Some books you wish you'd not wasted your time on; some books you enjoy but know you will never read them again; some books you can enjoy two or three times if you let some time pass between readings; some books you can read multiple times and find something new every time. Moby Dick is that kind of book, for sure.
This time I noticed more of the humor and caught more of the symbolic elements, such as the many oppositional pairings. I have never taken a class where the novel was analyzed, nor have I read more than superficial discussions, so my reading of this book has always been an adventure of discovery. That means that I don't know the most up-to-date thinking about the symbolic meaning of the White Whale, and I can try to puzzle that out for myself. And that is enjoyable. It gives me something to think about!
Notice I have not discussed the plot of the novel here, because I think almost all Americans are familiar with the basic story. I remember that I had my junior English students analyze a chapter and then showed them the movie, and told them that ever after they could pretend to have read it.
All that being said, I do still feel that Moby Dick is two books: one about whales and the mechanics of whaling and one about mad Ahab and his obsession with the White Whale. For one thing, the writing is different is the two kinds of chapters. The ones about whaling are more matter-of-fact and less poetic, while the chapters that tell the story seem straight out of Shakespeare, often with a structure and rhythm that would be at home in King Lear. My bold assessment is that more people would read this novel if Melville had stuck to the plot and left out the information.
This is not my favorite book; I like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Joseph Conrad better, and they both dealt with similar themes. But it is among my Top 10.
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