Enter Starbuck

This is the moment we've been waiting for, team. Our mascot has been revealed! Chapter 26 finally introduces the first mate, Starbuck. I'm glad he's our namesake because he's got it all:


1. Brains and courage in the correct combination. His attitude for whaling was described thus by the narrator
      "...I am here in this critical ocean to kill whales for my living, and not to be killed by them for theirs..."

      "...he thought, perhaps, that in this business of whaling, courage was one of the great staple outfits of the ship, like her beef and her bread, and not to be foolishly wasted."

2.  A dark past - his father and brother were both killed by whales, yet he persists in the whaling business anyway.

3. Great skin. "His pure tight skin was an excellent fit"


Getting through this book is slow going for me right now, particularly the cetology chapter. I do really like the descriptions of dining time, though. Especially Dough-boy getting harassed by the harpooneers! And poor Flask has to eat so quickly because he comes in last and leaves first. These lively moments make my husband say, "what? what?" when I start laughing while reading. Then I have to go back and read the passage to him.

 

 

I'm just going to stop here for a minute and take a break.  It's cool, I'll still get the reading done.

Aw man how am I going to get through this book in one month. I can barely keep my mind on food long enough to eat.