#Structure

I'd like to enhance the argument that Ishmael's narrative is, indeed, technology. I really enjoyed our discussion of Moby Dick's structure being a form of technology. In summary we talked about:

• Chapter Headings
• Capitalization - aesthetics of the font
• Symbolism versus Metaphor

These tools build ideas, images, emotions, opinions. Just as these mediums form transitions in thought and significance, the digital culture we engage in offers similar opportunities. We can use more tools than ever to deliver the message, whether boldly or subtly. If a picture gives us a thousand words, maybe that day we're feeling Instagram. Maybe you found a hilarious video and YouTube is better. Maybe you need to message an old mission companion from Brazil and Facebook is easiest. 

The incredible nature of digital culture, as we glimpsed last week during Dr. Burton's prezi, is rooted in its endless resources. There are tools for just about everything we could ever wish for in regards to communication and information. Melville is extraordinarily ahead of his time as he structurally caters to the information he's providing. 

For example, we discussed the play-like manuscript portion in Chapter 40 where we find that the dialogue is portraying the lack of individual emotion and narrative that is missing when comparing a play and novel.

What an innovative way to explain something that we could've learned from a boring, straight-forward, historical paragraph. Bringing together the idea of the new and Moby Dick's structure we see that things we've never encountered before can make us think critically like we never have before.

The digital structures available to us issue us a challenge. Here it comes... with great tools come great responsibility. Let's use digital mediums uniquely to enhance what we're conveying.

Aren't you glad I wasn't structurally innovative enough to make you read my post like this?