Not P but Moby-Dick (16)

[Ian Livingston]

In order to change Ahab's course, any that come to deter him from his
"fixed idea" will suffer the consequence of their attempts. The economic
force of history determined with the advent of capitalism cannot be
deterred (swerved off its course) without destroying whole populations.
Melville at his most prophetic.

On Thu, Sep 28, 2023 at 8:52 PM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Also from Chapter 37:
>
> No, ye’ve knocked me down, and I am up again; but ye have run and hidden.
> Come forth from behind your cotton bags! I have no long gun to reach ye.
> Come, Ahab’s compliments to ye; come and see if ye can swerve me. Swerve
> me? ye cannot swerve me, else ye swerve yourselves! man has ye there.
>
> What does "ye cannot swerve me, else ye swerve yourselves" mean? And what
> is "man has ye there"?
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>