Moby Dick

[Mark Smith]

Doug Millison wrote:


> Pynchon and other fine novelists demonstrate mastery over reading speed, of
> course, through a variety of means, as some posts have noted. Complex
> syntax, long sentences, few "events", complex ideas, literary and
> historical allusion and reference  -- all contribute to slow a reader down
> in a novel. When Pynchon does it, we slow down and read it. Shorter,
> simpler sentences, more action, quicker "cuts" from scene to scene,
> witholding information and promising to reveal it soon -- suspense -- speed
> it up. Melville's that way too, in Moby Dick especially, lots to linger
> over and savor, but the pulse quickens considerably when they close on the
> white whale.

Speaking of Moby Dick, has anyone else felt a distinct parallel between
the opening of Mason & Dixon and the departure from Portsmouth, and the
opening of Moby Dick and the departure from Nantucket?  Any parallels
between the warnings of Hepsie and Elijah, between the preacher and the
Learned English Dog?  Run with it.
-- 
Beechnut Review	http://www.traverse.com/beechnut
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