I did an interview with Chat GBT about Moby Dick

I started asking Chat GBT about the symbolism in Moby Dick, and wound up turning it into an interview. Let me know what you think!

[@captainnolan5062]

Part of Melville's letter: Your letter was handed me last night on the road going to Mr. Morewood's, and I read it there. Had I been at home, I would have sat down at once and answered it. In me divine maganimities are spontaneous and instantaneous -- catch them while you can. The world goes round, and the other side comes up. So now I can't write what I felt. But I felt pantheistic then -- your heart beat in my ribs and mine in yours, and both in God's. A sense of unspeakable security is in me this moment, on account of your having understood the book. I have written a wicked book, and feel spotless as the lamb. Ineffable socialities are in me. I would sit down and dine with you and all the gods in old Rome's Pantheon. It is a strange feeling -- no hopefulness is in it, no despair. Content -- that is it; and irresponsibility; but without licentious inclination. I speak now of my profoundest sense of being, not of an incidental feeling.

[@TheMeaningCode]

It never occurred to me to have conversations of this depth with Chat GPT. Well done.

[@justinsmorningcoffee]

Haha well I figured I’d try to get it to go as deep as it can!

[@captainnolan5062]

Interesting that in the movie, it appears that Gregory Peck is wearing prosthetic nose, which has the effect of making him look a lot more like Father Abraham (Abraham Lincoln) than he otherwise would. He also has Lincoln's stovepipe hat and mustache-less beard.

[@darioscomicschool1111]

Thank you!

[@MrAjbrownie]

Hi Justin - just wanted to thank you for posting this and your other vids! Fascinating work - so insightful re human condition. Love how open you are to embracing AI in all its eeriness. I feel like you could be Ishmael here and AI Moby Dick. You're a storysmith all the way!

[@justinsmorningcoffee]

Haha I don’t know if I’d say “embrace” lol I think we are all just trying to get a handle on what and who this new technology is. I just wanted to see how deep I could get it to go story-wise.

[@justinsmorningcoffee]

Thank you Anna for watching some of my material, and thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it!

[@antkcuck]

Great video

[@normaorlando3538]

Hi Justin, Just saw your video that Paul put out and found you very interesting. "Call me Ishmael"! I love Moby- Dick It has been said and I quote: "Melville was embarking on a QUEST as audacious and doomed as anything dreamed up by the captain of the "Pequod." Why Read Moby Dick by Nathaniel Philbrick,a book short but powerful about Melville, the U.S. and a must read! Looking forward to more videos from you!

[@justinsmorningcoffee]

Wow that’s a great recommendation! Thanks for that!!

[@captainnolan5062]

From the Internet: Character Role Analysis Ishmael At the beginning of Moby-Dick, we feel pretty confident in saying that Ishmael is our protagonist: he’s clearly telling the story and it’s him whom we follow through New Bedford and Nantucket as he searches for a whaling ship to join. In different parts of the novel, he’ll reassert himself as the lens through which we see the novel unfold. But as events progress, it becomes more and more obvious that Ishmael has turned into a bystander, and the real protagonist is someone else… Captain Ahab Captain Ahab seems like a reluctant protagonist at first, since he spends the beginning of the voyage holed up in his cabin alone. (Later we find out that he was recovering from a groin injury caused by his whalebone leg.) But, when he finally emerges, he steals the show. Ishmael fades into the background, a mere seaman, as we get just as obsessed with Ahab’s revenge quest as any of the sailors on board the Pequod. Moby Dick It’s only fair to Moby Dick to take a moment to think about whether or not he could actually be the protagonist of the novel that uses his name for its title; unfortunately, it’s pretty tough to fit him into the role. Although there’s a lot of talking about Moby Dick and speculating about Moby Dick and worrying about Moby Dick and looking for Moby Dick that goes on, the White Whale is only in three of the 135 chapters here. So he’s probably not the protagonist. He’ll have to be satisfied with being the focus or center of the novel.

[@captainnolan5062]

Why aren't we considering this an Overcoming the Monster book?