Moby-Dick Allegory Assignment

Allegory Assignment

Your assignment is to write a short essay explaining the connections between Captain Ahab and a historical figure. You can explain the allegory as a piece of "historical allegory" or "portentous allegory."

If you're interested in historical allegory, you need to connect Captain Ahab to a figure from 1830-1851. There are specific people that Melville was thinking about, reading about, hearing, and seeing, when he was constructing Ahab. You need to connect Ahab to one of these figures.

If you're interested in portentous allegory you need to connect Captain Ahab to a real person from 1851-present day. Part of what makes Melville great is that he anticipates leaders, movements, and issues that are well before his time.

Regardless of your time period your essay needs to accomplish the following:
-A 2-3 sentence introduction that explains the connection between the two figures. (Thesis).
-A paragraph outlining specific traits in the historical figure with at least 3 cited sources.
-A paragraph tracing the same traits in Ahab that incorporates close reading from at least 3 quotes from the text.
-A short conclusion

All in all, we're looking at 600-800 words here. Be creative withe the figures you pick, and be specific with the traits that you are identifying. "Strong leader" is not going to cut it.

Rubric:
Intro: 10 points
Accurate thesis sentence that identifies the similar traits between the two figures.
1st Paragraph: 20 points
10 points: Multiple traits identified by a topic sentence, accurate use of citations, 3 sources.
10 points: In depth close reading looking at details from the selection. Avoiding summary.
2nd Paragraph: 20 points
10 points: Multiple traits identified by a topic sentence, accurate use of citations, 3 quotes from Moby-Dick.
10 points: In depth close reading looking at details from the selection. Avoiding summary.
Formatting: 10 points
Paragraph use, sentence structure, specific language, punctuation, cliches, missing words, etc...

Total: 60 points

Allegory in Moby-Dick

Allegory is like symbolism--but better 

The power of allegory in Moby-Dick is the fact that Melville uses allegory on many different levels, sometimes simultaneously.  Here are a few examples:

Specific Allegory

The journey of the Pequod mirrors the journey of the United states in the pre-Civil War era

This is an example of fairly specific, contemporary (during Melville's time period) allegory.  Animal Farm would be an example of this use of allegory

    -Politically, racially, socially, and economically, Melville comments on the country he sees in 1851.  He creates characters to represent 

    large ideas.  (Pay attention to the "Knights and Squires" chapter for this.)

    -Specific leaders from the 19th century seem to be reflected in the book, especially in Ahab.  (Hickory harpoon...old hickory)

      -John C. Calhoun, Andrew Jackson religious leaders, abolitionists, secessionists  

    -Moby-Dick, the object of the ship's obsession, has been connected to many different American pursuits int he 19th century.

Moral Allegory

The novel, in some ways, has moral messages and connections that has nothing to do with America, and has everything to do with being a human being and living in a moral way

This is an example of more general, more timeless, allegory which tries to impart a moral message. Aesop's Fable's would be an example of this kind of allegory.

    -The book resembles a moral, religious fable, such as the story of Sodom and Gomorrah or other "Jeremiads." 

    -The central conflict between Ahab and the whale represents the conflict all men have with God

Portentous Allegory

Moby-Dick seems to predict the political actions and the rise and fall of specific leaders, making it a more specific allegory that transcends time and space.  

    -Captain Ahab has been read as figures separated by hundreds of years and thousands of miles.  

        -Adolf Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin

        -Huey Long (Former Governor of Louisiana quoted as saying, "Of course we'll have fascism in America, but we will call it 

        democracy!"

        -George Bush

    -The more you look for Captain Ahab, the more he seems to appear, especially in American culture

Whaling Webquest Group Activity

Day 1--Gather
Form groups
1. whale ships--tools, ship layout, dimensions, tool functions

2. whaling people--captains, crew, social dynamics, stories, examples of figures, racial/economic makeup

3. whale creatures--whales, behavior, size, population size, strategies for hunting, products made from whales

4. whaling procedures--hunting method, boiling down, stowing; pre 19th century whaling

Collect facts--with each member of the group, find as much information you can an copy and paste it into a Google Doc shared to each group member and myself.

You’re essentially taking notes.

You will need to CITE YOUR SOURCES OF INFORMATION. So note where your stuff comes from.

Please draw from the following websites FIRST:

http://www.whalingmuseum.org/learn/research-topics/overview-of-north-american-whaling

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/timeline-whaling/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/map/whaling-ports/

http://mysite.du.edu/~ttyler/ploughboy/starbuck.htm

http://www.nha.org/history/hn/HNWhalingtools.htm

http://www.history.com/topics/whaling

Articles:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/books/review/Barcott-t.html?ref=whalesandwhaling

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/02/arts/design/02anti.html?ref=whalesandwhaling

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/07/23/070723crbo_books_crain

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/08/books/bk-applegate8

Melville:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/herman_melville/index.html

Your notes will be due on the designated day.

1st Moby-Dick Blogging Assignment: Loomings

Your assignment is to create a novel in the same style and with a similar structure of moby-dick.

So in general, you need to write with a narrator in the first person who pursues a goal through a journey.  (Which is pretty much every story ever.)

But for your first chapter you should identify some key features of your story and your narrator:

-His or her goal

-The nature of the journey

     -For Melville, the nature of the journey has a larger significance, and works with the goal.

-Key elements of the character's personality

You can try to make the structure and feel of your novel very similar to MD or you can go off on your own tangent.  As long as you meet the qualifications above, you are good. 

Topically, you can choose whatever you want.  Make the assignment your own. 

You can always go back and tweak your earlier chapters if you want to make some changes along the way. 

Somewhere around 500 words.

And, of course, your piece should begin with "Call me ...."

You are going to be graded on the following criteria (30 points):

    (10) Meet the structural qualifications for the post listed above

     (10) Effective and engaging story

     (10) Writing mechanics, attention to detail, overall effort