Ken Reads The Classics

 CHAPTER 4. The Counterpane. 

 CHAPTER 5. Breakfast. 

 CHAPTER 6. The Street. 

 CHAPTER 7. The Chapel. 

 CHAPTER 8. The Pulpit. 

 CHAPTER 9. The Sermon. 

I made a mistake in mixing Episodes 3 and 4.  I had to re-master them and then re-post them.  My apologies. 

Ishmael and Queequeg become fast friends and spend another night together in the Spouter-Inn.  Ishmael learns of Queequegs not-so-humble beginnings and his reasons for adventuring into Christendom.  Queequeg saves the ship and the life of a greenhorn as they sail to Nantucket.  Ishmael describes Nantucket and Nantucketers in lofty fashion.  He also raves of the chowder, both clam and cod, served by the Hussey's, owners and proprietors of the Try-Pots inn.

Ishmael and Queequeg wake up after sleeping well throughout the night.  Ishmael describes the bar, street, and the chapel.  He listens to Father Mapple's fiery sermon on the lessons learned from the biblical story of Jonah and the whale.

Hello family, friends, and listeners far and wide

In honor of our nation's 244th birthday and the 243rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I thought I would read that important document and provide it as a bonus episode.  I hope you enjoy it. 

Ishmael searches for lodgings on a cold, wet New England night.  He winds up at The Spouter, learns he must share a bed with a strange harpooner.  Enjoy!

Ken Reads the Classics - bonus episode - regarding race and language

Hello loyal listeners,

First, I want to say thank you for listening.  I really appreciate it.  Please tell your family, friends, and neighbors about the podcast and leave a review, if you are so inclined.  Reviews help others to discover this podcast.

Now, I need to say something about racism and the language Melville uses in Moby Dick. I also should qualify my remarks because I have not finished the entire book yet.  As of today’s date - 22 June 2020, I have only read up to chapter 42; so if more racist language appears in later chapters, I may have to address the issue then.

Regarding racism: Melville certainly buys into the white supremacy of day as clearly depicted in Chapter 42 and others.  The entire chapter is dedicated to the color white and all its meanings and portentions.  However, in the same chapter in which he discusses the supposed purity and superiority of the color white; Melville also mentions the evilness and darkness associated with the color.  It is the whiteness of the whale that vexes him more so than any other aspect of the great fish.

Melville also portrays characters of color such as Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo, as the most confident, most serene, most “normal” people on the ship.

At the same time the White, Anglo-Saxon, Male, Protestant characters have major character defects.  Ahab is the most obvious of these characters with his obsession to kill Moby Dick but others in the book also have deranged components of their beings well.  We haven’t met them yet but we will soon and they will flaunt their flaws in gallant fashion.

Unfortunately, Melville uses language to describe and address people of color which was offensive then - but in common use; and offensive now - and thankfully, not in common use today. I am personally uncomfortable reading these words but they are in the book and I cannot ignore them nor do I wish to re-write Melville’s classic novel. Instead, I choose to accept it as it is and hopefully we can use this as a way to understand where we were regarding race and language and social norms; then learn how far we’ve come and also how far we need to go to achieve racial justice and equality.

Thank you again for listening. I hope you continue to enjoy my reading of Moby Dick.

Ishmael introduces himself and his world to us.  He shares his reasons for going to see - in modern terms, we'd call it a mid-life crisis. Enjoy!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to a special episode of Ken Reads the Classics.  Today we celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Liberation Day, Freedom Day, and Emancipation Day. In honor of this day, I thought I would give a brief history and then read the General Granger read on that momentous day in 1865.

After Robert E. Lee surrendered to Loyal Union Forces, the United States of America sent Army General Gordon Granger to Texas with 2,000 troops to occupy that state.  He arrived on Galveston Island on June 18th 1865 and on June 19th, He stood on the balcony of Galveston's Ashton Villa, then read "General Order No. 3", announcing the total emancipation of those held as slaves.

It reads as follows:

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.[16]

There the order ends. I encourage you all to learn more about Juneteenth and our country's troubled history regarding slavery and racial injustice; so that we can all learn how to move forward and heals those wounds.

God bless and enjoy your day.

Hello all you audio-book lovers out there.  Welcome to my new podcast and as you probably guessed, I will read classic literature for your listening pleasure.  Feel free to send me any comments or suggestions for the next book at [email protected].  Thank you for listening.