Meaning?

Question

Hi,
Will you please tell me what is the meaning of"Ishmael the Albatross of the whale."and "Jesus the burden of the cross" in the following context:
he looked down at his arm again, at the interesting lines. Hercules had had his labors. Ishmael the Albatross of the whale. Jesus the burden of the cross and the lives of all resting on his weary shoulders.
Why the last two sentences doesn't have a verb?
Does the man think of himself as Ishmael and Jesus?
Thanks

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

It's a reference to Ishmael in Herman Melville's novel Moby D ick.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_%28Moby-****%29

and the Albatross in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge.

“Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.”

"Jesus and the cross" is a powerful Christian symbol.

AnonymousWhy don't the last two sentences ~~doesn't~~ have a verb?

They are just noun phrases, not sentences. The author intentionally wrote short noun phrases here.

AnonymousDoes the man think of himself as Ishmael and Jesus?

What do you think?

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for the reply,but still I have problem in understanding the meaning of the text as a whole. What the author intends to convey? I welcome further comments and replies.
Thanks

Blue Jay · Answer

Can you give us some more of the text, both before and after the passage you quoted earlier? It might make it easier to give an accurate answer.

Fivejedjon · Answer

It's https://books.google.cz/books?id=K9_AIlkP_OUC&pg=PT162&lpg=PT162&dq=%22+Ishmael+the+Albatross+of+the+whale%22.&source=bl&ots=JsM_FakIlv&sig=gEQRxwqNM2tw7CTfCejcppAKNSk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ecjjVNakNsv0Ut21hNgK&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22%20Ishmael%20the%20Albatross%20of%20the%20whale%22.&f=false

Khoff · Answer

AnonymousHercules had had his labors. Ishmael the Albatross of the whale. Jesus the burden of the cross and the lives of all resting on his weary shoulders.

The "missing" verbs are understood to be the same as the verb in the first part:

Hercules had had his labors, Ishamael (had had) the whale, which was like an albatross to him (a heavy burden), Jesus had had the (burden of the) cross and the lives of all resting on his shoulders.

Does that help?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWhy the last two sentences doesn't have a verb?

It's borrowed from the previous sentence, like this:

Hercules had had his labors.
Ishmael [had had] the Albatross of the whale.
Jesus [had had] the burden of the cross and the lives of all resting on his weary shoulders.

All three sentences give an example of a well-known character who faced difficulties. The examples come from Greek mythology, American literature, and the Christian Bible, respectively. The difficulties are "his labors", "the Albatross ...", and "the burden ...".

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

I think what may not be obvious is that the author omitted words that would more correctly be repeated. He is basically listing the people (Ishmael, Jesus) and their burdens (the Albatross of the Whale, the Cross) without repeating the verbs. The meaning is clearer if you write:

he looked down at his arm again, at the interesting lines. Hercules had had his labors. Ishmael had had* the Albatross of the whale. Jesus *had had the burden of the cross and the lives of all resting on his weary shoulders.

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