How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Nickerson estimated that [...] he and his fellow green hands would owe the ship's owners close to 90 percent of their total earnings from the voyage. (3.41)
The whaling business basically scams novice sailors into working for free. Sure, it's great to gain experience, but in a field as dangerous as this one, you'd better be earning a pretty penny for your efforts. But that doesn't matter—despite his horrendous experiences at sea, Nickerson will walk away from the Essex no richer than when he started.
Quote #8
"Yet old whalemen delight in it. The fetid smoke is incense to their nostrils. The filthy oil seems to them a glorious representative of prospective dollars." (4.12)
Even the whalers themselves can get a little greedy at times. This image just emphasizes how powerful money can be—even the most disgusting process in the world can become a beautiful thing if mucho dinero is involved. Still, what's the value of all of this money if you never get the chance to enjoy it?
Quote #9
A yellowish slime [...] slopped over the gunwales with the waves. [...] The fluid that only a few days before had been their fortune, their obsession, was now their torment. (6.12)
This is the perfect symbol for the Essex disaster—and the whaling industry as a whole. In their greed to make as much cash as possible, these men stepped headlong into one of the most horrendous naval disasters of all time. In the end, however, the thing that keeps you going can ultimately do you in. And to think—all of that oil is will now simply sink beneath the waves, never to be seen again.