- description
- # CHAPTER 79. The Prairie.
## Overview
This entity is a section titled "CHAPTER 79. The Prairie." It spans lines 13553 to 13643 of the source text.
## Context
This section is part of a larger chapter, [BOOK III. (_Duodecimo_), CHAPTER III. (_Mealy-mouthed Porpoise_)](arke:01KG8AK83BA227D6NY5BT040FM), which is contained within the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. It was extracted from the file [moby_dick.txt](arke:01KG89J198KE6FY8WPVJQQRCZ6). This section follows [CHAPTER 78. Cistern and Buckets.](arke:01KG8AM93VDQHM1JW6CTBR08HN) and precedes [CHAPTER 80. The Nut.](arke:01KG8AM93V4RW46SVEYBR6S99N).
## Contents
"CHAPTER 79. The Prairie." discusses the physiognomy and phrenology of the Sperm Whale, particularly focusing on its lack of a prominent nose and the imposing nature of its forehead. The narrator reflects on the difficulty of applying human sciences like physiognomy to such a creature, comparing it to studying the Rock of Gibraltar or the Dome of the Pantheon. The text describes the whale's forehead as a "broad firmament... pleated with riddles," suggesting a profound, almost divine, and inscrutable dignity. It also touches upon the idea of the Sperm Whale's "genius" being declared in its "pyramidical silence" and its tonguelessness, drawing parallels to ancient deifications. The section concludes with the narrator's acknowledgment of the impossibility of fully deciphering the "awful Chaldee of the Sperm Whale’s brow."
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- CHAPTER 79. The Prairie.
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- 13643
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- title
- CHAPTER 79. The Prairie.