Moby Dick A Whale of a Tale

When I read Moby Dick in high school,  I was mesmerized by Captain Ahab.  This mad man was determined to destroy Moby Dick, the great sperm whale, that to him, represented ultimate evil in the world. At least that was his opinion of the gray giant.  Today, we protect these beautiful intelligent animals. If only Melville knew!

Ahab puts his entire crew in danger and doesn't let anyone or anything get in his way. One day, he announces his quest to his crew and nails a doubloon to the mast for all to see. His determination is ruthless, cruel. At that point, I would have grabbed my iPhone, made a dash for a lifeboat and called 911! No such luck for the crew of the Pequod, who were just about as mad as Ahab but recognized that something was definitely not quite right with their captain.

This symbolic move of nailing the doubloon on the mast reminded me of the nailing of Christ to the cross. It represented the rising action of the novel and makes one wonder what his deep dark plan was and if the crew would mutiny.

Ahab seems to believe he's a god who's immune to anything and anyone. Melville portrays him as a tragic hero who will most likely meet a tragic ending. His quest is obsessive. Destroy Moby Dick, the great sperm whale, no matter what.

The climax of the novel in chapter 132 is evident when Ahab realizes that he has no will to stop his obsessive quest to kill Moby Dick. Starbuck is present as Ahab questions himself about it and knows there will be no turning back. His madness is very obvious and tantalizes the reader to continue with him on his dark voyage.

The falling action, which the reader might not quite expect, is when Moby Dick destroys the ship (GO MOBY!) that causes the death of Captain Ahab and all aboard except one crew member, Ismael, who floats out to sea on a coffin, and then is rescued by another whaling ship. It reminds me of the scene in the Titanic when Leonardo DeCaprio and Kate Winslet were clinging to debris from a ship and he was slowly sinking in the deadly Arctic waters. A watery grave isn't my cup of tea.

From all the madness and turmoil of man versus nature, the fact that Ishamael was rescued by another whaling ship was a message that his madness and unfortunate fate represents an eternity of hell. Tragic ending, the prediction that came true!

I've created a free packet of student worksheets for this epic saga. If you've read it, it's worth a second read! Click on the image for the free download.                

                                              

Chocolate Fever

Can you imagine what it would be like if you broke out in CHOCOLATE SPOTS while you were at school?? I would have been mortified if it had been me!  Kids love this book. Maybe it's because they've had some kind of allergic reaction and relate to it.

I remember the summer I was ten. It was a scorcher and my friend's mother had some ice cold oranges and gave us each one.  We sliced them in quarters and then began munching away. Orange juice dribbling down our chins, and laughing like goofy kids.

An hour later, I was at the doctor's office, covered from head to toe in huge hives. I was swelling up like the Pillsbury Dough Boy and couldn't see because my eyes were slits due to the swelling on my face.

"How are you feeling, dear" the doctor asked me. I peered at her and thought, are you kidding?
It was determined that I had an allergy to the white stuff on the skin of an orange. Just my luck, I had to have a cortisone shot and I wasn't the biggest fan of any sharp objects being jabbed into my arm.

After I read Chocolate Fever, I just had to create some easy to use, ready to print worksheets for my students that were standards based, yet fun to do. Whoever thought of writing Chocolate Fever couplets?
"There was a kid in New York, who looked like a chocolate stork...."  Fun Fun Fun!

Check out my packet! Don't worry, you won't break out in chocolate spots!