Moby Dick - Thug Notes Summary and Analysis

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From plot debriefs to key motifs, Thug Notes’ Moby Dick Summary & Analysis has you covered with themes, symbols, important quotes, and more.
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[@metabeard3788]

"After about 500 pages of Ishmael going off about whaling bullshit..." best summary of Moby Dick ever

[@kirbyculp3449]

To be fair, he also discusses eating beans.

[@DavidMac8Six8]

Captain Ahab is a perfect example of when keeping it real goes wrong.

[@nervmeister]

Oh god! Now I want - nay, I NEED to see Dave Chappelle play the unhinged and determined Captain Ahab.

[@goldilox369]

@@nervmeister much agreed! That would be fabulous!

[@jamesharrison658]

WUTANG!!

[@thelonewanderingsolesurviv2963]

@@jamesharrison658 gimme some skin on the backhand side ahahhha

[@dillonwalshpvd]

Not wrong

[@SquareKiteGaming]

I like how even an analysis as in-depth of this still has to admit that there's "about 500 pages of whaling bullshit" that he just sorta skips

[@aguy7848]

I listened to it as an audiobook once, it's extremely bloated with pointless stuff that just thickens the book and has very little to do with anything.

[@RMATFL]

I mean, I ain’t complaining. God knows if I got teleported back to the 18th century with no skill to earn a living, that book pretty much taught me the whole procedure to process whales on a ship!

[@Rokaize]

@@aguy7848 Nah, man. Dotted around through that 500 pages is a lot of character building especially in regards to Ahab. If you just skip the 500 pages of bloat, the true immensity of Ahab’s obsession isn’t going to be understood. The book takes great pains to pull you into the world of this whaling ship. If you see it as pointless that is fine, but it clearly isn’t the book for you then. I loved those details and it really helped me connect with the book.

[@nassimamro485]

lowkey disagree, much of those chapters subtly take on the overall themes of the novel. fate vs free will, divine meaning in all things vs arbitrary existence, the stuff that makes a man a man, the nature of the soul, faith vs disbelief, man trying to learn the unknowable fathoms of the universe/ocean, biblical references all over the place. even more than just the themes, those chapters have beautiful language and imagery that make them worth spending the time on. there’s also a lot of humor, character building (stubb is my favorite), and exploring the nature of humanity

[@drterrynguyen4057]

@@nassimamro485 most excellent!

[@starship1701]

Am I the only one who loves the intro with the paper crumpling up? Like damn that is one satisfying animation.

[@casedistorted]

+TheFireDragon Igneel Yes but I really hate the sound effect that goes with it. It's not satisfying enough.

[@Pooofcomify]

Chris Anderson no way I thought I was the only one that thought those two thoughts

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

sounds nice

[@DridgeDEU]

This comparison that white equals the combination of all colors AND the negation of all colors killed me. Mind = blown

[@WhiskeyRichard.]

Technically black is the absence of all color (light). Speaking from an optics perspective, white is the ensemble average of the mixture of all colors of light, i..e, no one color is dominant. White being an absence of color is more a concept of modern society, exactly why I'll leave for debate of someone more learned on the subject. For instance, it could be because of the prevalence of white paper, thus indicating blankness, or perhaps something to do with a slightly more racial tone ("white" vs "colored" people as it were). I don't know enough to comment.

[@michaelcerda5514]

Whiskey Richard isn't black a shade, not a color

[@WhiskeyRichard.]

That's artistically. Black is the absence of all light, "scientifically."

[@DridgeDEU]

Whiskey Richard Well, that depends on the color-system you are unsing ;) If you are speaking in terms of usual light (and also computer monitors etc, RGB) you are right, the more colors you punch togehter, the more white will the result become. But if you are using CMYK like in printing, exactly the opposite will happen: The more colors you print together, the darker and blacker it gets.

[@WhiskeyRichard.]

I don't think you understand. That's not scientific, again that's convention. In terms of physics, as I stated above, white light is the ensemble average of all wavelengths of light at equal parts. While we can only see and are really only concerned with visible light (~400-700nm), this also includes UV, IR, X-ray, etc. Black is the absence of the same. This is a fundamental definition, so there is no "other system."

[@bearvanhelsing6035]

"straight O.J. that bitch" I cried.

[@janeyrevanescence12]

"Bert and Ernie style" I laughed my head off!

[@launabanauna8958]

janeyrevanescence12 Me 2!

[@JagerLange]

Came down to the comments to state the same.

[@gjford1951]

Most people seem not to pay any attention to that relationship. They have an entire wedding ceremony.

[@contestofnerds]

​@@gjford1951 that is straight up not true

[@mikhailvarkovsky4150]

Dear Mr Thug Notes, I've finished the book after several days of exhausting reading of everything Ismael had to say about whales JUST to hear what you had to say about it in your analysis :)

[@fauvecorrigan1233]

he couldn't have said it if he didnt read the book =P

[@vincentvorse]

Would it surprise anyone if I mentioned this book was a complete flop when it was first written? Now it's considered one of the greatest novels ever written

[@NodDisciple1]

+James Michel So was most of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard's work. Point is, alot of authors are not recognized in their time.

[@coolzb54]

So was the Great Gatsby

[@randyrandalman8234]

+ZMB: Football Life At least Great Gatsby was short

[@TheCNotes1]

I would still argue that it's not a good book, since it has hundreds of pages of superfluous shit.

[@MP420ful]

Nope. Fucking hated this book. Everytime I try to read it again I can't get into it.

[@brandonbuchner1771]

500 pages of Whaling Shit...yeah that's how I felt reading it. There was an entire chapter on rope...ROPE! What you do with the rope...how strong the rope is...how you should be careful around the rope...how to make the rope. The beginning was good...the end was good...but somehow, Wikipedia showed up in the middle of the damn novel and slowed everything WAAAAAY down.

[@j-manmarkus7591]

Exactly! Everyone and everything appeared in that novel...Even the town whore had her own chapter!!!

[@bigdumbdumbfly]

Yea but youve to find the prose and metaphors in those chapters! That chapter was the line and i specifically remember "all men are enveloped in whale lines and born with halters around their necks" its a metaphor that in any life we are subjected to our own lines like that of the whalemen. Plus with whaling being so small an industry he helped preserve and teach us alot about how it was. Moby Dick would be harder to make sense of if we didnt have all the background information he gave us. Even at that its still hard to make sense of the book.

[@80909dave]

Also it was not written as a novel but published in magazines like a monthly series, one chapter at a time. and they made more money by lengthening it, kind of like a TV series of its day.

[@brandonbuchner1771]

dave b while that may be true, Melville himself made precisely dick from sales.

[@chriskelly7650]

It can be a tough read but there a more than a few moments like the "The Castaway". Here are the last paragraphs:unbelievable. But we are all in the hands of the Gods; and Pip jumped again. It was under very similar circumstances to the first performance; but this time he did not breast out the line; and hence, when the whale started to run, Pip was left behind on the sea, like a hurried traveller's trunk. Alas! Stubb was but too true to his word. It was a beautiful, bounteous, blue day! the spangled sea calm and cool, and flatly stretching away, all round, to the horizon, like gold-beater's skin hammered out to the extremest. Bobbing up and down in that sea, Pip's ebon head showed like a head of cloves. No boat-knife was lifted when he fell so rapidly astern. Stubb's inexorable back was turned upon him; and the whale was winged. In three minutes, a whole mile of shoreless ocean was between Pip and Stubb. Out from the centre of the sea, poor Pip turned his crisp, curling, black head to the sun, another lonely castaway, though the loftiest and the brightest.Now, in calm weather, to swim in the open ocean is as easy to the practised swimmer as to ride in a spring-carriage ashore. But the awful lonesomeness is intolerable. The intense concentration of self in the middle of such a heartless immensity, my God! who can tell it? Mark, how when sailors in a dead calm bathe in the open sea- mark how closely they hug their ship and only coast along her sides.But had Stubb really abandoned the poor little negro to his fate? No; he did not mean to, at least. Because there were two boats in his wake, and he supposed, no doubt, that they would of course come up to Pip very quickly, and pick him up; though, indeed, such considerations towards oarsmen jeopardized through their own timidity, is not always manifested by the hunters in all similar instances; and such instances not unfrequently occur; almost invariably in the fishery, a coward, so called, is marked with the same ruthless detestation peculiar to military navies and armies.But it so happened, that those boats, without seeing Pip, suddenly spying whales close to them on one side, turned, and gave chase; and Stubb's boat was now so far away, and he and all his crew so intent upon his fish, that Pip's ringed horizon began to expand around him miserably. By the merest chance the ship itself at last rescued him; but from that hour the little negro went about the deck an idiot; such, at least, they said he was. The sea had leeringly kept his finite body up, but drowned the infinite of his soul. Not drowned entirely, though. Rather carried down alive to wondrous depths, where strange shapes of the unwarped primal world glided to and fro before his passive eyes; and the miser-merman, Wisdom, revealed his hoarded heaps; and among the joyous, heartless, ever-juvenile eternities, Pip saw the multitudinous, God-omnipresent, coral insects, that out of the firmament of waters heaved the colossal orbs. He saw God's foot upon the treadle of the loom, and spoke it; and therefore his shipmates called him mad. So man's insanity is heaven's sense; and wandering from all mortal reason, man comes at last to that celestial thought, which, to reason, is absurd and frantic; and weal or woe, feels then uncompromised, indifferent as his God.

[@BenHopkins1000]

You ask me, Ahab's the real monster. Moby's just been protecting himself since Day 1, and Ishmael only comes to this realization right before the Pequod is sunk.

[@kirbyculp3449]

Indeed

[@jrcrash4644]

This book is just one giant poem. Lean back and enjoy the ride.

[@powerist209]

Note: Odd Numbered chapters can give you the story while the even numbered pages can give you info on whaling.

[@williamjackson5598]

powerist is this true

[@chibi_undercover9663]

William Jackson Nope

[@scotttaylor5928]

That’s literally not true lol

[@andrewd2114]

This is not true at all

[@mrraytheteacher1123]

If you like beef and you like seafood, than you'll love whale! :D It's available in Japan and isn't too expensive! Also, please check out and subscribe to my channel for educational videos! :D

[@NorthWestern1919]

Nobody: Ishmael: *BEFORE WE CONTINUE WITH THE AMAZING STORY OF HOW AHAB'S VENGEANCE BECAME HIS DOWNFALL, LET ME ENTICE YOU WITH AN ENLIGHTENING LECTURE ABOUT THE GLORIES OF THE INDUSTRY OF WHALING.*

[@RhiDElton]

The "sperm" squishing chapter though....

[@NorthWestern1919]

@@RhiDElton Yeah.

[@alexscott1257]

@@RhiDElton I know right?!

[@keebleralves]

" They start kickin it Bert and Ernie style" LOL Love it

[@BradyPostma]

It's surprising how entertaining these videos are. I've watched like 30 of them now, and I'm still surprised by how great they are every. Single. Time. When God was passin' out talent you got two servings, my man!

[@MrMikeg72]

I wish I had a teacher like him when I was in school. I think I would actually have learned and remembered these stories. Keep up the good work.

[@shannonlopez2295]

I never read Moby Dick but I LOVED every moment of this review. I learned a lot from the analysis and enjoyed the correlation between the white whale and the emptiness of the universe. Thank you soo much for doing these!

[@babujai1]

Those 500 pages of whaling BS is why I have never finished this book.

[@WhiskeyRichard.]

So reading is what's getting in your way.

[@babujai1]

I tried to read that book 4 separate times and I can only get so far before I give up. The endless pages of whaling minutia killed me...

[@WhiskeyRichard.]

Sounds to me someone's just passing up a chance to learn a new skill.

[@babujai1]

New skill? Whaling?! LOL!

[@syafiqjabar]

Whiskey Richard This is more like someone played a prank on the publisher and inserted an entire whaling manual in between the pages of the novel. Maybe there's some thematic relevance regarding the whole whaling stuff being there, but Melville did not make it easy for people to analyze (let alone enjoy) the book.

[@SamClemensRIGL]

What, no mention of the clam chowder recipe? I am disappoint. Kidding; great video.

[@melissamcginnis6528]

Wow! That was so amazing. First off that summary and analysis was one of the best I’ve ever seen, second I could not stop laughing my ass off. “Kicking it Bert and Ernie style”

[@zoesnyder1674]

Brilliant. You justified my college experience with "500 pages of bullsh*t about whaling." THANK YOU. I'd love to see you tear apart Rebecca by Du Maurier, Beloved by Morison, The Crucible, The Giver... Yeah, just keep 'em coming. This is pure gold.

[@KaponoMonster]

"500 pages of whaling bulls*it!" Lol

[@wynnefox]

"After 500 pages about Ishmael going off about whaling bullshit..." I hate this book for this exact reason. I didn't have to read this in school, I did it all on my own and I tell everyone that this book is best called,"Everything you wanted to know about whaling but afraid to ask: Madness Edition." Melville really wanted to show he knew his shit about whaling and it was completely unnecessary to the story.

[@Kinkoyaburi]

Haha, I kinda liked the book for the whaling bullshit. It was fascinating to me, although I dislike whalers and whale hunting.

[@zakkdavis1704]

Haha that phrase had me laughing

[@Zellig]

Kinkoyaburi And yet you have no problem with cows and pigs, who have the mental acuity of dogs and cats, being mass slaughtered, basically hooked up to the matrix for most of their life, and often beaten, abused, and tortured for your fast food your lazy ass eats because you won't bother to cook for yourself, get real.

[@Zellig]

And yet you have no problem with cows and pigs, who have the mental acuity of dogs and cats, being mass slaughtered, basically hooked up to the matrix for most of their life, and often beaten, abused, and tortured for your fast food your lazy ass eats because you won't bother to cook for yourself, get real.

[@wynnefox]

Wow, talking about turning it up to 11.

[@ahabtheplant]

This is me, subscribing. You are too intelligent for KZbin. Keep on braining.

[@ComradeRichey]

I’ve got to be honest; this is probably the best and most succinct analysis I’ve ever come across about one of my favourite books.

[@alexscott1257]

Isn't it just! It's framed as a joke and very funny it is! (I dare say that Melville himself would have approved being a man of humour like he was!) I actually think that the best tools for learning are the ones that make things fun and this sure makes it fun! He gets in some pretty deep points about the book and more than enough to get your thoughts flowing as you read! I can't help but hear Sparky's voice in my head in certain pages of Moby Dick now. Phrases like "Only Ahab sees that God doin' "em straight dirty!" When I'm reading some of Ahab's rants and reflections on the world!

[@janeyrevanescence12]

Ok, here's one for you. How about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne? Can't wait to see what you'd do with that one!

[@Terranscapes]

I'm sad that BET doesn't give you the time slot (4 min?? I mean, 'Come On?!?) to do the full Thug Notes. It's so much richer and comprehensive. (Nice Job!) It is actually informative. Ahhh.. TV. Tirelessly stripping away any intellectual value of its content. **sigh** I find the omission (by everyone) of the whaling tasks, which take a major part of the story, surprising. It struck me as just as important, and relevant to Ahab's tale. It seemed to make an argument about the toil of man, it's bloody and cruel work, and the joy of exploitation. But rather than a condemnation of that state, it's a compassionate, albeit sad, understanding. His depiction of the crew as being at the mercy of the Captain, as well as the economy of the time - risking their very lives for a meager living and bathed in gore when successful - shows a measure of sympathy. Perhaps Melville is also depicting a parallel sympathy for the whales, embodied by Moby himself. Moby too is a slave to whaling but represents a violent rebellion against it. To be fair to Ahab, he also rebels against whaling, foregoing normal whale hunting at the risk of mutiny. He has chosen to live outside of its system to pursue a single maniacal obsession. He has literally been scarred by the violence of the career and has devolved into having the violence of whaling as his sole focus. The loss of his leg has been the biggest event in his life and since it was born from violence, he can only see violence as the retributive solution to his state of life. Except for Ishmael, whaling is the entirety of life for all the characters, all of whom are victims of its violence and exploitation. I might be reading into it a bit more than what is there, or am off in my interpretation, but the whaling does occupy a huge part of the book and seems to be an important component of Melville's message. I was quite surprised by it's voluminous inclusion actually, and pleasantly so. (For the record I'm a vegan, so no 'You're pro-whaling!?!' baiting. **grin**) To be fair to Thug Notes - you only have 4.5 minutes to cover a symbolically rich story, so some aspects (perhaps more nebulous in their interpretation) need to be omitted.

[@NodDisciple1]

+Terranscapes It is called idiot box for a reason. Part of me won't be really that sad if the net kills it really.

[@albinpepe9057]

Thank you for this! Wonderful analysis.

[@Dredious]

This was astoundingly accurate

[@DelsOgun]

Loool! Moby Deezziie, I love the summary.. subscribed!

[@PDOORKNOBS]

THIS IS PEQUOD ARRIVING SHORTLY TO LZ!!!

[@BigBoss-sm9xj]

PrincessDoorKnobs " Be careful down there Boss"

[@nervmeister]

Very interesting parallel MGSV decided on. Ironically, wouldn't Skull Face be the "Capt. Ahab" of the story while Venom Snake is "Moby Dick"? I mean, Skull Face's gun is called a "Mare's Leg" which calls back to Capt. Ahab's artificial leg in the book. He also hates Venom aka. Big Boss for robbing him of any recognition for his contributions in much the same way Moby Dick robbed Ahab of his leg. Venom, late in the game, symbolically smears white ash all over his face, echoing the titular whale's pale complexion. And FINALLY, what Sparky says at 3:37 may the most telling in that it hints at the big twist of the story. If you played it through, you know which one........

[@up_dog2127]

quipper I feel like the motif applies to both Venom and Skull face. Many of the characters like Kaz are so worked up with revenge. The revenge is the poison in venom snake after all. Plus Venom also has an artificial limb. All of the characters obsessed with revenge also meat a grizzly end

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

love that. Great game.

[@kakashi76767]

So... In Cowboy Bebop, Jett Black is Ahab, and Spike is Ishmael...Nice!

[@octoyang1991]

+The AMV TOP 50 OMG, it all make sense now~!!! @.@

[@kakashi76767]

Francisco Florimon well, Jett did have a lover he could not bear to let go - watch episode 10 again. he let her go, but it hurt him like hell. jett's "white whale" was udi taxin, the guy who he thought took his arm. he wasnt obsessed with udi like ahab was with the whale, but when he got a chance to nab him he took it despite his disdain for the ISSP

[@kakashi76767]

Francisco Florimon hey you can believe whatever stupid shit you want

[@Messmaster08]

+The AMV TOP 50 All of the major characters have something haunting their past they refuse to let go of, which plays into the central theme of the story. Jet Black is haunted by his history in Law Enforcement and a past girlfriend, Faye is haunted by her amnesia and lack of identity, and Spike is haunted by his involvement with the crime syndicate. However, unlike Jet and Faye, Spike is the only character who is incapable of letting go of the past and he dies as a result. If anything, Spike is Ahab and Vicious is the White Whale. As Ahab's leg is taken by the whale, Vicious robbed Spike of Julia, and since then Spike's only purpose is to get revenge. Even after Julia dies, Spike still pursues Vicious because of how consumed he is by his past and the desire for vengeance.

[@TheDrLeviathan]

Messmaster08 the setting even reflects this, with modern looking cities juxtaposed with space flight and sci fi stuff.

[@Venom1846]

Okay, this actually makes me want to read Moby Dick. All the chapters, all 135...chapters...(gulp)...with about 125 of them being about nothing... NO! I must do this! But the chapters...and my library only has a 2 week checkout period...Dear God...

[@alexscott1257]

This summary and analysis is just fantastic, it seems to get better every time I watch it. The only thing better is the book itself, just as relevant today as it was when it was written. Melville was a man who really understood life, the universe and everything.

[@Pikaroth]

One day, Thug Notes must return!

[@Ldiablo3]

this is the best one yet, my dude. i think i've been a subscriber since day 2, and they just keep getting better. how about Siddhartha. it's been a long time since i read that book.

[@ishmaellamarque4726]

Wow, my name in my favorite book...

[@illinoisboy4]

Yo...I was pleasantly surprised how insightful this summary is. Damn! Good shit man!! 👌🏾✊🏾💯

[@j-manmarkus7591]

Hahahaha, brilliant, sir, BRILLIANT!!! And now, I shall take another stab at reading "Moby Dick" again...

[@divyastars95]

OMG THIS REVIEW IS SO ON POINT!

[@Tamarind525]

Well done, Thug Notes! "500 pages of some whale shit -" not easy to distill this into under 5 min but ya did, and it was hilarious. Many thanks for the laughs and insights

[@1Kilili]

This channel is genius. Not only is it a fresh, entertaining, 'n' creative idea (yo !?) , but it's also valuable and to the point :)

[@8GrantRantsUnited8]

0:30 KICKIN IT BERT AND ERNIE STYLE O M F G I'M DYINGGGG

[@mranster]

Can you believe I made it all the way to age 53 without reading this book? And now it really helps me to have an idea of what I'm going to read before I read it. This video was so helpful, and beautifully done. Thanks!

[@coolair00]

to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.

[@Snowyscar]

You have so cleverly connected to a whole new audience with these videos. You've opened up thick, heavy classics to a new market segment in a well thought-out process which is both humorous and educating. Well done, Dr Sweets. You deserve all the recognition you can get from this series.

[@CrimsionStar]

Captain Ahab, perhaps the realest nigga of all time

[@warbuzzard7167]

Truly, epically, and brilliantly analyzed. Kudos!

[@fauvecorrigan1233]

K, so he says that Ishmael sees the world in a fatalistic way? Is Stubb the same? He laughs at everyone and everything and takes what he can. He's quite the rascal. Probably my favourite character cos there's no bullshit with him

[@everynamewastaken6995]

I confused Stubb with Flask in the ole memory bank and thought "how can anybody prefer Flask to Starbuck??" Then I double checked and yeah, Stubb was a good'n. I prefer Starbuck, I think it's the romantic in me. He tried to the end to dissuade and save his mad captain... Stubb was probably wiser after all. Flask was just an asshole. Love that book, man.

[@neloangelo922]

I swear this is one of the best channels on KZbin, hands down.

[@GameConnoisseur69]

I learned more from this guy then I did from my teachers.

[@DarkEpyon123]

Probably my favorite episode yet. Keep it up Dr. Sweets!

[@timpsmart]

Some days I'm Ishmael and some days I'm Ahab

[@marmoljay7309]

Thanks for the summary I enjoyed the video. I love how you use the actual passages from the book so the viewer can see that you actually know what you are talking about and have read the book ;)

[@mcsestretch]

"You know he dead..." Love it!

[@deathwrenchcustom]

I found the last few million pages of this book very challenging to get through. I appreciate this "condensed" version. "B."

[@DrWolfenstein313]

Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner!

[@FROPDESAI]

+Dr Wolfenstein *Rime

[@profawgdl]

Please dont ever stop making these

[@jamisia13]

Bert and Ernie style! xD Watership Down, Dawg?

[@samwagner4380]

This actually was recommended by my teacher and I think it helps with my assignment.

[@oberlurch-handimations8628]

With the right mindset, these 500 pages of whaling bs become pretty interesting.

[@mitchkronowit3633]

I agree. It’s practically an encyclopedia about whaling at the time it was in its heyday. It also helps drag the story out, which gives the reader some sense of how excruciatingly boring much of the journey was. If the Pequod had come upon Moby Dick by page 300, the story would have felt rushed. It took them a long time to finally find that white whale.

[@darkashtar]

I love Thug Notes, his descriptions are quite accurate and highly entertaining.

[@dukeon]

"Bert & Ernie style"

[@gbsofakingcool]

this is actually really interesting. Good job Wisecrack!

[@davidfeddanigga54]

Best summary i have ever heard

Look into the void long enough, and you will find the void looking back at you. It pierces the soul rendering one as naked and alone as a newborn. In that vast expanse of space, you will find great beauty and meaning but also a frightening proposition that the universe itself is completely indifferent to you and your suffering.

[@DailyDaves]

PLEASE never stop doing these videos. Eventually word will spread and you'll get the views you deserve. This series is SO special and original. THANK YOU!!!

[@Mitchellfw]

Finally, someone has the guts to say a large chunk of that book was a lot of whaling rubbish. "Yes, thank you for that first-person documentary on whaling in the 19th century, now can you PLEASE get on with the plot?"

[@Pikminiman]

This channel is pure quality.

[@SirTomathy]

Just finished reading Moby Dick today, I had to agree with the 500 pages of whaling bullshit

[@Hootowl54]

I love the contrast between the thugness and classical background music!

[@LadyArtemis2012]

"After about 500 pages of Ishmael going off about whaling bullshit..." This is a perfect example of why there are a lot of classics I still haven't read. Say what you want about millennials and attention spans but I'm not reading 500 pages of nonsense that could be completely cut out with no impact to the story.

[@williamsstephens]

The best analysis of Moby Dick I've ever heard.

[@trevorfilipiak1247]

Lost it at "Bert and Ernie Style"

[@truckerenoch8824]

Best Moby Dick summary *EVER!!!*

[@gjford1951]

Hey, sir. Marvelous series. With this analysis, I am a little disappointed that you don't talk more about race, capitalism, limited male relationship rules and climate destruction in your discussion of Moby-Dick. I read this book a little differently. Though I am so pleased that you point out the Bert and Ernie aspects of Ishamael and Queequeg's relationship. I am a little intrigued that you buy into the idea that Ismael is the narrator's real name rather than his alias (he doesn't say "My name is Ishmael." he says "Call me Ishmael.' as though he's trying to remain icognito). Anyway, bottom line my plot of Moby Dick is this. Seeing the Quakers as hypocritical in their pursuit of capital, Ahab maintains his integrity and goes full-tilt in pursuit of the whiteness that underlies the foundation of America. In pursuit of that whiteness, the full out genocidal exploitation of the whale population is fair game, even if it means that you have to find another energy source - or in the 21st century, find another planet completely - or overturn the balance of nature. This totally male environment the guy who wants us to call him Ishmael hooks up with Queequeg like husband and wife (read the text). It is the casket of his husband, Queequeg, that floats the icognito Ishmael to safety and enables him to bear witness. This relentless pursuit of whiteness - putting muscular indigenous, African and Pacific Islander in the buffer position of killing the whales, with white folks guiding the boats that the non-white people are in - leads to one thing only - the destruction of the Ship of State (named for the exterminated Pequod tribe whose stolen land the United States of America currently occupies) and everyone currently aboard. That's what the book seems to be about to me. Whaling is only the metaphor because that was the real estate/gentrification and silicone valley of its era. The ideas of God and the Universe are interesting but of less matter compared to how these human beings have treated each other complacently.

[@aMordorLocal]

Read this in high school, used this to pass the test. I needed a recap for a college paper. Thank you Sir Thug

[@kokothemonkeyy]

why is this the only video that doesn't have a cool-ass graphic for the title, yo?

[@karlbaker03]

Great video I like how The Rachael is a hopeful part of the story. It's like the universe is a meaningless place however you can create you own meaning by being compassionate towards others. Not by the dictates of God but by your own choice

[@kristoferkeck391]

Dis white boy ain't got no time to read paradise lost. Hook a brotha' up!!

[@charliea5641]

Kristofer Keck yo watch the overly sarcastic productions version, it's pretty good

[@evanslewis530]

Thanks for the summary saved me from dying of boredom listening to this audiobook

[@billoates406]

Watership down!!!!!!!!!!! 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

[@LaBelleDemimondaine]

"After about 500 pages of Ishmael goin off about whaling bullsh*t".... EXACTLY. This is why I used Cliff Notes to get me through this section of AP English back in the day. Beautifully done.

[@hescoming4544]

THE FAULT LIES WITH YOUR ISHMAEL

[@dogupatree]

Thug notes is the best thing on you tube. Keep em coming.

[@floragosling84]

4:03 Technically black is the lack of colour. Just sayin'

[@StefanTravis]

"black is the lack of colour" ...or invisibility is the lack of colour. Or any shade of grey that doesn't excite the eye's cone cells. Or the lack of the experience of seeing - did you think blind people saw black?

[@milesj.943]

Depends of if we're talking light or pigment. In light, you're correct, black is the absence of color, but in pigment, it's the inclusion if every color, and vise-versa for white.

[@datboybigrub]

Miles J. gotto love KZbin scientists often young college students with a youtube account.

[@phapnui]

Also the definition of black.

[@Diamonddusted68]

ok...I thought it was about some white boy with male virility issues.

[@birgerhalvorsen8550]

that may not be too far off, actually. the pagans are strong and virile. queequeg carries his phallic harpoon around everywhere. the white characters, however, are all kinds of messed up you could say ishmael accepts his impotence, while ahab refuses to admit his

[@launabanauna8958]

Birger Halvorsen It’s simpler then that...Moby “Dick.” Get it?

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

LOL

[@drippyinfinities]

Thugged-up Oscar the Grouch voice. The Bert and Ernie comment indirectly brought me to this realization.

[@carlgrimeseyepatch27]

damn this book is sad as hell. i'm gonna not read it....

[@josephinewinter]

it's not sad. It's rambly and descriptive and very poetic not very action, but it certainly isn't sad most of the time. It was my favourite book when i was 16 (i've evolved in reverse, i used to be an intellectual and now, at 42, i'm an amoeba who watches youtube) and it enlarged my vocabulary no end. I've always loved the sea and wanted to run away to sea when i was young. If you love the sea, or love history, or long poetic descriptions (several pages long) it's a good book for you. Or if you want to learn lots of archaic sea-going words to impress older people with.

[@gjford1951]

Actually, the book is extremely funny. And sad.

[@Papastatincho]

got the chills from that analysis!

[@danielgolisch9760]

This is a very Existentialist interpretation of a Dark Romanticist book. Yes, the whale symbolizes evil, but what's significant is that Ahab's insane desire for revenge ends in self-destruction. Melville is saying this self-destructive desire is within us all, but we decide for ourselves whether we want to be like Ahab or like Ishmael.

[@rednailvarnish77]

This was the realest episode yet.

[@Zellig]

Anyone who goes on about the 'sacredness' of whales and finds it totally acceptable to eat butchered calves and piggies that were kept locked in a box, fed bland bare minimum food, and executed with minimal (if any) anesthesia (did you know that 25% of the times those bolt guns they sometimes use don't even knock the animal out, and if you don't think it hurts like hell try it on yourself) is a pathetic hypocrite who prioritizes the value of animals based on how cute they think it is.

[@LA-96baby]

kudos to you Friend

[@LA-96baby]

As a vegan, I think that there can never be a decent or 'humane' standard of treatment of farm animals. They are not ours to keep and eat, and they would certainly be better off in sanctuaries even if they are domesticated. We feed an incredible amount of plants and grains to them, only to eat the animals ourselves -when that grain could be feeding the millions living in poverty. At the end of the day, we only eat animals for our own pleasure -meat/dairy is tasty, it is a part of our traditions, and farm animals are in abundance. There is no adequate benefit that comes from raising and slaughtering animals, and certainly not a single health benefit contrary to what society/the media have long told us. I believe the greatest fallacy of our time is the cruel and unnecessary enslavement and murder of animals, and that we humans and our planet would be much better off consuming the variety of beautiful fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts/seed, etc, that mother nature has blessed us with. Animals are not food, they are our fellow earthlings, and we have a duty to treat them as such. But that is my opinion, and I am open to criticism and disagreement from others. :)

[@Zellig]

So why are plants ours to butcher and breed to our liking? They have DNA just like animals, react to painful stimuli, and just want to procreate. Mother nature doesn't 'bless' you with fruit in fact many plants will develop outright poisons or painful defense mechanisms because they do not want you to eat them.

[@Zellig]

I'm completely with you on vegetables being a better alternative, by the way, as meat is unsustainable given the humans' breeding behavior. Insects are abdundant, though, and far better in protein than animals. Also it's important to consider that if we freed all of the animals we use for food, they would greatly disrupt the plant ecosystem, drive a number of plant species to extincting, and eventually succumb to predation from carnivorous animals, some of whom are actually a bit more indecent about the way they murder their food. (Though we are pretty horrible to plants.) Thank god plants can't see what we do to them. If they did, their harrowing screams would echo through eternity. To think we are so cruel to the only life forms that were totally fine with just living off of water and minerals.

[@LA-96baby]

Agreed, however it is still a shame that we even evolved into eating animals on such a large scale, if only we adapted to a plant based whole foods diet, so many problems would never exist or if they did, not nearly as damaging to the earth and our health as they do now. (And to your last point; well thank goodness plants don't have feelings!)

[@SuperJosereyna]

subscribed from day one... every episode keeps getting better. this is my shit

[@WhiteKillerRabbits]

What's this talk about us being orphans? We don't have to be orphans. Jesus Christ came to have us be adopted in the family of God--look at John 1:12 "But to all who did receive Him (that is, anyone who received Jesus), who believed in His name (believed in Jesus's name), He gave the right to become children of God (Jesus gave us the right to become children of God if we believe in Him)," And Captain Ahab had a gross misunderstanding of God's loving-kindness towards people, and completely blew off all of the good things that God does, namely, Jesus Christ sacrificing himself for our sins so that we could get into heaven.

[@thinkstump]

But if God didn't eff with us in the first place, we wouldn't need no JC savin' our asses. Paradox BLAP!

[@WhiteKillerRabbits]

Except God doesn't force us to sin....we sin, and thus, we need to get salvation. (That's where Jesus steps in and died for us, so we could get our sins atoned for).

[@professornebula6545]

This is all based on the assumption that a "God" even exists. But I'll humor you for a moment. Even if a God did exist, why would a perfect being create imperfect pieces of existence? Not only that, perfection is an impossible concept. Nothing could allow this "God" to know if he's perfect, he'd simply have to judge that so by himself. If he is all powerful why must he save us from sin? If he is all knowing why must he create anything? For instance, your idea that we sin on our own is logically flawed. He knows the future, thus it's already written. Therefore he creates us perfectly aware that we're going to sin, and since he is responsible for all occurrences, he not only creates us knowing exactly what we're going to do, but he is responsible for it. Meaning he has the audacity to create us and then judge us despite knowing that no matter what, we're going to do exactly as he planned and knows we will do. Either your "God" isn't actually all powerful and all knowing, or he is, but simply does all that he does for his amusement.

[@WhiteKillerRabbits]

TheSuperKing OfAnime Great questions, and I'd be more than happy to get into a discussion with you if you'd like. "why would a perfect being create imperfect pieces of existence?" Well, God Himself is the definition of what it means to be perfect. God is God, and His created beings are His created beings--I don't think that He'd want to simply duplicate Himself? "Nothing could allow this "God" to know if he's perfect, he'd simply have to judge that so by himself." -----I'm not sure what you were trying to say/what you were intending to say? I think it's silly to talk about God "knowing" if He's perfect or not, because if ANYTHING, He knows that He's supreme and above all else. "If he is all powerful why must he save us from sin?" ---If I'm interpreting your question correctly, are you asking why does there have to be sin? If you think about it, if we had no other option other than to "love God", that wouldn't be the genuine love that He wants. He wants us to freely and WILLINGLY love Him, but in order to do so, He's got to give us a choice to make. Whenever we do choose to love Him, He helps us---not forces---to love Him instead of sin. "If he is all knowing why must he create anything?" ----This question is silly? What does all knowing have to do with God creating things? I don't know what you're asking. God created us to glorify Him more. It doesn't matter that He knows everything.... "For instance, your idea that we sin on our own is logically flawed. He knows the future...(etc.)...but [H]e is responsible for it." ---Just because He knows the future doesn't mean that He forces anyone to "commit sin" or something, like what I feel you're getting at. Black and white, ying and yang, if there's good there's evil. I would imagine that God wanted us to love Him, and as I explained above, He gave us a choice to love Him or not. Some people abuse that free will and sin. Simple as that. People who choose to live their lives in sin and debauchery are choosing not to go to heaven and enjoy God, but instead, they're choosing to go to Hell. So, I've been confused about what you're asking---it sounds like you're trying to "undermine God here", but in reality, if you look, a lot of your "questions" don't connect/make sense.

[@ikosabre]

So God creates the world so that he can be loved and glorified by us (an interesting notion that an omnipotent, perfect being would have the need for being loved and glorified, thus requiring him to create lesser beings for his fulfillment). However, he doesn't want the love of automatons, so he imbues us with free will (which somehow separates us from all causality of the world). He however, being omniscient, knows that this will eventually lead to sin and damnation and he must also know that here will be those, who will not love him as he should be loved and will, knowingly or unknowingly, choose sin and thus be damned to eternal damnation and suffering for eternity. He knows that this, by his own act of creation, will come to pass. Yet he chooses to perform this action of creation regardless of the suffering it will cause and the fact that there will be a great number of those who will not find the way to him (thus they become the necessary sacrifice for "love"). And as an "act of love" he sacrifices his own son in order to subvert these initial circumstances to allow our salvation, even though he created said circumstances and the need for sacrifice in the first place. In sum, this whole sidereal universe is a pointless and convoluted manifestation of a moral narrative, which has been set up by an omnipotent being as a selection machine for finding those, who will love him out of free will and thus fulfill this omnipotent and perfect being's inexplicable need for love, even though he is supposed to be perfect on his own. It bothers me greatly that the Christian mentality considers this kind of logic of hostage situation as an "act of love" and as true, selfless love, when it is anything but that and essentially a forced imposition by a being desperate for being loved, regardless of what kind of suffering it will cause to those he claims to "love". Truly, some people are hedonistic and in need of love so badly that they would subvert all reason and existence in order to quarantine it to themselves and make it the meaning of all existence, no matter what kind of mental disorders it requires. But they don't call it insanity. They call it God and the "love of God".

[@TheMisterjaso]

One of my favorite parts of the week is watching the newest Thug Notes.

[@kylebittman6924]

Have you guys thought about doing Billy Budd? I feel like there's some righteous analysis you can hit on

[@Evilimp000]

You keep getting better each week!

[@tomdavehum]

"Since white is both the lack of colour and the combo of all colours." This line blew my mind.

[@haddietodd5883]

would it be too much to ask if you could do The Jungle by Upton Sinclair?