Talk to a parent about Moby-Dick. Ask what s/he knows about the book, and then post a blog about it.
Consider such topics as Ishmael and Queequeg, Jonah and the Whale, Captain Ahab and the Pequod.
(also ask what books were being taught when they were in school - did they read them? did they like them? what's the last book they read?)
22 comments:
Neither of my parents have read Moby Dick. But I did ask them what books they read when they were in school. Some of the books they had mentioned were: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Catcher in the Rye, Adventures of Tom sawyer, 20,000 leagues under The sea. Although having not read Moby Dick he did know that the story was being told through the eyes of Ishmael. The last book that he had read was Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. Even though he was assigned to read these books in high school, he actually never read them and just went along with the class discussions. He explained to me that the reason he did not read these books was because he was not being challenged enough.
My mom Patti has never read moby dick. In highschool she was not the greatest student and only read one book, To Kill A Mockingbird. When i asked her about Jonah the whale she responded "its a whale that ate Jonah" and "pinocchio comes from it" besides that she didnt know anything else. The last book she read was the sequel to Gone With the Wind, Scarlett. She read this in 1994....16 years ago
Nick, my stepdad, thinks the book is about an obsessive white man searching for a white whale. Captain Ahab is the captain, and Queequeg is the male with tattoos. The story is told through Ishmael's eyes, his first time out on the sea. Jonah and the Whale is a biblical story.
Nick read many books over his time in high school. Too many to count. The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, Call of the Wild, Great Expectations, etc. He came out with much knowledge after reading each one. He didn't come to like them very much.
My stepdad has recently read a book named Die Trying. He is interested in books about historical fiction, sometimes mysteries and thrillers. Stuff that intrigues him.
my mom read Moby Dick about 30 years ago and doesn't remember much about it. In high school she had to read Great Expectations, To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, Mac Beth and some others. She did actually read all these books as well.
Moby-Dick was the first book that I remember my father reading to me. Each night before I went to bed, my father would read a chapter and sometimes explain its contents. Although I was only 6 or 7 years old, I still remember the story well. Since then I have read excerpts of the book and seen the movie staring Patrick Steward. About 5 years ago I read an interesting book by Nathaniel Phillbrick entitled, A Tragedy at Sea: Wreck of the Whaleship Essex. I believe that this was the true story which inspired Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick. Personally, I enjoy the biblical allusions within Moby-Dick; I especially appreciate the exploration of human obsession in the character of Ahab, who ends up destroying everything and almost everyone in his vain pursuit of the white whale.
I recall reading many books in High School, but three that I remember well are The Oxbow Incident, Farenheit 451, and Cry The Beloved Country. I realize that this list is quite eclectic, but such is the case with memory. I remember enjoying the class discussions, but I did sometimes have difficulty finishing the reading assignments on time.
The last book that I read was Arundel, by Kenneth Roberts. I finished this book a couple of weeks ago, and now I have started Roberts next book in his series entitled, A Rabble in Arms. I am also currently reading another book entitled, Rabble in Arms which I accidentally ordered. It is a detailed examination of impressment (an old fashioned word for the draft) during the King Philips War of 1675-1676. Also I am reading Rob Bells book, Love Wins which is an interesting exploration of the topics of Heaven, Hell, and how these matter in the way we live today.
My mother has read Moby-Dick as well as Phantom of the Opera and A Tale of Two Cities. My mother really enjoyed the book Moby-Dick and compared some of the habits of Ahab with the habits of society. She enjoyed reading in her English class and still reads today. She likes literature she says "Its an escape from reality on an adventure."
My Mom Cathy never read Moby-Dick and all she knew about the book was that "its about a crazy captain who chases a whale". The one book she remembers reading in High school was Where The Red Fern Grows. The last book she read was Eclipse.
My mom has never read Moby Dick but she knows that it's about a whale. The books she's read in high school are the Great Gatsby, Old man and the sea, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Illiad and The odyssey, and 1984 by George Orwell. My dad has read Moby Dick, and he knows that it's about Captian Ahab on the Pequod hunting the white whale, Moby Dick. He has read Raisin the the Sun, Tale of two Cities, Romeo and Juliet, Grapes of Wrath, 1984, Animal Farm, The Illiad and the Odyssey, Catcher in the Rye, and Of Mice and Men.
Neither my mom or dad has read Moby Dick. My mom in high school read To kill a mocking bird, The Pearl by Steinbeck, Fahrenheit 451, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, and a few others. She said she reads for pleasure and doesn't like the books that she had to read in high school. She doesn't like books with the deeper meanings, like how a mockingbird isn't really a bird in the book. My dad told me he wasn't much of a reader in high school. He said that he mostly stuck to the local sports section. The last book my mother read was The notebook.
neither of my parents have read Moby dick. my dad said that he was supposed to but he never read it because he had seent he movie or some thing to many times. my dad has read how ever the catcher and the rye, and the adventures of huckleberry finn, he also read other books in school that he said that he could not remember the names too.
my mom said that she did not really read the books that were assigned to her she would rather read books of her own and she would just sit in class and hope no one would call on her she said that this didn't work out to well.
Neither of my parents have read Moby Dick, But I did ask them what books they read when they were in school. Some of the books they had were The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye. Neither of my parents knew anything about the Moby Dick besides what I had told them. My parents didn't read the books they were assigned because they didn't like to read. The last book my father read was a sport book on the red sox, but he doesn't remember the name of it because it was a year ago. The last book my mother read was a book that was assigned her senior year that she had to read in order to pass the class.
My mom has never read Moby-Dick before. She said she had no interest in it because she only reads crime and detective books. The fact by not knowing whats going to happen till the very end is what makes her so interested in those books. She doesn't know anything about Moby-Dick. She said she wished when she was in High school that she had more interest in the poetry type of books.
My dad has read the book when he was in high school. He does not like to read like me so he said it was not fun and not interesting. He said that most of the time when he had to read it he did not fully understand it. It is a hard book to understand and comprehend. When he had to quiz or test on the book he got c's and d's.
My dad didn't read Moby Dick when he was in high school. He did remember reading Huck Finn when he was in high school. My dad really liked that book. He like adventure books and sports. My dad doesn't read that much anymore because he doesn't have the time to sit down and read a book. But he wishes he did get the time to read because he likes to read.
My Mom Said she has read Moby-Dick in High School. She says it is about Captain Ahab's obsessive search for the legendary whale Moby-Dick. On One of the ships whaling trips Captain Ahab looses a leg as a result of harpooning the whale. Ever Since, Captain Ahab wants revenge by Killing the whale. In the end it's the captain who gets killed. Other books she has read in high school are Darkness at Noon,Scarlet Letter,The Crucible,To Kill a Mockingbird,Light in the Forest
My dad said that he did read the book Moby Dick, but he doesn't really remember a whole lot of things about the book other then there was was a "mean whale, that people were hunting." My dad read the book Tom Sawyer, and he thinks he read Huck Finn when he was in high school. The last thing my dad was a magazine. My dad doesn't read now because he says hes not interested enough in doing it. My Mom can't remember if she read Moby Dick in high school or not. My mom has a bad memory and she can't remember anything from high school apparently. The last book my mom read was A.D.D nutrition Solution by Marcia Zimmerman. My mom loves to read now, she reads all the time.
When my mom was in high school she never read Moby- Dick, but when she was assigned to read a book for her class she read all the book. It might have taken her a while because she has always been a slow reader but that helped her understand the book more because she took her time while reading so what she was reading stuck in her head.
My father never read Moby Dick. My mom did read the book and she enjoyed it. She tells me she doesn't remember much, it was 40 years ago. She remembers the basics of the book. Ahab's obsession with the whale, Ishmael and Queequeg's relationship. She doesn't really remember recognizing all of the biblical references. Both of my parents read Scarlett Letter, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and Great Expectations.
I talked to my mother about Moby Dick. She had never read Moby dick but knew it was about a whale. She said it was never a requirement when she was in high school. The only books she remembers reading throughout high school is "Romeo and Juliet", "The illustrated man", and "Huckleberry Finn." "I used to read quite often when you guys were younger, but now I find it difficult to find the time to pick up a book" says my mother. She says shes going to start reading before bed so she can get into a book again. The last book she read was Fisher. ~ Tasha :)
Neither of my parents have read Moby Dick. They both told me it's about a captain of a ship who goes after a whale. They are currently reading books though. My dad is reading Ghost Rider which was written by a drummer from his favorite band. My mom is reading the book Stalker.
When I was in Florida, I was reading Moby Dick in the car on the way to the Keys. I was complaining about it, and my Grampa asked what book I was reading. I told him I was reading Moby Dick. He said he loved the book, and said its one of his favorite. I pretty much looked at him like he was crazy. He asked me if I was on the boat yet, and a bunch of other questions, but I wasn't so I had no idea what he was talking about. When I mentioned Ishmael and Queequeg being "married" he said he did not remember that. I know my dad hates reading, hes really bad at reading or typing. I've had him try to read a paragraph of our assigned books, like Huck Finn, and he couldn't read Jim's lines at all. I doubt my dad read the assigned books in high school, he wasn't much of a straight A student. However, I'm assuming my grandfather did read Moby Dick while he was in school.
My dad read Moby-Dick when he was in high school. He remembers that it was about an angry captain getting revenge on a whale.
My dad was definitely a reader. He read various books like Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, books by Tolstoy, books by Chekhov. He read for pleasure also and remembers the story line of almost every book today. Almost every classic that I read in school, he has read. Over the summer he had to read 100 books, he loved to read and I definitely got a bit of the reading gene.
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