Butterless Man

Stubb was a butterless man aboard the Pequod. Write about a time when you were not a butterless man.

It's a pleasure to be abused by you...

After Stubb is kicked by Ahab, he has a dream in which a merman tells him, "You were kicked by a great man...It is an honor, I consider it an honor...Be it your boast, Stubb, that ye were kicked by old Ahab, and made a wise man of. Remember what I say; be kicked by him; account his kicks honors..."

Relate this quote to your own life--who has figuratively given you a "kick in the rear" to shape you up? Who drives you, pushes you, aggravates you, all for the purpose of helping you become a better person as a result of their intensity?

Favorite Quote or Character

Fate or Free Will?

The Three Amigos

If you were a harpooner, would you rather be in the boat with Starbuck, Flask, or Stubb in command?

Land of Allusions

Can you explain one of the hundreds of allusions Melville uses in this novel?

For example, Ishmael claims "head winds are far more prevalent than winds from astern (that is, if you never violate the Pythagorean maxim), so for the most part the Commodore on the quarter-deck gets his atmosphere at second hand from the sailors on the forecastle."

This is actually a pretty funny statement, as Pythagoras instructed others on how to purify and redeem their souls, and one of his strict observances was the avoidance of beans, which cause flatulence. So, imagine if you were a Commodore, standing downwind from a bunch of sailors who violated the Pythagorean maxim and ate a bunch of kidney beans for dinner--stinky!!

When have you felt like "a fish out of water" like Queequeg when he carried a wheelbarrow or his chest, or the captain when he washed his hands in the ceremonial coconut water?

Personal Connections