This is my first time tackling this legendary text. As a resident of South-shore Massachusetts the connotation of New Bedford in this novel strikes me as strange. New Bedford in during this contemporary era is not known, at least in its neighboring towns and counties, as a city that is as extraordinary as Melville presents it to be. Being from the surrounding area and having a few acquaintances from the city, the Narrator’s excitement to arrive in the city at the beginning of the novel struck me as strange. New Bedford, in my own opinion, does not arouse any excitement. In fact, it seems to bring dread to most people when they are informed that they are to go there. The short chapter six, when Ishmael describes his time on the streets of New Bedford, is what truly caused me pause in the beginning of the text. Melville describes the city as something that is enchanted and filled with exotic things. Granted, the idea of savages in the streets conversing is not typically connected with a city being great but Melville presents it in such a way that it seems he is entranced by the presence of these people. Before I continue with this post though, I would like to clarify that I do not wish to tarnish New Bedford in anyway. I honestly have not spent enough time in the city to determine if it an enjoyable place to be. What I do what to iterate in this post is the drastic change in New Bedfords reputation, or at least how it has been presented to me. New Bedford according to how I understand it, was once one of the richest cities in the world. This was due (and please remember that this is from my basic understanding) to the whaling industry and the trade of products from the whaling industry. This made the city prosperous and an enjoyable place to live. A place that attracted the wealthy and the merchant classes of America. From what I understand of the city’s reputation in this modern time none of that is true anymore. New Bedford, according to its current connotation, is but a shell of its former self.