if my patience was on empty for most LotR chapters (the first

youll make it to the whale phylogeny part and the just nope out

>>9222716
Read Camille Paglia's essay on Melville beforehand, I don't think I'd have grasped Melville without it. It's in her book Sexual Personae.
Melville is far greater than Tolkien. I love Tolkien, but he is a scholar, an academic, and his work shows that. Melville is far more raw, far more natural, far more a man's destiny.

>>9222895

can it be skipped over easily

>>9222991
No

C E T O L O G Y

E

T

O

L

G

Y

>>9222716
Yes, because Melville's language literally sucks off your earcock. It's that beautiful.

>>9223016

does it serve any purpose to the plot? or imagery / metaphor or whatever?

>>9222990
Read a real critic

>>9222991
Yeah. Generally speaking it alternates between one chapter of story, one chapter of Whaling history/ out of date biology. But why bother reading it if you're going to skip half the book?

>>9223028
Yes they all serve a purpose. A great deal of the meat of the books meaning is found in these chapters. Anyone who skips them has not appreciated Moby-Dick for what it is.

Cetology isn't even the worst chapter; wait til you read 10 pages describing paintings you could google.

>>9222716
> not having patience to read entry level fantasy like LOTR

You won't like Moby Dick. It's 100 pages in before they set sail from Nantucket, 200 pages in before you're introduced to Captain Ahab, 300 before any mention of Moby Dick and 500 pages in before they even see him.

Then there's the chapters on whaling, whale anatomy and the history of sailing.

It's a gorgeous, beautiful, gargantuan treat of a book and you won't like it, OP.

>>9223028
Yes, it often provides context into the next narrative-driven chapter as well as insight into the methods and motivation of some of the crew members.

>>9223070

t-t-thanks but just so you know, LotR wasn't too advanced for me, I just hated Tolkien's delivery

>>9222990
>Camille Paglia, "Moby-Dick as Sexual Protest"

>Paglia focuses her argument on sexual protest, or the dehumanizing of women. The most significant points int eh essay include the way in which Melville describes Moby Dick. He does not want to portray his whale as the female grossness of matter, as he does the squid, but instead wants to admire its vast size. By elevating the masculine principle, Melville is limiting female power. Whenever Melville gives the whale a feminine trait, he immediately cancels it by a masculine afterthought, such as violence or rape. Paglia goes on to talk about male bonding between Queequeg and Ishmael. Paglia argues that masculinity struggles for dominance thorugout the story of Moby-Dick. Women only really exist in Moby Dick through "bawdy banter." I have a hard time believing/agreeing with Paglia's Argument. It seems that it is hard to dehumanize women when they don't exist in a particular story.

Yeah, not gonna read this SJW bullshit

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>>9223472
>Camille Paglia
>SJW bullshit

>>9222716
>tolerate
>moby dick

Have you ever considered the possibility maybe literature isn't for you?

I found out lit what was for me when I actually liked the cetology chapter.

>>9223472
I said read Paglia, not a pleb-commentary on Paglia, you retarded squidhead

>>9223472
I don't really enjoy reading Paglia's work, but calling her a SJW is retarded

>>9222716
>be biology undergrad
>whales have been my favorite animal since early childhood
>tfw my favorite parts of the book are those that discuss cetaceology at length

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Call me maybe

>>9223092
>I just hated Tolkien's delivery
Not possible

>>9223492
>>9223584
>>9223594
>Moby Dick is about sexual dominance of women