26 November 2009
Swimming briskly through the water, a forty inch cod bites onto a cod jigger, a piece of lead resembling a herring, in New England. The fisherman is excited by the cod’s greed as he hauls the fish up without a fight. Like this fisherman, many other fish hunters have also been captivated by the Cod’s many uses as it is an inexpensive, long lasting source of nutrition. In Mark Krulanksky’s Cod, his slant is presented by discussing the ways fish have influenced human behavior and sculpted history technologically, socially and economically. Throughout the story, Krulanksy also disserts the cause and effect of environmental exploitation.
Beginning with the Basques, Krulansky explains that the seafaring people were able to travel long distances because of their copious supply of cod that provided them with nutrients throughout their boundless voyages. Being filled with cured cod, the Basques were able to bring back luxury items like whale meat. They learned a new technology to preserve codfish by hanging it in cold air, until it became like hardtack. The poor people who could not afford fresh fish depended on cod because it was cheap and nutritious. The Basques on the opposite side of the social ladder were able to become wealthy by selling cod to the Catholics on “lean days” because it was one of the few protein rich foods that were considered “cold”, or able to eat on Fridays.
In the sixteenth century, Europeans full with cod began to travel to North America to look for cod, to South America to look for gold, and they began to search for Asia. Gosnold, a man in search for a passage to Asia accidently floated into New England and renamed a city Cape Cod after he said that he was “pestered” by these fish during his voyage. Bristol Merchants went to Gosnold’s Cape Cod and declared plentiful cod and a coastline great for drying fish. John Smith, a colonist in Virginia, became rich from the bountiful quantities of cod. The pilgrims in search of a... [continues]
Swimming briskly through the water, a forty inch cod bites onto a cod jigger, a piece of lead resembling a herring, in New England. The fisherman is excited by the cod’s greed as he hauls the fish up without a fight. Like this fisherman, many other fish hunters have also been captivated by the Cod’s many uses as it is an inexpensive, long lasting source of nutrition. In Mark Krulanksky’s Cod, his slant is presented by discussing the ways fish have influenced human behavior and sculpted history technologically, socially and economically. Throughout the story, Krulanksy also disserts the cause and effect of environmental exploitation.
Beginning with the Basques, Krulansky explains that the seafaring people were able to travel long distances because of their copious supply of cod that provided them with nutrients throughout their boundless voyages. Being filled with cured cod, the Basques were able to bring back luxury items like whale meat. They learned a new technology to preserve codfish by hanging it in cold air, until it became like hardtack. The poor people who could not afford fresh fish depended on cod because it was cheap and nutritious. The Basques on the opposite side of the social ladder were able to become wealthy by selling cod to the Catholics on “lean days” because it was one of the few protein rich foods that were considered “cold”, or able to eat on Fridays.
In the sixteenth century, Europeans full with cod began to travel to North America to look for cod, to South America to look for gold, and they began to search for Asia. Gosnold, a man in search for a passage to Asia accidently floated into New England and renamed a city Cape Cod after he said that he was “pestered” by these fish during his voyage. Bristol Merchants went to Gosnold’s Cape Cod and declared plentiful cod and a coastline great for drying fish. John Smith, a colonist in Virginia, became rich from the bountiful quantities of cod. The pilgrims in search of a... [continues]
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