187 things from this book went into her brain. Here are the first 6.
In Moby-Dick, Ishmael deals with a grim, low mood by changing his surroundings and going out into the world, calling it his substitute for a pistol and ball.
In Moby-Dick, Melville shows office and shop workers crowding down to the waterfront on a Sunday, a sign of how much people long for open space after a week penned indoors.
In Moby-Dick, Ishmael says that moving from a schoolmaster's authority to a sailor's humble work stings at first, but the sting wears off in time, and Stoic calm helps you get through it.
Ishmael notes there is all the difference in the world between paying and being paid, and that the act of paying is the uncomfortable side.
Melville's Ishmael observes that the commander on the quarter-deck breathes air the crew on the forecastle has already given him, and does not realise it.
Ishmael admits his choice to go to sea only felt like his own free judgement, while deeper curiosity about the unknown had quietly steered him there.
Melville quotes an old writer that the same storm looks very different from a warm window than from a cold one, so how a hardship feels depends on where you stand.
Ishmael stares at a puzzling painting until he finds the one portentous thing at its centre, and then everything else falls into place. Often one central fact makes the rest plain.
Ishmael catches himself nursing prejudices against a stranger he has never met, and decides to wait and judge the man in person before he settles his mind.
Ishmael refuses to be fobbed off with vague, muddled answers. He asks the landlord to speak plainly and say whether he will be safe before he commits to anything.
Ishmael admits that he was afraid of the stranger mainly because he did not understand him. Not knowing a person is often what makes them frightening.
Once Ishmael sees the tattooed harpooneer as a person, just as anxious as he is, he realises the stranger has as much reason to fear him, and he sleeps well.
Ishmael holds that a good laugh is a precious thing, and that someone willing to be the butt of a joke with good humour often has more in them than people think.
Ishmael notices that hardened whalemen who fear no whale go quiet and sheepish at a social breakfast. Skill in one setting does not automatically carry into another.
Ishmael reads Father Mapple pulling his ladder up into the pulpit as a sign of stepping back from worldly ties to draw strength from within, a self-contained stronghold.
Father Mapple preaches that the right course is hard because doing it means overruling our own wishes, so we must disobey ourselves to obey what we know is right.
Melville's Father Mapple notes that a wrongdoer with money can pass every border freely, while a poor person's virtue is turned away. Judgement often follows the purse.
Father Mapple praises Jonah's repentance as accepting the fair weight of his punishment rather than clamouring for pardon. Owning a mistake without excuses is a model for anyone.
Father Mapple closes his sermon with the duty to speak truth to the face of falsehood, even when the message is unwelcome to those who hear it.
Ishmael finds that the very things that put him off Queequeg, his strangeness and wildness, are what draw him in. Sincere, unpretentious people are often the friends worth making.
Ishmael settles his scruples about a stranger's customs with the golden rule: treat your fellow man as you would want to be treated, and let the rest be his own business.
Ishmael observes that nothing exists in itself, only by contrast. A little cold makes the warmth of the bed feel warmer, and comfort is best felt against its opposite.
In Moby-Dick, Queequeg is refused a berth on a ship, so he paddles out to meet it and clings to a ring-bolt, refusing to let go. Determination can open doors that a polite request cannot.
When a loose boom sweeps the deck and everyone freezes, Queequeg drops calmly to his knees, lassos it, then dives in to save the very man he had just frightened. Calm action in a panic is worth a lot.
Ishmael describes Nantucket fishermen working up step by step, from crabs in the sand to mackerel nets, then boats, then great ships. Mastery is built from small beginnings, one stage at a time.
Ishmael observes that a rare old craft, scarred by long service, has a melancholy air about it. Melville's view is that all noble things are touched with that kind of sadness.
When Ishmael says he wants to go to sea to see the world, Captain Peleg asks why he must go so far, since he can see the world right where he stands. Much of what we seek is closer than we think.
Captain Peleg tells Ishmael it is better to sail with a moody good captain than a laughing bad one, and not to judge a man by an unfortunate name. Character matters more than manner.
Ishmael argues that people should be charitable toward other people's beliefs and quirks, since everyone is somewhat cracked in the head and in need of mending.
Ishmael suggests that people of every faith share a common ground beneath their quirks and differences, and that this shared belief is what should hold them together.
In a storm that wrecks the masts, Captain Peleg says there was no time to brood on death. He and his captain thought only of how to save all hands, which is the practical focus a crisis demands.
Ishmael sees that it is the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had a great secret in him. Mystique is not the same as substance.
Melville points out that a whaling voyage is a long housekeeping far from any shop, and that the ship carries spare boats, spars and lines because accidents are sure to come. Plan for what will go wrong.
Ishmael admits that a man who senses something wrong, and is already committed, will quietly try to hide his suspicions even from himself. Name the doubt early, while it is still easy to act on.
Melville suggests that deep, earnest thinking takes an intrepid effort, a willingness to stay in open water rather than crawl back to the safety of the shore. Comfort can be its own kind of trap.
Herman Melville has his narrator in Moby Dick argue that a trade's grubby look says little about its worth. Judge the work by what it does for people, not by how it looks.
In Moby Dick, Melville has Ishmael credit the unglamorous whaling ships with opening up distant coasts. The people who do the groundwork are often the ones nobody writes down.
Ishmael in Moby Dick says whatever worth he has comes from the whaling ship that taught him, which he calls his Yale and Harvard. A humble place can still be a real education.
In Moby Dick, Starbuck treats courage as a practical tool, not a show. He would not take a man into his boat who was not afraid of a whale, since fear that is weighed honestly keeps you alive.
Melville has his narrator find dignity in the arm that wields a pick or drives a spike, not in robes or rank. Honest work carries its own worth, whatever the job looks like from outside.
In Moby Dick, Stubb meets the deadliest moment of a whale hunt with an easy, good-humoured calm. Steadiness in a crisis can come from knowing the work well enough that it no longer rattles you.
In Moby Dick, Melville shows Ahab's unbending will as both a strength and a warning. Fixed resolve can make a leader fearless, and it can also keep him from seeing what he is pointing his crew towards.
In Moby Dick, Stubb notices that an insult from a living person stings far more than the same thing from an object. Who says a hard word can matter as much as what it says.
In Moby Dick, Ishmael promises nothing complete, because anything called complete is bound to be faulty. He is happy to sketch the plan and leave the building to others.
In Moby Dick, Ishmael admits his task is far too big for anyone, then tries it anyway because he is in earnest. Being honest about how hard a job is does not stop you from starting it.
In Moby Dick, Melville notes that sorting things by one striking feature fails, because the same feature turns up in unrelated kinds. Look at the whole thing before you sort it.
Melville ends his whale classification unfinished, saying small structures can be finished by their builders while grand, true ones leave the top stone to others. Work worth doing is often finished by someone who comes after.
In Moby Dick, officers who will argue with the captain on deck go quiet and deferential at his table. Power changes how people behave around the person holding it, and a good leader notices that and does not mistake it for agreement.
In Moby Dick, Flask finds that promotion brings more pressure than peace, and that the rank he wanted costs him simple comforts. Gains in status often come with a hidden price.
In Moby Dick, Ahab keeps himself so apart from his crew that no companionship reaches him, and his gloom feeds on itself. A leader who shuts people out ends up alone with his worst thoughts.
In Moby Dick, a young lookout drifts so far into idle daydreams that he forgets the job he was there to do. Even a beautiful view is no excuse for losing your watch.
In Moby Dick, Ahab nails a gold coin to the mast to rally the crew to his hunt. A bright reward can fire people up, but it can also pull them into a goal that is really someone else's obsession.
In Moby Dick, Starbuck tells Ahab he came to hunt whales, not to serve his commander's revenge, and asks what that vengeance will actually bring in. A good colleague says plainly what the work is for, even when the boss will not like it.
In Moby Dick, Ahab pours his hatred into a single target, and he says he will wreak it on the whale. Anger fixed on one thing can drown out reason and pull a whole crew along with it.
In Moby Dick, Ahab is so consumed by his purpose that even a lovely sunset feels like anguish. Obsession can take the enjoyment out of the good things right in front of you.
In Moby Dick, Starbuck is caught between obeying his captain and his own conscience, and he feels his duty turning into something he resents. Staying loyal to a leader who has gone too far is a hard, lonely place.
In Moby Dick, Stubb decides that whatever is coming, he will go to it laughing. He cannot control the future, but he can choose the spirit he meets it with.
In Moby Dick, Ishmael admits he shouted his oath loudest because of the dread in him, and took on another man's feud. Fear and group excitement can pull us into commitments we would never make alone.
In Moby Dick, rumours about the white whale grow and turn monstrous because news travels slowly across the empty sea. When people have few plain facts, fear fills the gap and swells into something bigger than the truth.
In Moby Dick, Melville says a grudge can seem to fade while it quietly sinks deeper, and an obsession can take a sharp mind and aim all its strength at one target. Watch for a fixation that looks calm on the surface.
