I found while rereading Moby Dick this last time, a new fascination with Chapter Nine: The Sermon. I wonder what role the preacher and, more importantly, the sermon plays in the narrative. Two lines in particular stuck out to me.
The first was the last lesson the sermon was supposed to teach: "To preach the truth to the face of Falsehood." This echos somewhat one of the things Melville bemoaned in a letter to Hawthorne: that writers cannot tell the truth to their readers and expect success. One possibility was that this was Melville injecting some of his preference into the story through this sermon.
The second was the idea that Jonah thought his punishment just and was grateful for it. The idea of being grateful for punishment is rather alien, but on further reflection, punishment, when effectively employed can serve as an educational tool. The punishee may not be grateful at the time but they may be in the future. Jonah understood his actions were wrong and thus the punishment did not anger him. It is a lesson we all could learn and be better for.
I'm interested; what role do you think the sermon played in the narrative?
I responded to this in my blog.
ReplyDeleteI am inclined to think of how you approached the idea of being grateful for punishment, while it is an odd notion in many religious traditions some form of punishment is often considered the redeeming act in which a person can take to gain favor amongst their deity and other followers. However considering that the preacher says to preach truth in the face of falsehood seems ironic as I am sure that Melville would consider much of the Christian lifestyle and its institutions to be perpetuating falsehoods.
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