Not P but Moby-Dick (29)

[Mike Jing]

Thanks, Mark and Ian.


On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 11:12 AM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Well, yes and then some. I think it is an appeal to the courage employed
> in the will to live, to the spirit, if you will, to transcend the paralysis
> of fear. Rather than exclamation, I would call it an exhortation, but
> exclamation serves the purpose.
> If you have ever faced a life-threatening moment, you know what I mean:
> the "heart alive" will do what it must to stay alive. Conscious
> self-awareness suspends, body and brain act in unison in what psychologists
> call the fight, flight, or freeze response. In this case, Stubb appeals to
> the fight response to traumatic stimulus.
>
> On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 4:32 AM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I think heart here is a synecdoche for person.
>>
>> On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 4:23 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > From Chapter 48:
>> >
>> > “Pull, pull, my fine hearts-alive; pull, my children; pull, my little
>> > ones,” drawlingly and soothingly sighed Stubb to his crew, some of whom
>> > still showed signs of uneasiness. “Why don’t you break your backbones,
>> my
>> > boys? What is it you stare at? Those chaps in yonder boat? Tut! They are
>> > only five more hands come to help us—never mind from where—the more the
>> > merrier. Pull, then, do pull; never mind the brimstone—devils are good
>> > fellows enough. So, so; there you are now; that’s the stroke for a
>> thousand
>> > pounds; that’s the stroke to sweep the stakes! Hurrah for the gold cup
>> of
>> > sperm oil, my heroes! Three cheers, men—all hearts alive! Easy, easy;
>> don’t
>> > be in a hurry—don’t be in a hurry.
>> >
>> > According to the OED, "heart alive" is an exclamation. What is the
>> meaning
>> > of "my fine hearts-alive" and "all hearts alive" here?
>> > --
>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>> >
>> --
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>>
>