![Fig. 1. USS Peacock in Contact with the Ice. Alfred Thomas Agate. NUSEE Vol. 2. Facing page 318. Public Domain.
[image] Peacock in contact with ice-berg. A.T. Agate pt. M. Osborne sc. (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard. 1845).
According (Grunes 2021) it is through expedition leader Charles Wilkes, Melville explores the nonhuman sublime, its power to test human physical and epistemological limits, and the driving ambition it provokes. In the process, Melville extends Wilkes’s image of the “icy barrier” around Antarctica. This wall, barrier, or mask becomes an origin point for the ambitions—Ahabian, Ishmaelian, Wilkesian and even Melvillian—that energize epic endeavors, including those of the young republic’s nascent expansionist imperialism.
Grunes, M. (2021). Ahab and Ishmael in Antarctica: How Charles Wilkes’s White Continent Gave Rise to the White Whale. Leviathan (Hempstead, N.Y.), 23(2), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1353/lvn.2021.0013](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:q66r3vy7xepmx62ti4vt7uzb/bafkreiedgzf5sdjqtzddohhcmvxzeay26csa3flvhbacq6x7637b2sz3b4)
Fig. 1. USS Peacock in Contact with the Ice. Alfred Thomas Agate. NUSEE Vol. 2. Facing page 318. Public Domain.
[image] Peacock in contact with ice-berg. A.T. Agate pt. M. Osborne sc. (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard. 1845).
According (Grunes 2021) it is through expedition leader Charles Wilkes, Melville explores the nonhuman sublime, its power to test human physical and epistemological limits, and the driving ambition it provokes. In the process, Melville extends Wilkes’s image of the “icy barrier” around Antarctica. This wall, barrier, or mask becomes an origin point for the ambitions—Ahabian, Ishmaelian, Wilkesian and even Melvillian—that energize epic endeavors, including those of the young republic’s nascent expansionist imperialism.
Grunes, M. (2021). Ahab and Ishmael in Antarctica: How Charles Wilkes’s White Continent Gave Rise to the White Whale. Leviathan (Hempstead, N.Y.), 23(2), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1353/lvn.2021.0013
![[portion] of Chart of the Antarctic Continent. 1840. Showing "Line of Icy Barrier"
"To Americans, Antarctic exploration offered possibilities for economic expansion as well as the less tangible prize of international glory. This fascination culminated in the discovery of the Antarctic continent in 1840 by the United States Exploring Expedition (or U.S. Ex. Ex.), commanded by the relentlessly ambitious Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. When Wilkes led his ships south, it was unknown whether ice, land, or open ocean covered the South Pole. Within only a few weeks, the expedition had identified the existence of the continent; yet Wilkes had an even grander goal in mind: to land on the continent. For nearly two bitter months, his men mapped 1,500 miles of the coastline, seeking an opening in the icy barrier girding the continent. They never set foot on it."
From - Grunes, M. (2021). Ahab and Ishmael in Antarctica: How Charles Wilkes’s White Continent Gave Rise to the White Whale. Leviathan (Hempstead, N.Y.), 23(2), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1353/lvn.2021.0013](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:q66r3vy7xepmx62ti4vt7uzb/bafkreidagfqbbeu7s4ocem756epfynzcjvmkzqi4erxyzjg4zb5qbcuu2a)
[portion] of Chart of the Antarctic Continent. 1840. Showing "Line of Icy Barrier"
"To Americans, Antarctic exploration offered possibilities for economic expansion as well as the less tangible prize of international glory. This fascination culminated in the discovery of the Antarctic continent in 1840 by the United States Exploring Expedition (or U.S. Ex. Ex.), commanded by the relentlessly ambitious Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. When Wilkes led his ships south, it was unknown whether ice, land, or open ocean covered the South Pole. Within only a few weeks, the expedition had identified the existence of the continent; yet Wilkes had an even grander goal in mind: to land on the continent. For nearly two bitter months, his men mapped 1,500 miles of the coastline, seeking an opening in the icy barrier girding the continent. They never set foot on it."
From - Grunes, M. (2021). Ahab and Ishmael in Antarctica: How Charles Wilkes’s White Continent Gave Rise to the White Whale. Leviathan (Hempstead, N.Y.), 23(2), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1353/lvn.2021.0013
Grunes, M. (2021). Ahab and Ishmael in Antarctica: How Charles Wilkes’s White Continent Gave Rise to the White Whale. Leviathan (Hempstead, N.Y.), 23(2), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1353/lvn.2021.0013
Day 5 #30DayMapChallenge - #Earth
The U.S. Ex. Ex.) of 1838–1842
Fig. 1. USS Peacock in Contact with the Ice.
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Chart of the Antarctic Continent. 1840
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#WhiteWall #WhiteWhale
