tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post5360536106875400713..comments2024-03-19T09:06:21.507-04:00Comments on Irtiqa: Moby-Dick and scienceSalman Hameedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-26914669594267067322013-02-08T19:05:26.704-05:002013-02-08T19:05:26.704-05:00I truly do not get why so many [otherwise] intelli...I truly do not get why so many [otherwise] intelligent people get so exercised -- intimidated or horrified, even -- at the prospect of engaging Moby Dick.<br />There is nothing in the language, plotting, style, or issues entertained that your average high-school senior (US version -- and we are NOT known for the severity of our secondary education) couldn't handle.<br />The diction and sentence structure are far closer to ours than they are to, say, Shakespeare's. The themes are (to me, at least) more accessible and meaningful than those of the Brontes or Austen. And it's fun -- the 19th century's version of "Jaws," but with more convincing special effects.<br />You don't have to set aside a summer for it, either. An hour or less a night, and you'll be through it in no time.smartalekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08712199907267663961noreply@blogger.com