Here is the 1972 Norton Critical Edition of Moby-Dick, the iconic book for any English Class be it high school or college.
The inside is inscribed: Best to Mr. Badgley, from Ted. Other than that, there is not a mark in the volume. Too bad, as we always like to see the parts that are important to the reader. Perhaps, Mr. Badgley already had a copy and he was too shy to own up to Ted.
1972 is the year I graduated from Middlebury College, which reminds me that Chapter 2 contains the following: "as I stood in the middle of a dreary street shouldering my bag, and comparing the gloom towards the north with the darkness to the south..."
That sentence conjures up for me the memories of those rare crossroads of life I have been at, as in 1972, when I was forced to compare the darkness of the past with the gloom of the future.
So too is Ishmael, not just at that moment having to decide where to lodge for the evening, but also he must make a choice with his life which the out come is uncertain.
Again, I find myself at one of those crossroads.
Here's hoping your choice leads to a happy destination. See you at MDM16?
ReplyDeleteG, yes being at the MDM16 would be something I would like. Perhaps is all I can say at this moment. Ill let you know when and if I can shoe horn it in. BPIII
ReplyDeleteFound my way to your blog from the slideshow with NYT review of Nathaniel Philbrick's new book, and I just wanted to say that I love the blog and the collection. Great great stuff.
ReplyDelete