Weekend Quote: Courage

{hosted by Lemon Tree at Half-Filled Attic}

As before, when grappling with other forces of nature, he could find in himself all sorts of courage except the courage to run away.

- Joseph Conrad, Within the Tides

I was a bit turned off by the depressing, first short story in Within the Tides--that is to say, after finishing it, I haven't yet got any further along in the book.  However, I love the above quote, spoken by the protagonist.  It reminds me of a quote from another author of sea stories:

“I will have no man in my boat," said Starbuck, "who is not afraid of a whale." By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward.

- Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

And how striking Starbuck's quote is!  How unlike Captain Ahab, who is confident he is afraid of nothing, least of all a whale.  Isn't he afraid, though?  Is Ahab, in fact, too cowardly to "run away" from Moby-Dick?

Third literary connection: what about Sherlock Holmes (book or TV)?  Did it take courage, or cowardice, to "run away" after Reichenbach? 

Personally, I think there are times when the smartest thing to do is to distance yourself from a bad situation, one you have no ability to change.  It takes courage to give it up, but more importantly, it takes courage to accept the sting to your pride.  It's not always possible (unfortunately) to be a hero.

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Moby-Dick (1956) movie review

How does one review a childhood favorite?  All the words that come to mind are childish phrases, like "WATCH IT NAO!!!!1"...  

Captain Ahab is a creepy guy.  The Pequod is a creepy ship.  Captain Ahab wants to wreak revenge on Moby-Dick, the white whale that severed his leg.  But none of the crew--least of all Ishmael, the whaling newbie--none of them know this until they sign on to the job.   Now that they're out at sea, they're doomed to follow Ahab to the edge of the world, or however far it takes for him to take revenge on Moby-Dick.

This is one instance where you don't need to read the 600-page book.  This movie gets the spirit and essential plot right, with whole lines straight from the book ("I'd smite the sun if it insulted me.").  Gregory Peck is worlds better than book!Ahab--his stricken youth is even more poignant, more horrifying.  Leo Genn is, by contrast, older and grimmer than book!Starbuck, but he aces the part of a levelheaded family man and conscientious Christian.  Ishmael is, well, Ishmael.  The cinematography and special effects are pretty amazing for a 50s movie, and overall they've aged well, too.

What makes this movie worthwhile, besides the epic adventure, is its incredible, inscrutable depth.  Is Ahab completely evil, completely mad, well-intentioned, or something else?  What would you do if you were Starbuck, the second-in-command?  What does "doing the right thing" mean when all the choices seem wrong?

When I read the book, I thought Ahab was pure evil, or at least deranged in a sick, sick way.  Upon this umpteenth viewing of the movie, I was able to read between the lines more.  Yes, Ahab is insane and wicked, but he is a tragic character as well.  There are those figments of sanity and regret, which I saw on previous viewings, but then there are his enigmatic lines, in which he views his revenge as a noble cause:

Yet he is but a mask. 'Tis the thing behind the mask I chiefly hate; the malignant thing that has plagued mankind since time began; the thing that maws and mutilates our race, not killing us outright but letting us live on, with half a heart and half a lung.

Book!Ahab rebels bitterly against God, but this Ahab comes across with an additional (perhaps chief) objective: an attempt to crush sin/decay.  Yet these two different motives somehow surface as the same actions, hatred, and madness.  He hates himself, because he hates what the whale has done to him.  His mistake is looking to his own strength for salvation.  (Of course, this is only how I see movie!Ahab.  Never could fully understand the book-character or what Melville intended him to be...certainly subject to interpretation.)

I'll never get tired of this story--already want to re-read the book!  The history and adventure, the irony and contrasts (democratic Americans swearing loyalty to one man?!), and, of course, Ahab and the Whale and the psychology/mystery I can't unravel.  Watch it now!  :)

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courage

   "'I will have no man in my boat,' said Starbuck, 'who is not afraid of a whale.' By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward.
   "'Aye, aye,' said Stubb, the second mate, 'Starbuck, there, is as careful a man as you'll find anywhere in this fishery.' But we shall ere long see what that word "careful" precisely means when used by a man like Stubb, or almost any other whale hunter.
   Starbuck was no crusader after perils; in him courage was not a sentiment; but a thing simply useful to him, and always at hand upon all mortally practical occasions. Besides, he thought, perhaps, that in this business of whaling, courage was one of the great staple outfits of the ship, like her beef and her bread, and not to be foolishly wasted. Wherefore he had no fancy for lowering for whales after sun-down; nor for persisting in fighting a fish that too much persisted in fighting him. For, thought Starbuck, I am here in this critical ocean to kill whales for my living, and not to be killed by them for theirs; and that hundreds of men had been so killed Starbuck well knew."

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The whale

"It was a terrific, most pitiable, and maddening sight. The whale was now going head out, and sending his spout before him in a continual tormented jet; while his one poor fin beat his side in an agony of fright. Now to this hand, now to that, he yawed in his faltering flight, and still at every billow that he broke, he spasmodically sank in the sea, or sideways rolled towards the sky his one beating fin. So have I seen a bird with clipped wing, making affrighted broken circle in the air, vainly striving to escape the piratical hawks. But the bird has a voice, and with plaintive cries will make known her fear; but the fear of this vast dumb brute of the sea, was chained up and enchanted in him; he had no voice, save that choking respiration through his spiracle, and this made the sight of him unspeakably pitiable; while still, in his amazing bulk, portcullis jaw, and omnipotent tail, there was enough to appal the stoutest man who so pitied."  -  Moby-Dick

My book review has been a long time in coming, because I've been trying to edit and abridge it, without detracting from it.  However, I do hope to post the review soon.  In the meanwhile, I will occasionally post some of what I thought were the best, most interesting, or most important quotes from the book.

Soon I will also post a book review for Nutcracker and Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffmann, as well as The Tale of the Nutcracker by Alexandre Dumas.  :) 

And hopefully, I'll be posting some less bookish posts pretty soon, and another entry(s) for Darby's Paper Doll Event.  The deadline is still a few days away, so it's not too late to enter!  :)

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