Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A photographic negative of the New Testament, August 5, 1997
By A Customer
Pick your favorite Holy Book, say, the New Testament. What does it do? Why, it tells you how to gain happiness and eternal fulfillment, and illustrates the consequences of those who follow those rules. Yes, it examines the state of those who disobey, but its focus is on the reward for action.Now look at Moby Dick. What does it do? Why, it tells you how to destroy your life. Page by excruciating page, it dissects and exposes the annihilation of Captain Ahab, a man destroyed not by a whale, but by his own consuming hatred and obsession for revenging himself upon his perceived "enemy". The final state of Ahab is no surprise; indeed, with his carcass lashed to the monster, Ahab merely assumes in reality the position he had occupied already for years. Horrific and powerful. If the Bible doesn't convince you to return good for evil because it's the godly thing to do, perhaps Moby Dick will persuade you to abandon your revenge fantasies out of simple self-preservation
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Captain Ahab versus Moby Dick - lessons in Taoism., March 23, 1997
By A Customer
Captain Ahab sure could've benefitted from some of the principles of Taoism.
His obsession with chasing and slaughtering Moby Dick offers
readers great insights into the typical principles of Western
European philosophy which Melville was undoubtedly criticizing
in "Moby Dick". The author is warning the world of the destructiveness
and insaneness of the search and conquer attitude that was so prevalent
during his time. Whether through colonization or industrialization, Melville is
forewarning the powerful nations of his time of their irrational and
unnatural pursuits. Only when we achieve a sense of peace and harmony within
ourselves and with nature, can we lead healthy and happy lives. If Captain
Ahab had been one with Tao, he would have realized that the great white
whale that took his leg, was only obeying it's natural instincts. He, and
other whalers, were the ones violating the whale's natural habitat. The
consequences of this battle with nature, as Taoists know, are destined to be dire.
Unfortunately for Captain Ahab, he never learned or accepted these Taoist principles
in his worldly travels.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Most awful, horrendous, and boring book I have ever read., April 26, 1997
By A Customer
Reading Moby Dick was like torture- I would have rather been writing a 500 page report. At least I could have written it on something interesting. Moby Dick is a 500 page account of the same whale, the same people, the same trip, and the EXACT SAME THING over and over again.
I recommend this book if you have an incrediably boring life to begin with that couldn't get much worse and a lot of time on your hands.
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