Believing in Una of Naslunds Ahabs Wife :: Naslunds Ahabs Wife Essays

Believing in Una of Naslunds Ahabs WifeNaslunds novel, Ahabs Wife was vastly to a greater extent satisfying and realistic than Melvilles Moby Dick. I hope to explain why Naslund did non merely present a feminine version of Moby Dick, yet presented similarly universal themes within more realistic and meaningful contexts. By becoming intimate with the reader, she expects more she expects us to understand the world from a different perspective.Melville tries to be funny by making things ridiculous. Naslund makes reality funny. From what I gathered of others opinions of Moby Dick, the hilarity came from the absurdity. In my mind, however, when something seems impossible the story seems to change to the neighborhood of cartoon or science fiction. It seems not only not funny, that weird and irrelevant. I was glad, after feeling like I must(prenominal) not have any sense of humor, to laugh tabu inexpensive to Ahabs Wife. And some people believe Kit put in, that if you eat cucumbers , your nose allow grow long. Or other disassembles. What parts? Frannie asked. Your feet, Aunt said(p93). Although yet as silly, this is funny because it speaks to an awkward situation similar to one everyone has been in, belike on all sides. It is not the absurdity of the myth of the cucumber that I laugh at, merely rather the Aunts reaction to his reference. Naslund speaks to me, however, not because of realistic humor, however because of her contextual insight. Melville makes profound but irrelevant commentary on the world, speckle Naslund shows us her journey to different understandings of the world. Melville, to use one of many examples of his philosophic meanderings, tells us that, there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. This statement could be very insightful, except that he is talking not about understandings of the world or identity formation, but rather feeling physical warmthWe felt very straightlaced and snug, the more so sin ce it was so chilly out of doors indeed out of bedclothes too, seeing that there was no fire in the room. The more so, I say, because truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. 52This leaves me impressed that he was fit to connect his wise perceptions of the world to an only slightly relevant story, and makes me need to steal the quote and apply it out of its context.