Moby-Dick discussion questions Chapter 84 “Pitchpoling” Chapter 85 “The Fountain”
Stubb compares the whale’s bloody spout to fireworks on the Fourth of July. How could that be read symbolically?
How, again, does this chapter raise the question of interpretation? What does it suggest about interpretation? How does that pertain to the novel, as a whole?
How and why does Melville have Ishmael compare whales to literary and mythological figures?
Explain the idea Ishmael tries to convey in the final paragraph. What might that have to do with reading and writing?
