Chapter 97
The Lamp
The Lamp. Had you descended from the Pequod’s try-works to the Pequod’s forecastle, where the off duty watch were sleeping, for one single moment you would have almost thought you were standing in some illuminated shrine of canonized kings and counsellors. There they lay in their triangular oaken vaults, each mariner a chiselled muteness; a score of lamps flashing upon his hooded eyes. In merchantmen, oil for the sailor is more scarce than the milk of queens. To dress in the dark, and eat in the dark, and stumble in darkness to his pallet, this is his usual lot. But…
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Critical Thinking Exercise
Find the Cooler
What does your team produce that others use while you work in merchant dark?
Consider:
- •Who refills?
- •Fresh or packaged?
- •Shrine or ration?
Journaling Prompt
Write about one producer-access change you would make.
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