So I've decided to write about Moby Dick.

Daunting. Overwhelming. Infuriating. Fascinating.

Concerning writing the paper there are several challenges I think I am sure I will face. This kind of thinking is along the lines of there are things I know, things I don't know, and things I don't know I don't know.

Among the things I know is, this is a long book, and almost every morsel of it is useful for an argument. I hope I allow myself enough time to write a paper I can really stand by. This is a research paper, and I borrowed five books from the library to help. So far, so good. Although when you read essays at a graduate and post graduate level, terms sometimes sound confusing and pretentious and confounding and intended to confuse. Malicious, I suppose. But if I keep google handy I will probably be okay.

Tangents. I love to go on tangents. Focus. I know the structure of an essay, but with literary criticism it's so easy to want to expound on some aspect of the text that is so juicy, and with Moby Dick, that seems far too easy a trap to fall into. I've got to really use my noodle on this one. Really push the limits of what I'm able to wrap my mind around and tell you about. I've got to go on my own sort of journey in writing about this book.

I hope it ends well. I cannot give up, and just write about slavery. I won't do it! I'll write about desire, and hopefully come up with a thesis that inspires warm fuzzy feelings in the hearts of my readers. The book is so tricky; it dares the reader to come up with a thesis, but once that is accomplished, the evidence is ample.