In the Heart of the Sea

I had the opportunity to thoroughly study Moby Dick, Melville's epic masterpiece, while taking an American Lit class in Graduate school. To be honest, I was less than thrilled when I saw it was on the reading list for the class because of its length (600-700). However, as I began to read the novel, I found myself enjoying Melville's structure and thematic detail. I fell in love with Ahab's insanity, Ishmael's search for humanity, and the sacrifices made by men for the economical pursuit of oil. (Side note: I know that whaling is a hot topic. Oil, in the ground, had not been discovered and although barbaric, these men were doing a job. Also, if you've read the book, you know that there were men who felt that killing these sea monsters was unethical and inhumane.)
I ended up writing a thesis on Moby Dick that had nothing to do with whaling. My focus was on the biblical imagery found in the text. Nonetheless, to this day, I am still fascinated by the story, the themes, the characters, and the history that gave Melville the knowledge and expertise to write it. I was reminded of my obsession as I watched The Heart of the Sea, the true story that influenced Moby Dick. The movie was well done and was narrated by the one remaining survivor of the Essex and the man interviewing him, Herman Melville. To have been a fly on the wall in that interview. . .

"Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the loveliest tints of azure..... Consider all this; and then turn to this green, gentle , and most docile earth; consider them both, the sea and the land; and do you not find a strange analogy to something in yourself?" -Moby Dick by Herman Melville