their own heads; which, indeed, requires uncommon discrimination. And that is the reason why a young buck with an intelligent looking calf’s head before him, is somehow one of the saddest sights you can see. The head looks a sort of reproachfully at him, with an ‘Et tu Brute!’ expression.”

LOL!!!

By the way, if you haven’t read Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, or at least read/heard about his (Caesar, not Shakespeare) murder, you might not see the funniest part…. :)

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Jadi bagaimana cara berpartisipasi dalam Scene on Three :

• Tuliskan suatu adegan atau deskripsi pemandangan/manusia/situasi/kota dan sebagainya ke dalam suatu post.
• Jelaskan mengapa adegan atau deskripsi itu menarik, menurut versi kalian masing-masing.
• Jangan lupa cantumkan button Scene on Three di dalam post dengan link menuju blog Bacaan B.Zee.
• Masukkan link post kalian ke link tools yang ada di bawah post Bacaan B.Zee, sekalian saling mengunjungi sesama peserta Scene on Three.
• Meme ini diadakan setiap tanggal yang mengandung angka tiga, sesuai dengan ketersediaan tanggal di bulan tersebut (tanggal 3, 13, 23, 30, dan 31).

#OTR: Kitab Yesaya 5: Nyanyian Tentang Kebun Anggur

Bab 5 Kitab Yesaya langsung dibuka dengan nyanyian tentang kebun anggur, yang boleh dibilang perikop tercantik yang pernah kubaca di Kitab Yesaya; paling puitis, unik, dan emosional. Perikop ini tampaknya benar-benar aslinya merupakan sebuah nyanyian (dan itu terasa meski kita membacanya sebagai puisi biasa). Penggunaan ‘Kekasihku’ (si pemilik kebun anggur) yang di sini artinya Tuhan sangat terasa hangat.

Nyanyian ini menungkapkan perasaan Tuhan ketika umatnya (bukan hanya Israel saja) tetap kerasa kepala dalam dosa. Tuhan telah bekerja keras untuk “mencangkul, membuang batu-batu, menanam, mendirikan menara jaga dan menggali lobang untuk memerasa anggur”, namun tetap saja kebun itu (manusia) menghasilkan ‘anggur yang asam’. Maka jangan salahkan Tuhan kalau Ia sampai menghukum mereka (kita) karena kesabaran Tuhan pada saatnya akan ada batasnya.

“…dinantiNya keadilan

tetapi hanya ada kelaliman,

Dinantinya kebenaran

tetapi hanya ada keonaran.”

Setelah perikop yang indah ini, perikop berikutnya terasa ‘keras’ karena berisi kecaman Tuhan terhadap orang-orang yang suka berpesta pora, yang kebanyakan diawali dengan ‘Celakalah!’. Tak tanggung-tanggung pula hukuman mengerikan yang akan diberikan Tuhan:

“Sebab itu dunia orang mati akan membuka kerongkongannya lapang-lapang

        dan akan mengangakan mulutnya lebar-lebar dengan tiada terhingga,

Sehingga lenyap di dalamnya segala kesemarakan dan keramaian Yerusalem,

        segala kegaduhannya dan orang-orang yang bersukaria di kota itu.”

“Sebab itu seperti lidah api memakan jerami,

        dan seperti rumput kering habis lenyap dalam nyala api,

Demilian akar-akar mereka akan menjadi busuk,

        dan kuntumnya akan beterbangan seperti abu.”

Setelah semua itu, belum tuntas juga murka Tuhan, Ia memanggil bangsa-bangsa asing untuk menyerang Israel, dan hasilnya pun akan mengerikan:

“Pada hari itu mereka akan diliputi

        Oleh suara seperti suara laut menderu.

Jika orang memandang ke bumi,

        Sesungguhnya, ada gelap yang menyesakkan,

Dan terang menjadi gelap oleh awan-awan!”

Aku jadi membayangkan, seorang pemilik kebun, sebagai yang paling mencintai kebun itu, yang sudah menginvestasikan uang, jerih payah, waktu ke dalamnya, pasti adalah orang terakhir yang akan berpikir untuk merusaknya. Dan, bila ia sungguh merusaknya, pasti karena ia sudah amat sangat marah, dan kerusakannya pastilah amat sangat dahsyat, karena ia tidak akan melakukannya setengah-setengah. Ini bukan lagi keisengan belaka (seperti ulah anak-anak nakal misalnya), tapi si pemilik kebun melakukannya dengan hati dingin, penuh perhitungan, dan kebun itu pasti akan habis lenyap tak berbekas. Maka….mari kita bayangkan apabila Tuhan Yang MahaKuasa itu suatu hari berketatapan untuk merusak kebun anggurNya, betapa maha dahsyat lah kerusakannya, dan kengeriannya bahkan takkan mampu kita bayangkan! Itulah kiamat bagi manusia, tiada ampun lagi bagi kita….

When Business and Revenge Collide: Moby Dick Chapter 23 – 47

The whaling business

Ishmael highlights the prestige in whaling business despite of people’s underestimation. Whalemen even supply sperm oil for Kings and Queens’ coronation. Its spermaceti—wax obtained from the head of sperm whale—is also used as ointment and medicament. And that’s what makes sperm whale business is more prestige than other whales’.

The whaling crew

Here is the ‘rank chart’ of the whaling cruise on board of Pequod (from what I gathered so far):

Starbuck is the chief mate, seems to be a careful sailor, very brave—from brutal experiences—also the most experienced and educated person. Stubb the second mate is an easy-going, indifferent, and humorous person who is never seen without his pipe. While Flask the third mate is an ignorant but fearless person. Each of them picks a harpooner as his ‘squire’ when they are at work. And finally…the enigmatic Captain Ahab makes his first appearance on deck. He is a determinate man with erect figure and strong charisma. Stubb is the first who gets the ‘blow’ when Ahab is angry.

According to Ishmael, the harpooners should have ranked equally with the captain, however here in particular, Ahab has something ‘grandeur’ in him that makes him much distinguished. Moreover, in dining time, harpooners have their turns after the mates, so informally they are a lower partner of the mates.

The monomaniac Ahab

Ahab finally makes everyone understand that his real intention for the cruise is to take his personal revenge on Moby Dick, the famous White Whale, which has taken one of his legs. In fact it’s not just a bitter rage; in Ahab, the attack has given him a madness and monomaniac hatred. And so big is his hatred that he will do anything to hunt Moby Dick; he technically calculates and maps everything to locate it.

Starbuck doesn’t agree because Ahab has turned the whaling business into a violent revenge, but Ahab is too strong in character, that Starbuck has no choice but to obey. Nevertheless, Starbuck still has his conscience and a little hope to fight the darkness that begins to infiltrate the ship. In fact, each with his reaction, everyone on board feels the evil air surrounds them. Knowing how vulnerable his ambition among his men is, Ahab pretends to still have interest in the voyage’s original business, while at the same time keeps pursuing Moby Dick.

The legendary Moby Dick

Moby Dick, the White Whale, has become a legend among the whalemen. It is clever and has caused several accidents in the sea. Moby Dick is distinguished and recognizable because of its unique shape: the peculiar snow-white wrinkled forehead, the pyramidical white hump, and the shrouded blue streaks and spots which makes it looks whitish. The color white has much psychological value in different societies, but in Moby Dick, it has this divine, noble, and pureness aspect.

More mysteries

One of the crew hear human noises under the hatches. His friend hushes him at that time, but then, when the first sign of whales comes one night, the crews are surprised by the appearance of five Oriental men who turn out to be Ahab’s crew, smuggled into the board unknowingly by the bosses. And so, there is the first commotion in the ship when one of Ahab’s men finally sees the sign of whales.

My random thoughts

My favorite in this stint is Starbuck’s monologue in chapter 38. It reflects the uneasiness when we know that there is an evil intention within our group. It’s like the dark cloud that disturbs your pure soul. In the helplessness of facing the ‘devil’, he can only cries: “Oh, life! ‘tis now that I do feel the latent horror in thee! But ‘tis not me! That horror’s out of me! And with the soft feeling of the human in me, yet will I try to fight ye, ye grim, phantom features! Stand by me, hold me, bind me, O ye blessed influences!”  Here I really felt like reading a play!

About Moby Dick, it is always our world’s typical, that the unknown or the not-yet-visible would create such a mystic. It is the case also with Moby Dick: “Though in many of its aspects this visible world seems formed in love, the invisible spheres were formed in fright.”

And this got to be the most perfect quote to portray Ahab:

“God help thee, old man, thy thoughts have created a creature in thee; and he whose intense thinking thus makes him a Prometheus; a vulture feeds upon that heart forever; that vulture the very creature he creates.”

Previous chapters:

Chapter 1 -22

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Get Ready For Whaling: Moby Dick Chapter 1 - 22

[source]

Approaching the end of the year, Moby Dick would probably be the last book I’ll read for my WEM Project. This is a very interesting book, and I’m intending to chew it very slowly. As usual, I’ll begin with chapter posts—there are 135 chapters, by the way! I’ll post randomly every now and then, hopefully it will entertain you a bit before I get to my review… :)

Ishmael, the narrator

“Call me Ishmael” is probably one of the most memorable opening lines in literature. He is a sailor, used to work in merchant ships. He always loves the sea, and now is inspired to go for a whaling voyage. As Nantucket is the best and most famous place to go whaling (Nantucketers are the Kings of Sea!), there goes Ishmael. However, he must stay a night in New Bedford first, where he finds an old inn. The inn is fully occupied, but wait a second! If he just need a lodge for a night, would he share a bed with a harpooner staying there?, suggested the landlord. The harpooner turns out to be a cannibal, and this quite worries Ishmael, but he shares the bed nonetheless.

Meet Queequeg, the cannibal harpooner

After spending the night Ishmael finds with a surprise that, as a cannibal, Queequeg is very civilized, affectionate and polite. Walking around the town—and New Bedford is indeed a fine whaling town—Ishmael stops by a chapel. He is fascinated by the ‘ship-like’ of the pulpit’s construction which represents the relationship between the world and the Heaven. Now he realizes how whaling can be a mortal activity! And lo, how the chaplain—an ex-sailor—preaches on Jonah and his repentance so emotionally.

Now Ishmael, seeing how Queequeg, being a cannibal, could have such a kind heart, Ishmael finally binds a very intimate friendship with him. He can even tolerate Queequeg’s pagan worshiping and smoking-in-bed habit quite easily. Queequeg then tells a bit of his history; how he used to be a pagan Prince in his homeland, but dreamed to journey to Christendom. However here, he found disappointedly how wicked Christian people could be. Nonetheless, he takes Ishmael as an intimate friend now, and agrees to accompany him to Nantucket for whaling.

On board the schooner to Nantucket, Queequeg was humiliated by other passengers. But when the schooner is in danger, it is Queequeg nonetheless who becomes the brave hero and saves others. He gets respect, but keeps humble, as for him, helping others is a principle of being human.

On board the Pequod

Finally Ishmael closes the deal to sail with the Pequod, owned by Captain Peleg and Captain Bildad, and led by a mysterious Captain Ahab. Meanwhile Ishmael is fascinated—and a bit impatient—by Queequeg’s fanaticism in practicing his Ramadan fasting. The next day Ishmael and Queequeg register themselves as crew and harpooner in the Pequod. Queequeg is accepted finally despite of his being cannibal, but not before the owner’s efforts to Christianize him. Right after that a beggar-like sailor named Elijah warns them something more mysterious about Captain Ahab, that Ishmael begins to feel disturbed by every cloud surrounds their captain-to-be.

The Pequod is now equipped and prepared for the long journey, but….the enigmatic Captain Ahab has not yet appeared on board, and this grows Ishmael’s suspicion. Elijah wants to warn them further about Ahab, but declines for no reason. And so, the Pequod finally lifts its anchor and begins to sail, with only Captain Peleg and Bildad supervising. After certain point both captain are no longer needed on board, so they are dropped onto a sail boat, and off the Pequod starts its voyage across the Atlantic.

My random thoughts

The chaplain’s preach of Jonah’s repentance is probably the most interesting non-sailing aspect of these first chapters, especially this:

“All the things that God would have us do are hard for us to do, and hence, He oftener commands us than endeavors to persuade. And if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves, and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists.” –our and God’s will are always on the opposite sides, and only with humility one can truly repent.

“In this world, shipmates, sin that pays its way can travel freely, and without a passport; whereas Virtue, if a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers.” –which means, I guess, how the world praises money and status much more than morality. As long as you have money, everything is possible, whereas morality won’t earn you anything.

Queequeg is a clear example for it. He is ignored by the world; a pagan among Christians, yet he is much more ‘Christian’ in doings than most of those (who claim to be) civilized Christians. When Queequeg went for registration, Captain Bildad hesitated to accept him at first just because he was not Christian; it’s only one example of people prejudices.

Talking about bravery, not only in Queequeg’s heroic act on the schooner we can see it; I think Ishmael deserves a thumb at least for being brave to share a bed, and even a blanket, with a cannibal! If I was in his situation, I’d probably choose to sleep on the chair! LOL…

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

“People always think that happiness is a faraway thing, something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up; a place of shelter when it rains - a cup of strong hot coffee when you're blue; for a man, a cigarette for contentment; a book to read when you're alone - just to be with someone you love. Those things make happiness.” 

And that is what this quite-a-chunkster book speaks about. The main idea is rather cliché; that happiness is a universal feeling; that every human being can feel it if they choose to; that happiness is about the way of viewing things around you; that happiness can be fight for. Betty Smith teaches us to live a happy life through her own experiences, which she wove into this book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

A tree—a very strong tree indeed—grew alone in the building’s yard where the Nolans lives in poverty in Brooklyn. However, despite of the lack of means with which trees should have had to grow—it has even been felled once—it managed to survive and kept growing, while the others died. So it is in life, there’s always one kind of human race who could not easily be destroyed by hardship or poverty; these rarely human beings kept growing amidst the very limited chance. Francie Nolan is one of these kinds.

This book actually tells the lives and struggles of three generations of the Rommely’s women. It started from Mary Rommely—the grandmother—who immigrated to America with her useless but abusive husband. She couldn’t read not write in English but insisted that her children must be better than her. She also taught her daughters to save every penny they can save, and to use it to buy their own land. Mary practiced it herself, worked hard all her life, but she died poorly still.

Now Katie Rommely seemed to follow her mother’s step by marrying a useless but charming man: Johnny Nolan. Although she could at least read in English, she was nevertheless uneducated, again, because of the poverty. However, following her mother’s advice, she and Johnny worked hard to give highest education possible to their children: Neely and Francie Nolan. Now here is the resemblance of Francie and the strong-built Tree of Heaven. Throughout the story, you would be taken to witness how Francie strove from the poverty, the loneliness of being unique, and the strong need of love.

In many ordinary people, they would not make it better than the others, but Francie had her own way of going through all the hard times. She knows how to see the beauty of everything, and so she could always make herself happy. She could adapt to whatever there is around her. For instance, she knew her mother loved Neely more than her; it was a bitter fact for a child, yet she could endure it and still, at least, gave her mother a proper love and respect. In a way, her ‘dreamy’ father had a contribution to Francie’s imagination quality, and fortunately, she also inherited her mother’s toughness and practical way of living. With all these, Francie became the first of the Rommelys who could go to college and had a decent career.

In fact, there is nothing very special in this book. The story is flat and slow, there is no twist or complex conflict. It is just about uninteresting life of a family. But from their struggles, their mistakes, and their imperfectness, we can learn a lot of things. We can learn that being poor doesn’t mean we can’t have dignity. And the most important lesson I got from this book is that happiness is not about what we have, but how we see everything we have. With that, there is no reason why we cannot all be happy, in the end it’s just about the way of thinking, anyway. Be always grateful for whatever you have!

Four stars for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, it’s a kind of book you must chew slowly to get its best.

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*I read Indonesian translation edition from Gramedia Pustaka Utama*

*This book is counted as:*

9^th book for Historical Fiction Challenge 2013 -2015

11^th book for New Authors Reading Challenge 2013

7^th book for Read Big! Reading Challenge

58^th book for The Classics Club Project

Hamlet – Final Review

After reading Hamlet, I can officially announce that tragedy is my most favorite theme when it comes to plays. The story is more intense and there is less nonsense than in comedy. Although I tend to like historical tragedy (Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra, Saint Joan and Richard III are my favorites), Hamlet is good, and I quite like it.

Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. His father—Hamlet senior, the King—has just passed away, and now Denmark is ruled by Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother. Not only the kingdom, Claudius also took over the Queen—Gertrude—to be his wife. In his mourning, Hamlet was told by his friend Horatio that a Ghost that looked like the late King Hamlet has appeared lately. One night Hamlet saw, or rather met, the ghost of his father, who said that he has, in fact, been poisoned by Claudius while he was asleep, and he wanted Hamlet to take revenge for him.

Still unconvinced by the ghost, Hamlet arranged with a group of actors to perform a certain tragedy based on a story he wrote himself, the story of his father’s death (according to the ghost). Hamlet wanted to seek proof of Claudius guilt, and to justify his revenge plan. Claudius was angry and plannd to kill Hamlet, while Hamlet killed Polonius accidentally as he thought he was Claudius. Polonius’ son Laertes wanted to kill Hamlet to take revenge of his father’s death, and he was used by Claudius to kill Hamlet in an arranged duel, involving poisoned sword and poisoned goblet of wine. As in every tragedy, everybody died, leaving Horatio to tell the world the whole truth.

I like Hamlet for his smart tongue, it seems that he always wins from anyone who wants to pull something off him that he doesn’t freely give. His counter to Guildenstern’s unceasing pressing questions is one example. Hamlet insisted that Guildenstern should try playing a flute despite of the latter’s confession that he doesn’t know about melody. Hamlet then uses the flute playing to satirize his impending questions: “Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.” Clever!

And when he wasn’t roused by the passion for revenge, he could be quite romantic too I guess…

“Doubt thou the stars are fire,

  Doubt that the sun doth move,

  Doubt truth to be a liar,

  But never doubt I love.”

I wonder, did he actually love Ophelia? And if Claudius have not killed his father, would he marry her? Just playing “if”…. :P

His speech, when he and Horatio met a gravedigger, is quite interesting too; he talked about how men would all end in the same shape: skulls in the grave. It makes me reflect of how vain everything we think is important in this world, as it would be vanished when we are dead.

One rather contradictory thing: Hamlet did not kill Claudius when he caught the King praying. Is it a noble act? If refusing to attack someone unprepared is the reason, then I can see Hamlet as a gentleman. However, Shakespeare purposely wrote that Hamlet thought that killing a man while he was praying would hinder the victim from ascending to Heaven. Is this some moral conscience? But he was having revenge, which is against conscience. And he killed Polonius nevertheless (thinking he was Claudius) when he was hiding behind the tapestry, definitely unprepared. So why did the praying aspect make the difference?

Overall, Hamlet could be one of my favorite characters, if only he hadn’t taken Polonius’ accidental death rather lightly. I know that he didn’t mean that, and he must focus on his own mission, but I still think he didn’t care much that he has wrongly killed an innocent man. Well….is it possible that Hamlet, in his effort to be appeared crazy, has let his mind be poisoned with the revenge plot, as to become slightly unbalanced? Maybe….

Four stars for Hamlet, and this would be my last play I read for Let’s Read Play!

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I read e-book version from Feedbooks

This play is counted as:

 13^th book for Let’s Read Plays (October) theme: Shakespeare Tragedy

19^th book for What's In a Name Reading Challenge 2013

57^th book for The Classics Club Project

Hamlet – Second Level Inquiry (Rhetoric Stage)

By what the play is given unity?

By passion to conquer. The play is started with the death of King Hamlet after he won the land from Norway. Claudius poisoned King Hamlet to take over the Kingdom as well as the Queen. Hamlet was instructed by his father’s ghost to take revenge, which means, in a way, to take back what he (King Hamlet) has lost. Meanwhile, young Fortinbras was preparing to attack Denmark to take back the land his father lost from King Hamlet. So….everything is about the passion to take from others, or to conquer.

What does each character stand for? Do any of the characters stand in opposition to each other?

To me, Hamlet and Laertes are victims, victim of the passion to conquer that others do. And that’s what makes this play is tragedy. On the other hand, Claudius—the main antagonist—stands for the conqueror; greedy people who would do anything to get what they don’t deserve. In fact, Claudius is not alone, but in this case, he stands in direct opposition against Hamlet.

Does the playwright lead you into a satisfying resolution?

Yes. In term of revealing the truth, Horatio was very loyal to Hamlet, without him, the truth would never be revealed. As for Hamlet, maybe it’s better for him to die, because I think he would never be good again after all that had happened. He is a victim, yet he let himself to be dragged to that situation. So yes, I’m satisfied with the resolution.

What is the play’s theme?

First, that revenge produces nothing. A crime must be revealed, the criminal must be punished. But it would be in vain if our main intention is to seek revenge. Look at Hamlet, he used to be a happy man with good future. However, his father’s ambition to take revenge has ruined him; Hamlet has been poised by hatred that he could no longer think wisely. He then become an easy target of Claudius’ wicked plan. Laertes shared the same faith as Hamlet; if only both gentlemen worked together against Claudius, they would not be Claudius’ pawns and ended up tragically.

Second, that passion to conquer will only be followed by tragedy. Ironically, people know about it, yet they still let themselves to be its slave. Greedines….the no. 1 enemy of humanity!

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