Which Character are You?

I found this article by Wil Gesler focusing on how Melville's novel can be used in geography classes to explore these five themes: "the journey, human/environment interactions, social relationships in space, acquiring knowledge, and ambiguities and their resolution." I decided to take on the Journey theme and use it as a "which character are you" kind of set up.

Captain Ahab: Gesler states Ahab "will use every means at his disposal to find and kill the white whale" (pg 30). He points out that in Chapter 44 on page 177 that the captain has brought out "a large wrinkled roll of yellowish sea charts...intently study[ing] the various lines and shadings...and with slow but steady pencil trace additional courses over spaces that before were blank." He also has piles of books which contains his research on other ships and their voyages, as well as logs of where sperm whales have been caught or spotted. I would liken him to an internet user who can find plenty of information on the internet, who participates in the world of digital culture, but maybe spends too much time thinking about the internet and all its possibilities rather than the consequences of spending hours online and not also living in the world outside of digital life.

Ishmael: Ishmael is on this journey, but for two contradicting reasons.  In the first chapter on page 5 Ishmael stays "I cannot tell why it was exactly that those stage managers, the Fates, put me down for this shabby part of a whaling voyage...I think I can see a little into the springs and motives which being cunningly presented to me under various disguises, induced me to set about performing the part I did, besides cajoling me into the delusion that it was a choice resulting from my own unbiased freewill and discriminating judgment...chief among these motives was the overwhelming idea of the great whale himself." So he is on this journey because he wants to be and is interested in whaling, but also because Fate made him go. So to liken this to our class, I'm going to make the connection that Ishmaels of digital culture are the ones who are only interested in "mainstream internet sites" like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Youtube, or Wikipedia. But when they start thinking about the "fates," like the importance of digital culture or all the other aspects of the web like crowdsourcing or consuming, the Ishmaels don't really know what to say about it yet. But at least the Ishmaels are engaged with the internet and willing to explore it by going on different long tail tangents.

(sorry, couldn't get a white whale!)

Starbuck, Stubb, and the crew of Pequod: Chapter 38 has Starbuck realizing he is bound to this journey despite feelings it is suicidal and mad: "Oh! I plainly see my miserable office, - to obey, rebelling; and worse yet, to hate with a touch of pity!" And we have Stubb in chapter 39 believing that what will be will be: "I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing." So for you crewmembers of the internet, you all must be in this digital culture journey for the ride. You don't know how far in you'll go, and maybe you'll end up lost in the surf of the digital sea, but at least you'll go down with a smile.


Maybe you guys would like to look at the other four themes? Or add on to this one - what was your journey through reading Moby Dick or getting through the first unit of this class? Which character are you?