Commandant vs. Surgeon

Stemming from our discussion on Monday about the differences between the Commandant and the Surgeon, I wanted to elaborate more on what we discussed in my group. While the Surgeon is very focused on details, the Commandant looks more at the bigger picture. This is seen on page 173 when the Commandant looks at Gould's picture. "Unlike the Surgeon, who could fill days examining a single image for flaws, the Commandant spent only a few seconds surveying the picture..."  We can also see this distinction when both characters ask Gould to create something for them; the Surgeon asks for specific fish and the Commandant asks for landscapes and pictures on a broader scale. Both characters have a project, or an ambition to create something, yet the Surgeon's seemed to have a little more purpose than the Commandants. The Commandant's goals involved having a locomotive on the island, which had no purpose other than to go around in circles and make people vomit. The Surgeon's ambition to create a book of fish seemed to have more of a purpose to educate others and to identify everything. Both also had models for what they were creating; the Surgeon looked to Cosmos for his inspiration and the Commandant looked to Miss Anne. 

I think these differences say a lot about each character and their purpose in the book (though their purpose is still not really defined. I doubt it ever will be).  But overall, we see that the Commandant is more concerned with the superficial and the Surgeon is focused on the concrete systemization of things. They each have a specific dynamic in which Gould is trying to convey a message. Not quite sure what it is yet.

Also, reading Gould's Book of Fish this week has not been too bad. I can't say that I'm truly enjoying it, but it's growing on me and I am not as frustrated. Let's hope this attitude continues.