Moby Dick in 2010

By: Victoria Lee

       For years now, students have been challenged with the task of reading the tremendously long novel Moby Dick. Many find the novel to be overly detailed and think that the concepts portrayed in the novel could be condensed into a much smaller piece of literature. At first glance, I thought that this novel could not possibly be worth the long read. I also thought it would be impossible to be able to relate my life to a novel based on a man living on a whaling ship in the 1830′s. My previous assumptions were proved wrong once I was enthrawled by the novel.

       Moby Dick is interpreted differently for each reader. Herman Melville’s novel has many different themes that people can relate their lives to. It is this wide range of interpretaion that has brought Moby Dick to be such a timeless novel. To some, it is a novel about following one’s dream, no matter what the consequences. To others, it is about discovering oneself and finding what is important to him or her. The concepts of man not being able to conquer an unparalleled greatness and the limits of man’s knowledge are also portrayed in the novel. Each reader takes something different from the book. Even in 2010 when our lives are fast paced and and not many men take time to go whaling, the novel’s classic themes are still relevant.  

        However, if the story of Moby Dick were to take place current day, things would be a little different. The following videos are examples of what Moby Dick would be like if it were to take place in today’s modern world.

1st Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc5hR4aLMxk&feature=player_embedded

In this commercial, Captain Ahab is set in 2010 when buying boat insurance. In 2010, if Ahab’s boat was wrecked by an enormous white whale, he would be able to be covered by his insurance plan. However, in the 1830′s there was no such thing, and such an incident would cause a captain to have to find a new boat.

The makers of this commercial were able to portray a character from a famous novel in order to attract viewers. At the end of the commercial, Captain Ahab plans to spend the money he saved  on an electronic fish finder. Having an electronic fish finder would have drastically changed this novel. Instead of sitting around waiting for whales and guessing where they might be, the crew would have been able to direct themselves straight to the whale. Therefore, if this novel was written in 2010, the chapters would be alot shorter because technology has brought us to do so many things in high speed. Having less time spent on the boat is only one of the differences this novel would have if it were set in 2010.

2nd Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXu8MO7JkvA&feature=player_embedded#!

In this modern Blackberry commercial, we see the story of Moby Dick told on a Blackberry in 2010. In contrast to the novel, it is easy to get the word out about something like a whaling adventure because of our advanted technology. In the 1980′s, one had to travel to a port and find the soonest ship leaving. Today, all one has to do is update their status on Facebook and all of their “friends” would be able to see it. Internet takes a huge role in communication today. Therefore, the way Ishmael found his whaling ship would have gone much differently if this novel were set in 2010.