- How do different points of view add to the meaning of the novel? It helps the look at the situation from multiple points of view to give a more balanced perspective of what is going on.
- Ishmael's perspective provides us with context to understand whaling and evaluate other characters. He is sort of the everyman of the story
- "Call me Ishmael"
- Starbuck helps us see how Ahab's quest is madness. He also helps us remember the more human side of things when he talks about his wife and child back home.
- Ahab helps us to understand what his state of mind is like as he is obsessively chasing Moby Dick
- Stubb's point of view helps alleviate the tension of the story
- I can then talk more specifically about the function of quotes at the end of articles in digital culture
- They help the readers get a more balanced view of whatever topic they are reading about
- Dialogue/collaboration between readers and other readers as well as readers and the author
- Readers are able to ask questions
- Provide additional information on the subject (encyclopedia portion of Moby Dick)
- Point out flaws and give feedback-- this is similar to Starbuck's function
- Some comments are not valid-- "the whole gamut of human stupidity"-- this could relate to Stubb's point of view
- Validation by the general population-- perhaps a similar function to the drama-like sections where many members of the crew add to the narration
I am most concerned about how to synthesize these two ideas on a deeper level than merely a comparison. Do any of you have any ideas about how to do that? I could also use some help in figuring out the "So what" portion of my thesis-- why does this matter? How could it be important?
I would love to read your comments!
"So what" as in why this topic of point-of-view is important? Well, I think it's easy to say that having access to multiple points of view about a single topic gives us a balanced view of the subject being considered. if we listen to/ read only one source, no matter how accurate or unbiased the source may be it may not contain all the facts. If we use biased sources, we will only get one perspective on an issue and neglect to come to an understanding of opposing views and what truths they may (or may not) contain. Having multiple ways of approaching a subject--through humor, serious discourse, or educated background--adds meaning to the subject we are examining. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your help, Lizy!
ReplyDeleteI also neglected to mention in my actual post that my fellow shipmates Heidi and Ash as well as my fabulous roommates deserve some credit for helping me to develop my ideas-- Heidi and Ash for helping me to connect the different point of views in Moby Dick to comments, and my roommates for helping me to think up the list of functions of comments at the end of articles. Thank you everyone for your help!
This sounds really good. The only thing I would suggest as a means of synthesizing is why do all of these all of these different points of view matter. That may sound kind of simplistic, but I don't know how else to put it. Why does Melville think it's important to use different characters for different dynamics in the story? I think if you can answer the whys in your paper than that will help you with the "so what".
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