PT3 Novel "Moby Dick" Character I admire - Ishmael

   Based on the novel “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville, the story unveils an adventure of a young whaler, Ishmael, who narrated the story of his hunt for a white whale with Captain Ahab. The character I admire the most is Ishmael as he was determined, helpful and courageous in his work on the ship.

   Firstly, Ishmael was determined to become a whaler though he had no experience in whaling. He was a sailor and he sailed on different ships. He loved the ocean though it was dangerous. He wanted to become a whaler despite knowing that it was a hard and dangerous life, and he had to leave his hometown for many years. He was not afraid of the danger as he was determined to get the job.

   Moreover, Ishmael was helpful as he recommended Queequeg when he looked for a job as a whaler. He told Starbuck that Queequeg was a good whaler and they wanted to work on the same ship together. When Queequeg was sick after the hard work of repairing the barrels, Ishmael was always by his side. He told his friend that he would get better and he would not die.

   Lastly, Ishmael was courageous in hunting and killing the whales. He and the others had to fight sharks which were always around to eat the dead whales. They had to face storms and strong winds which could bring damage to their ship. On the last day when he and a few crews had to board the only boat to kill Moby Dick, he followed Captain Ahab’s command not to leave the boat until they were attacked by the white whale. They fared badly and everyone died except Ishmael was the only survivor.

   Therefore, Ishmael was determined, helpful and courageous in his work as a whaler. These qualities deserve my imitation as they would help me to be a better person in my work and future life.

PT3 "Moby Dick" Character I admire - Captain Ahab

   Based on the novel “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville, the story unveils an adventure of a young whaler, Ishmael, who narrated the story of his hunt for a white whale with Captain Ahab. The character I admire the most is Captain Ahab is because he was determined, resourceful, and courageous in killing Moby Dick, the white whale.

   Firstly, Captain Ahab was determined to kill Moby Dick as he lost a leg when he fought Moby Dick during his first encounter with the whale. He hated the whale so much because he could not live a normal life without a leg. He wanted to kill the whale that he offered some gold to his crew who saw the whale first. He even ignored Starbuck’s advice to stop the ship to repair the barrels as he did not want to lose a day’s sailing to look for the white whale. However, he changed his mind later and asked his men to stop sailing.

   Moreover, Captain Ahab was also resourceful to kill the white whale that he brought along another five men with Fedallah as their leader. Even though he has already a crew who came from different countries on his ship, he still employed Fedallah and his people as they were strong, fast and skillful whalers.

   Lastly, Captain Ahab himself was so courageous when he knew he was going to die if he continued to chase after the white whale. He was not afraid of it as he really wanted to kill it. Despite bad experiences in the first two days, he did not give up though he was tired and couldn’t walk as he lost his whalebone leg. When Fedallah went missing, he knew that it would end but he would not stop.

 Therefore, Captain Ahab was determined, resourceful and courageous despite death as he was vengeful to kill Moby Dick. However, these qualities had led himself and his men to a disaster.

PT3 Novel "Moby Dick" Theme of Revenge

   Based on the novel “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville, the story unveils an adventure of a young whaler, Ishmael, who narrated the story of his hunt for a white whale with Captain Ahab. The dominant theme of the story is revenge. This could be seen as Captain Ahab was determined, resourceful, and courageous in killing Moby Dick, the white whale.

   Firstly, Captain Ahab was determined to kill Moby Dick as he lost a leg when he fought Moby Dick during his first encounter with the whale. He hated the whale so much because he could not live a normal life without a leg. He wanted to kill the whale that he offered some gold to his crew who saw the whale first. He even ignored Starbuck’s advice to stop the ship to repair the barrels as he did not want to lose a day’s sailing to look for the white whale. However, he changed his mind later and asked his men to stop sailing.

   Moreover, Captain Ahab was also resourceful to kill the white whale that he brought along another five men with Fedallah as their leader. Even though he has already a crew who came from different countries on his ship, he still employed Fedallah and his people as they were strong, fast and skillful whalers.

   Lastly, Captain Ahab himself was so courageous when he knew he was going to die if he continued to chase after the white whale. He was not afraid of it as he really wanted to kill it. Despite bad experiences in the first two days, he did not give up though he was tired and couldn’t walk as he lost his whalebone leg. When Fedallah went missing, he knew that it would end but he would not stop.

  Therefore, Captain Ahab was determined, resourceful and courageous despite death as he was vengeful to kill Moby Dick. However, these qualities had led himself and his men to a disaster.

My Autobiography "My Dream Comes True"

    

    20 years ago in 1996, when I was a teacher trainee, I sat on a big blue chair in the lecturer’s room dreaming to become a lecturer one day. Now I am sitting here again but fulfilling my dream as a lecturer. Many people have a dream, sometimes the dream is achievable but sometimes it is unreachable. It depends on our determination and persistence to make it come true. My dream took twenty years of my learning journey to come true.

     Born in 1971 and brought up at a small town in Batu Pahat, Johor, Yee Bee Choo is my name. All the schools I attended were girls’ schools. My primary school was SJK(C) Ai Chun 2, then I continued at SMK Convent and SMK (Perempuan) Temenggong Ibrahim. After struggling as a tuition teacher for two years, I decided to become a temporary teacher. My first posting was at SJK (C) Kong Nan, Parit Raja. I started teaching there in 1993 and after three years I was offered a 3-year diploma programme in Mandarin Studies. The programme was called “Course During School Holidays” or Kursus Dalam Cuti (KDC) offered specifically for temporary teachers. It was carried out during the school holidays and I was still a teacher during school days. I was already 25 years old then, an age not too young and old, but I enjoyed my college life at Maktab Perguruan Batu Pahat (MPBP). During my studying at MPBP, I was the assistant option leader or Penolong Ketua Opsyen (PKO), I often went to the lecturer’s room to look for lecturers to come to our class. I still remember handphones were not popular that time, how fortunate our trainees are nowadays as they can call or WhatsApp the lecturers to confirm the class. However, 20 years ago, my option leader and I had to walk to the lecturer’s room a few times a day, and sometimes we had to use the public phone outside the library to call the lecturers.

     After my diploma course was over, I still continue teaching at the same primary school as a teacher with the grade DG29. I taught both Mandarin and English languages in school. In 2003, an advertisement from Ministry of Education attracted my attention and I applied to study a degree course on Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). I was offered half-paid of my salary in order to study full time in the university. I still remember my salary was only RM180 after the reduction of half-paid salary and housing loan and I had a baby boy aged 2 years old. Life was difficult but with determination and persistence, I was able to survive my university life with my husband’s sufficient income and the loan from PTPTN. After finishing the degree course, I was posted to a secondary school at SMK Semerah as an English teacher with the grade DG41. I did not end my learning there, I continued my master course part-time at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in 2008. It was not easy to work and study at the same time especially my job does not only teach the students but also involve organising activities, doing paper work and key in students’ data online.

   Then, I applied to become a lecturer after I obtained my master degree and I was accepted in 2013. The same lecturer’s room and lecture rooms remained the same but the college was no longer MPBP but it is named Institute Pendidikan Guru Kampus Tun Hussein Onn (IPGKTHO) now. My previous lecturers were happy to welcome me as their new colleague. I know learning is a lifelong experience, so my learning journey does not end here, I am now studying part-time as a PhD student at UTM.

    I have worked very hard to achieve my dream. I improve myself by studying from diploma to degree and master and now PhD. I have been teachers in primary and secondary schools and now a lecturer at institute of teacher education. I believe if I did not take the bold step to take up the degree course at the age of 32 years old in 2003, I will not be here as a lecturer. I am happy I have achieved my dream to become a lecturer at the same place where I had studied. Here, I can contribute and share my knowledge and experience with the teacher trainees. I hope my learning journey can inspire all teachers to never stop learning and achieve their dreams one day.

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