Moby-Dick Questions Chs. 88-92: How does Ishmael further humanize whales

How does Ishmael further humanize whales in ch. 88?  What are the points of difference for him between male and female schools?  How would you contrast Ishmael’s attempt to construct a hierarchy of families with his system of cetology?  What is a fast fish and what is a loose fish literally?  What are they metaphorically?  How does he extend the metaphor to the act of reading and writing?  In what ways are you a loose fish reader and in what ways are you a fast fish reader?  How might Ishmael’s ruminations on loose fish and fast fish relate to national concerns at the time he was writing the novel in 1850?  Where is the Rose-bud from, and what situation does it find itself in?  What do they know of Moby Dick?  What is the significance of Ahab’s action at the end of ch. 91 when Stubb is trying to harvest the ambergris?