Right Whale Head Examination
The narrator crosses the deck to conduct a thorough examination of the Right Whale’s head. Rather than beginning with technical description, the text invites readers to “have a good long look” at the massive anatomical feature, framing the observation as an experiential journey rather than a clinical dissection.
Right Whale Head Shoe Analogy
The Right Whale’s head is compared to a gigantic galliot-toed shoe in broad outline. A Dutch voyager from two centuries ago likened its shape to a shoemaker’s last, and this comparison proves apt enough that the narrator muses the old woman from nursery tales could be lodged comfortably inside “she and all her progeny” within this shoe-like head.
Right Whale Head Viewpoint Variances
The head’s appearance shifts dramatically depending on the observer’s vantage point. From the summit, the two F-shaped spoutholes resemble the apertures in a bass-viol’s sounding-board, transforming the whole head into a musical instrument. From other angles, different impressions emerge, demonstrating how the whale’s anatomy presents multiple visual possibilities depending on perspective.
Right Whale Crown Bonnet Feature
The top of the head features a strange, crested, comb-like incrustation that Greenlanders call the “crown” and Southern fishers call the “bonnet.” This barnacled, green growth hosts live crabs in its crevices, suggesting both a bird’s nest in an oak tree’s crotch and a diadem befitting a king of the sea—though the narrator notes the whale’s sulky expression seems unfitting for such royal adornment.
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