Melville includes about 20 chapters that many readers call the “Cetology” chapters. Cetology is a fancy word for the scientific study of the whale. The main questions we seek to answer while we read and study this chapter is:
Why does Melville include these sections? What does science have to teach us about literature and vice versa?
Step 1: You will be assigned one of these chapters:
-Squid (Whalefood)
-Brit (Ocean biology vs. Land biology)
-The Whiteness of the Whale (albinoism in science and different cultures)
-The Sperm Whale's Head--Contrasted View
-The Right Whale's Head--Contrasted View
-The Battering Ram (forehead)
-The Great Heidelburg Tun (a compartment in the whale's skull)
-The Prairie (head)
-The Blanket (skin)
-The Nut (brain)
-The Fountain (the spout)
-The Tail
-Ambergris
-The Cassock (the reproductive organs)
-A Measurement of the Whale's skeleton (the skeleton)
-The Fossil Whale (the decomposition of the whale)
Step 2: Read
Read the biology report.
Take notes on the specific features of the whale and why they are there. Make an outline about the most important facts in the report.
Read your chapter
Takes notes on the specific scientific details on the whale. Underline those passages. Keep in mind: why are these facts being included?
Step 3: Think and write
Write a short essay that answers the following questions. Be sure to cite examples from the text AND THE BIOLOGY REPORT in your answer.
- What scientific concepts or facts does Melville allude to? What, if anything, does he fail to mention? What does he get wrong? What does he get right?
- Each part of the whale is a symbol that tells part of the whale’s story. What is the figurative significance of your assigned part of the whale? How do the scientific facts add to figurative meaning?
- What is the ultimate effect of the scientific information in the book?
Rubric: (70 points)
10 points: Introduction that clearly mentions the main ideas in each body paragraph. The introduction is as specific as possible.
15 points: 1st paragraph
Clear topic sentence that specifically mentions all the main ideas in the paragraph
Use of direct quotations from the text
Close readings, direct discussin of the quotations to link back to main ideas. The 8th grade biology report is quoted or referred to DIRECTLY. Additional scientific sources may be quoted.
15 points: 2nd paragraph
-Clear topic sentence that specifically mentions all the main ideas in the paragraph
-Use of direct quotations from the text
-Close readings, direct discussin of the quotations to link back to main ideas. Figurative significance has quotes to support close readings. Those ideas are linked back to specifics in the 1st paragraph regarding scientific facts.
15 points: 3rd paragraph
-Clear topic sentence that specifically mentions all the main ideas in the paragraph.
-A discussion that links back to previous ideas (in the 1st and 2nd paragraph) and draws larger conclusions about the effect on the reader.
15 points: Formatting:
Sentence strucutre, quote citations, introducing quotes, punctuation, word use, missing words, run-on sentences, etc...
