Herman Melville- Moby Dick

Moby Dick first appeared in 1851. A story of monomania aboard a whaling ship, Moby-Dick is a
tremendously ambitious novel that functions at once as a documentary of life at sea and a vast
philosophical allegory of life in general. No sacred subject is spared in this bleak and scathing critiue
of the known world, as Melville satiri!es by turns religious traditions, moral values, and the literary
and political "gures of the day.Melville was in#uenced in the writing of Moby-Dick by the work of
Nathaniel $awthorne, author of %he &carlet 'etter, whom he met in ()*+ and to whom he dedicated
Moby-Dick. Melville had long admired $awthorne,s psychological depth and gothic grimness and
associated $awthorne with a new, distinctively American literature. %hough the works of &hakespeare
and Milton and stories in the -ible .especially the /ld %estament0 in#uenced Moby-Dick, Melville didn,t
look e1clusively to celebrated cultural models. $e drew on sources from popular culture as well2
whaling narratives, for e1ample, were popular in the nineteenth century. Melville relied on %homas
-eale,s encyclopedic Natural $istory of the &perm 3hale and the narrative 4tchings of a 3haling
5ruise, by 6. 7oss -rowne.
By the 1850s, whaling was a dying industry. Whales had been hunted into near etinction, and substitutes for whale
oil had been found. Despite its range of cultural references and affiliation with popular genres, Moby!Dick was a
failure. "ts reception led Mel#ille to defy his critics by writing in an increasingly eperi$ental style and e#entually
forsaking no#els in fa#or of poetry. %e died in 18&1.
Moby!Dick re$ained largely ignored until the 1&'0s, when it was redisco#ered and pro$oted by literary historians
interested in constructing an ($erican literary tradition. )o these critics, Moby!Dick was both a se$inal work
elaborating on classic ($erican the$es, such as religion, fate, and econo$ic epansion, and a radically eperi$ental
anachronis$ that anticipated Modernis$ in its outsi*ed scope and pastiche of for$s. "t stands alongside +a$es +oyce,s
-lysses and .aurence /terne,s )ristra$ /handy as a no#el that appears bi*arre to the point of being unreadable but
pro#es to be infinitely open to interpretation and disco#ery.
Historical Context
America in the Mid-Nineteenth Century
($erica was in a tu$ultuous period, establishing its national and international identity at the ti$e Moby-Dick was
being written. "t is noteworthy that the classic ($erican no#el of the period is not ostensibly about westward
epansion. "nstead it is about pursuit and capture, about following a drea$. )he ($erican Drea$, as it was en#isaged
by the 0ounding 0athers, is now considered by so$e as a dangerous preoccupation, a consu$ing national obsession.
"n a real sense, Mel#ille,s book is not about its ti$e, but about ours. ( possible reading would ha#e the Pequod as
$odern corporate ($erica, intent on control and sub1ection, and (hab as a power!cra*ed eecuti#e, 2uick to seek
#engeance for any recei#ed aggression.
Self-Reliance
When the no#el was being written, )ranscendentalis$ was beco$ing the predo$inant philosophical and religious
#iewpoint. )his #iew3propounded $ost cogently by 4alph Waldo 5$erson in his essay Self-Reliance6held that 7od
was present in the world, as well as in e#ery indi#idual soul. "n this way, the soul,s intuitions were di#ine and should
be followed regardless of authority, tradition, or public opinion. 8)rust thyself,9 was the basic tenet, and hence the
ter$ 8/elf!4eliance.9 )his #iew :it ne#er de#eloped into a rigorous syste$ of thought; was essentially a reaction
against <ew 5ngland =uritanis$. .ike 5nglish 4o$anticis$, it was hea#ily influenced by 7er$an philosophers,
principally "$$anuel >ant. (s propounded by 5$erson, %enry Da#id )horeau, Bronson (lcott, Margaret 0uller,
+ones ?ery, 7eorge 4ipley, and a host of other <ew 5ngland poets, essayists, di#ines, and public speakers,
)ranscendentalis$ was idealistic, skirting around such basic religious notions as sin and e#il.
(lthough Mel#ille fits the descriptions of the self!reliant indi#idual in 5$erson,s essay38to be great is to be
$isunderstood,9 8who so would be a $an $ust be a nonconfor$ist93he, like %awthorne, re$ained acutely aware
that by taking self!reliance to etre$es, as in the case of the $ono$aniacal (hab, #irtue could 2uickly turn to #ice.
)he @al#inist heritage could not so easily be shrugged off. :@al#inists followed +ohn @al#in,s theological syste$ that
included the doctrine of predestination and the belief that $ankind was depra#ed by nature.; (nd in his essay
8%awthorne and %is Mosses,9 Mel#ille, appro#ing %awthorne,s 8power of blackness,9 eplained that it 8deri#es its
force fro$ its appeals to that @al#inistic sense of "nnate Depra#ity and Ariginal /in, fro$ whose #isitations, in so$e
shape or other, no deeply thinking $ind is always and wholly free.9 "t is this recognition of and sense of sin which
separates Mel#ille fro$ )ranscendentalis$, the predo$inant $o#e$ent of his period.
he American !halin" #ndustry
)he -nited /tates had been a whaling nation since the se#enteenth century, when the early colonists launched
epeditions fro$ the island of <antucket and fro$ ports along the Massachusetts coast. )he early whalers hunted
whales in the seas fairly close to shore. "n 1B1' a chance stor$ blew a whale ship off course and into $uch deeper
waters. )his resulted in an encounter with a pod of sper$ whales, one of which was captured. )he superior 2uality of
sper$ oil was thus disco#ered and fro$ that point on ($erican whalers etended #oyage distances and ti$es in their
hunt for the sper$ whale. )hey tra#eled the whole world, often #enturing into uncharted waters, and their 1ourneys
contributed to the de#elop$ent of $ariti$e cartography. Moby-Dick was written at a ti$e when the ($erican
whaling industry, propelled by ho$e de$and, was at its peak. )he -nited /tates owned three!2uarters of the world,s
whaling ships.
Historical Coincidence
"n the year of Moby-Dicks publication, a whaler was sunk by a sper$ whale in circu$stances which appeared to
replicate the cli$a to Mel#ille,s no#el. )he Ann Alexander had two of its whaling boats destroyed by the whale they
were pursuing. )he whale then deliberately ra$$ed the $ain ship, causing it to sink.
Style
$oint of %ie&
Mel#ille,s earlier no#els are $ainly first!person accounts of ro$antici*ed sailing #oyages presented as actual
eperience. When, after the introductory 5ty$ology and 5tracts, he opens Moby-Dick with the words 8@all $e
"sh$ael,9 it is as if he is gi#ing notice that the narrati#e #oice in this no#el is to be $ore ob#iously fictional. )here are
periods, particularly in the first 2uarter of the book, when "sh$ael is an acti#e character, telling the story as an
in#ol#ed first!person narrator. But often during the $iddle section of the #oyage "sh$ael,s #oice recedes and the
reader is presented with a traditional, o$niscient narrator,s #iew of e#ents, with the conse2uence that the author,
Mel#ille, and the character "sh$ael beco$e identified as one and the sa$e in $any readers, $inds. /hakespearean
solilo2uies and learned discourses on whaling history and anato$y are used to break up the narrati#e thread.
(t no point is "sh$ael gi#en the perspecti#e of one who is relating the story fro$ a flashback point of #iew in which
the outco$e of the #oyage is known, but since he could not be relating the story if he had gone down with the ship,
the reader knows this $ust be a sur#i#or,s tale. <e#ertheless, this does not $ean that "sh$ael,s attitudes and beliefs as
they are reflected at the no#el,s beginning still hold by its conclusion, for "sh$ael,s eperiences clearly ha#e an effect
on hi$.
Symbolism
)he passages pro#iding reference infor$ation on whales and whaling, which so$eti$es see$ clu$sily inserted into
the narrati#e, are a $eans of $aking it clear to the reader that the story is about $uch $ore than a si$ple hunting
epedition. "t is not always apparent who is supposed to be presenting the infor$ation3"sh$aelC Mel#illeC3but it is
certainly not (hab, who has lost whate#er interest he had in whaling as a purely practical and co$$ercial enterprise.
<e#ertheless, so$e of the factual, general $aterial pro#ides rele#ant co$$entary on the the$atic i$plications of
(hab,s 2uest for one indi#idual whale, so that there is a $ulti!layered sy$bolis$ at work in the book. )he crudest
and $ost straightforward sy$bolis$ is that which occurs when clusters of chapters $ake direct analogies with
allegorical 2ualities.
"n @hapter BD, for ea$ple, the hoisting of a captured whale,s head to the side of the boat $akes it lean until it is
counterbalanced by the head of a second kill. )his, the reader is told, is like first being influenced by one philosopher
and then being brought to so$e degree of e#en keel by a dose of another. 8)hrow all these thunderheads o#erboard,
and then you will float light and right9 is the final ehortation. But a later chapter takes the analogy into an entirely
different real$, one that touches upon the $uch broader sy$bolis$ of the no#el. @hapter BE, 8)he Battering!4a$,9
in which it is eplained that the $outh of a sper$ whale is positioned entirely underneath the head, and its eyes and
ears are situated on the sides, describes the whale,s frontal appearance as a 8dead, blind wall,9 a featureless barrier of
flesh and bone against which (hab has pitted hi$self. )he whale,s head thus sy$boli*es the unsy$pathetic and
irresistible forces of nature.
Structure
(fter the initial, episodic beginning to Moby-Dick, Mel#ille takes liberties with the structure of the no#el. %e
introduces #ery short chapters, so$e barely a page in length, and puts words into the $ouths of his characters as if
they are perfor$ing on the 5li*abethan stage, rather than in a nineteenth!century no#el. @o$paring Moby-Dick with
other stalwart nineteenth!century tets, such as those by @harles Dickens or (nthony )rollope, it is easy to eaggerate
Mel#ille,s eccentricities. "n fact, Mel#ille,s conte$poraries were perfectly happy with the traditionally accepted
structures of the no#el at the ti$e. 4eading re#iews of Moby-Dick fro$ both sides of the (tlantic helps one to reali*e
that its critical reception was not at all bad. Discerning re#iewers of the ti$e, especially in the 5nglish press, actually
did appreciate the no#el in relation to Mel#ille,s preceding works and considered it to be his finest achie#e$ent to
date.
-nfortunately, the general public was not so appreciati#e of the no#el,s subtleties and inno#ations. )he book sold
fewer than fi#e thousand copies in Mel#ille,s lifeti$e. "ts structure was undoubtedly a factor. 0or so$e readers it
re$ains a difficult book to co$plete on first encounter. An the other hand, once it has been read fro$ beginning to
end, it is relati#ely easy to return to its decisi#e $o$ents and ea$ine afresh their relationship to the whole. )his
$akes it a #ery accessible book for study, the bre#ity of its chapters helping students to find their way about the tet.
'(ic Style
<ewton (r#in was one of the first critics to identify the characteristics of what he called Mel#ille,s 8#erbal palette.9
)hese include his fondness for #erbal nouns such as 8regardings,9 8allurings9 and 8intercedings,9 which gi#e passages
of the no#el the $agisterial tone of an ancient classic tet. Ane of the source books for Moby-Dick was Os Lusiados
:The Lusiads; by the siteenth!century =ortuguese poet .uis de @a$oens. "n this poe$, @a$oens did for the
=ortuguese language what 7eoffrey @haucer had done for 5nglish and Dante for "talian. Mel#ille was increasingly
conscious that no one had yet achie#ed this in ($erican literature. %e read and re#iewed <athaniel %awthorne,s
Mosses from an Old Manse in the course of working on Moby-Dick. "n his re#iew he co$$ented on the need for
heroic national literature of a truly independent kind.
Many of the epic references and posturings in Moby-Dick are hu$orous :$ock!epic;. )he three!day battle with the
whale at the end of the book is on a grand scale, and the association with =ro$etheus :the 7reek )itan who ga#e fire
to $ankind and was later punished by Feus for it; is self!consciously 8heroic,9 but Mel#ille $ies this with passages
of ranting slang. (s +ohn McWillia$s said in his essay 8)he 5pic in the <ineteenth @entury,9 8Moby-Dick represents
a $o$ent in literary history when generic ter$s retain old $eanings that $ust be wilfully, e#en gleefully, broken
down.9
Summary
Cha(ter )
Summary
"sh$ael eplains he has chosen to go to sea to cure his depression as an alternati#e to suicide. )here is 8$agic9 in
bodies of water, he says. 8@rowds of water!ga*ers9 flock to the wharfs of Manhattan, a te$porary escape fro$ the
occupations in which they are 8pent up.9 Wanderers in the woods find their way to lakes.
"sh$ael ne#er goes to sea as a passengerG he doesn,t ha#e the $oney to pay. %e ne#er goes as an officerG he has all he
can do to take care of hi$self. %e ne#er goes as a cook. 4ather, he goes to sea as a 8si$ple sailor9 to get paid, to get
eercise, and to breathe the pure air. %e o#erco$es the indignity of being ordered around since he belie#es that
e#eryone else is a sla#e in one way or another.
(lthough he $ay delude hi$self into belie#ing his choice is his own, it is fate that sends "sh$ael on a whaling
#oyage. %is chief $oti#es are the $ystery of the whale itself and the $ar#els of the seas he will sail.
Discussion and Analysis
8@all $e "sh$ael9 is undoubtedly one of the $ost fa$ous opening lines in all of literature. )he na$e is an allusion to
the biblical character who was cast out of (braha$,s household, set adrift as it were. )he title of the chapter,
8.oo$ings,9 $eaning an o$inous e#ent about to occur, establishes a sense of foreboding.
(t the outset, in analy*ing his own $oti#es, the narrator shows hi$self to be open!$inded, philosophical, and
obser#ant. %is 1ourney is nothing less than a 2uest for knowledge and understandingH the sea, or perhaps "sh$ael,s
own reflection in it, is 8the ungraspable phanto$ of lifeG I the key to it all.9 )he ocean as a central sy$bol is
introduced in this chapter. )he water offers not only freedo$ fro$ a $undane eistence, but also freedo$ of thought.
)he first chapter is written in an ironic, hu$orous tone. "sh$ael,s depression is serious and borders on self!
destruction, but it is described in such understated ter$s as 8pausing before coffin warehouses9 and 8bringing up the
rear of e#ery funeral.9 "sh$ael hu$orously describes 7od,s plan for hi$ as a war$!up act sandwiched between
8$ore etensi#e perfor$ances.9 )here is a good deal of irony and hu$or in Moby-Dick that $ust not be o#erlooked.
Cha(ters * + ,
Summary
"sh$ael stays o#er in <ew Bedford, waiting for a packet to take hi$ to <antucket. %e searches the cold, dark streets
for a place to stay. (fter accidentally going into a 8<egro church,9 he co$es upon a sign, 8)he /pouter "nnH3=eter
@offin.9
)he entryway of the inn re$inds "sh$ael of a 8conde$ned old craft.9 Do$inating the scene is a large, enig$atic oil
painting, which "sh$ael interprets as a 8half!foundered9 ship in a hurricane with a whale leaping up as if to i$pale
hi$self on the $asts. =eter @offin tells "sh$ael that he $ust share a bed with a harpooner. "sh$ael obser#es the
acti#ities of the inn, taking special interest in a tall, silent $an na$ed Bulkington. %e will soon be "sh$ael,s ship$ate
in spite of the fact that he has 1ust returned fro$ a #oyage.
"sh$ael grows fearful of sharing a bed with a stranger and tries unsuccessfully to sleep on a bench. %e opts for the
bed e#en after =eter @offin tells hi$ that this harpooner is off peddling a shrunken head. "sh$ael is in bed when the
dark stranger enters. %is head is bald ecept for a s$all scalp!knot, and he is tattooed all o#er. %e re$o#es an ebony
idol fro$ his bag, perfor$s a sort of prayer, and s$okes his to$ahawk pipe, which he brings to bed with hi$. "sh$ael
screa$s for the landlord who assures hi$ that Juee2ueg will do hi$ no har$. "sh$ael sleeps soundly.
%e wakes with Juee2ueg,s ar$ thrown o#er hi$. With so$e difficulty, "sh$ael awakens his bedfellow. Juee2ueg
dresses in his tall bea#er hat and crawls under the bed to put on his boots. %e sha#es with his harpoon.
Discussion and Analysis
Mel#ille uses the doubling techni2ue, bringing opposites together to create contrasts. 0or ea$ple, although the tone
of this section is light, $uch of the i$agery is dark and foreboding. )he tone is a$using as "sh$ael walks along
talking to hi$self, telling hi$self that the /word!0ish "nn is $uch too 1olly and epensi#e. %is $isunderstanding of
=eter @offin,s $eaning when he tells "sh$ael that Juee2ueg is out selling his head is #erbal co$edy of the 8who,s on
first9 #ariety. (nd the bedroo$ scene pro#ides terrific physical co$edy.
An the other hand, the at$osphere is dis$al. )he <ew Bedford streets are icy and dark. )he light in a house looks like
a candle in a to$b. ( bo of ashes re$inds "sh$ael of the biblical city of 7o$orrah destroyed by 7od for its e#il. )he
/pouter "nn is owned by a $an na$ed @offinG its entryway is described in ter$s of the direful painting and the
instru$ents of death hanging on its walls. "sh$ael conte$plates his own #ulnerability in a hostile uni#erse when he
co$pares hi$self to a house whose chinks and crannies ha#e not been stopped up. )he cold wind blows through, and
8Death is the only gla*ier.9
.ikewise, the budding friendship of "sh$ael and Juee2ueg is the bringing together of opposites. "sh$ael, the
ci#ili*ed @hristian, learns tolerance fro$ his pagan friend. 5arly in the bedroo$ scene, "sh$ael re$inds hi$self that
8ignorance is the parent of fear.9 "n fact, "sh$ael ad$its, 8:Juee2ueg; treated $e with so $uch ci#ility and
consideration, while " was guilty of great rudeness.9 "sh$ael,s co$$ent that 8naught but death9 would part hi$ and
Juee2ueg foreshadows e#ents to follow.
Cha(ters --.
Summary
"sh$ael greets his landlord and bears no hard feelings for the 1oke =eter @offin played in the $atter of his bedfellow.
(ll the boarders, $ostly whale$en, gather at the table for breakfast. (lthough they are all ad#enturers, paradoically,
they are ti$id in the social setting. Juee2ueg sits at the head of the table, using his harpoon to 8grapple9 the steak.
(fter breakfast, "sh$ael #entures into the streets of <ew Bedford where he sees all $anner of people including
8cannibals chatting at street corners9 and hayseeds fro$ ?er$ont 8athirst for the glory9 of whaling. <onetheless, <ew
Bedford is 8the dearest place to li#e9 with its lo#ely parks, gardens, and patrician houses all gotten fro$ the bounty of
the sea.
%e stops into the Whale$an,s @hapel. )he walls are lined with $arble tablets put up in $e$ory of those who ha#e
lost their li#es to whaling. Juee2ueg is there. 0ather Mapple $ounts the pulpit by way of a ship,s ladder which he
draws up after hi$. )he pulpit itself is a ship,s prow.
)he ser$on is based on the story of +onah, who had been co$$anded by 7od to go to a foreign land to preach. %e
disobeyed 7od and was punished by being swallowed by a whale. %e repented and was sa#ed.
Discussion and Analysis
"sh$ael bears no grudge against =eter @offin for he #alues good hu$or. 8( good laugh is a $ighty good thing.I (nd
the $an that has anything bountifully laughable about hi$, be sure there is $ore in that $an than you perhaps think.9
)his principle $ight be applied not only to "sh$ael but also to the author, who chooses to e$ploy hu$or.
)he the$e of death begins to be de#eloped $ore significantly in this section. "n the chapel, the $arble tablets lead
"sh$ael to consider the resurrection of those without gra#es. %e wonders why people $ourn for dead ones who in the
afterlife supposedly dwell in bliss. "n a striking si$ile, faith is co$pared to a 1ackal that 8feeds a$ong the to$bsI
and e#en fro$ these dead doubts9 gathers 8her $ost #ital hope.9
"sh$ael grows 8$erry9 as he thinks of death as a sort of pro$otion that his whaling #oyage $ight offer hi$. %e
describes death as 8a speechlessly 2uick bundling of a $an into eternity.9 (fter all, his soul, not his body, is his true
substance. )he bringing together of opposites in pre#ious chapters continues here as Mel#ille focuses on the dual
nature of $an, the spiritual and the physical.
)he the$e of isolation is introduced in this section. )he pulpit isolates 0ather Mapple and 8signifies his spiritual
withdrawal I fro$ the outward worldly ties.9 /i$ilarly, "sh$ael,s $etaphoric 1ourney for understanding $ust bring
hi$ into the real$ of the spiritual, away fro$ worldly ties. 0re2uently in literature, a water #oyage is a sy$bolic
separation fro$ pre#iously un2uestioned beliefs. "t is a #enture into a fluid real$ where there are no absolutesG yet
$any find enlighten$ent there.
0ather Mapple,s ser$on is about not only sin and rede$ption, but also 87ospel duty I to preach the truth to the face
of falsehood.9 "n a $etaphor, "sh$ael co$pares the world to a ship and the pulpit to its prow. "sh$ael is fulfilling his
7ospel through the telling of this story.
Cha(ters )/-)-
Summary
"sh$ael returns to the /pouter "nn, where he finds Juee2ueg turning through the pages of a book. )hey share a s$oke
fro$ the to$ahawk pipe, and Juee2ueg declares "sh$ael a boso$ friend for who$ he would die. "sh$ael 1oins
Juee2ueg in his rites of praising the ebony idol.
Juee2ueg tells "sh$ael of his past. )he son of a high chief fro$ >oko#oko, Juee2ueg was deter$ined to learn $ore
about @hristians and to bring his knowledge back to his people to $ake the$ happier. (fter being picked up by a ship,
he disco#ered that @hristians ha#e little to offer his people.
)he two friends use a wheelbarrow to bring their belongings aboard The Moss, the <antucket packet. ( 8bu$pkin9
$akes fun of Juee2ueg, who deftly tosses hi$ into the air. While the captain berates Juee2ueg, the boo$ flies loose
and knocks the bu$pkin o#erboard. Juee2ueg di#es in and sa#es hi$. (rri#ing at the )ry =ots "nn, the two sailors are
ser#ed cla$ and fish chowders by Mrs. %ussey.
Discussion and Analysis
"sh$ael,s first $a1or step in both his literal and sy$bolic 1ourney begins with his acceptance of Juee2ueg as his
boso$ friend. 8Kou cannot hide the soul,9 he says as he penetrates Juee2ueg,s outlandish eterior to recogni*e the
noble being within. "sh$ael feels a 8$elting9 away of false beliefs. 8%ow elastic our stiff pre1udices grow when lo#e
once co$es to bend the$.9 %is participating in Juee2ueg,s ritual worship of the idol suggests an essential unity in the
spirituality of hu$an beings. )he 8$agnani$ous 7od of hea#en and earth9 is the 7od of 8pagans and all.9
)he significance of the bringing together of opposites beco$es clear in this section. 0ro$ what appears to be an
insignificant obser#ation about feeling co*y and war$, "sh$ael draws an i$portant truth. 8)ruly to en1oy bodily
war$th, so$e s$all part of you $ust be cold, for there is no 2uality in this world that is not what it is $erely by
contrast. <othing eists in itself.9 Duality, then, the tension of contrasts, is the #ery nature of eistence.
Juee2ueg pro#es "sh$ael,s assess$ent of hi$ to be true. %is biography shows his fearless and bene#olent nature. %is
sa#ing of the bu$pkin shows his bra#ery, selflessness, and willingness to forgi#e. "t is no wonder that "sh$ael decides
to clea#e to Juee2ueg 8like a barnacle.9
"sh$ael has learned, 8"t,s a $utual, 1oint!stock world9, where cannibals $ay help @hristians. %e has learned that
cultural differences are insignificant. )he wheelbarrow analogy illustrates the point. =eople laughed at Juee2ueg
when he filled a wheelbarrow and then carried the whole lot on his shoulder. =eople of Juee2ueg,s land laughed at
the captain who washed his hands in what was really a punch bowl.
)he section contains a good deal of foreshadowing. "sh$ael refers to Juee2ueg,s 8last long di#e.9 )he old top $ast
fro$ which the )ry =ots, sign is suspended re$inds hi$ of a two!sided gallows. "sh$ael feels a sense of foreboding.
)he o$inous $ood once again is relie#ed by hu$or. When Mrs. %ussey poses the 2uestion, 8@la$ or codC9 "sh$ael
belie#es he will be ser#ed a single cla$ for supper. %e also wonders if eating chowder will $ake hi$ a 8chowder
head.9
Cha(ters )0-)1
Summary
Juee2ueg belie#es that Ko1o has told hi$ to ha#e "sh$ael pick out a whaling ship. While Juee2ueg begins his day of
fasting, "sh$ael chooses the Pequod. %e signs on with the owners, Bildad and =eleg, who after so$e bickering, gi#e
"sh$ael the D00th lay, his share of the profit fro$ the whaling #oyage.
When "sh$ael asks to see his captain, =eleg tells hi$ (hab is at ho$e, neither sick nor well. "sh$ael learns that (hab
lost his leg to a whale and that he has a wife and child. =eleg alludes to a typhoon during which he and (hab sa#ed
the Pequod and her $en.
When "sh$ael returns to his roo$, he finds it locked. @oncerned for Juee2ueg, he breaks down the door to find his
friend s2uatting silently in the $iddle of the roo$, Ko1o on his head. (t sunup, Juee2ueg,s ritual ends.
Bildad and =eleg are reluctant to sign a heathen onto the Pequod. Juee2ueg pro#es his skill as a harpooner by hitting
a s$all spot of tar on the water. =eleg signs hi$ on under the na$e of Juohog, beneath which Juee2ueg $akes his
$ark, the sy$bol tattooed on his ar$.
Discussion and Analysis
)he 2uestion of the role of fate is raised once again in this section. Juee2ueg belie#es Ko1o has chosen the #essel for
hi$ and his friend and that "sh$ael is fated to choose that particular #essel.
"sh$ael,s a$biguous feelings about religion beco$e $ore apparent. %is tolerance of Juee2ueg,s worship weakens as
he tries to dissuade hi$ fro$ fasting. 8 (ll these .ents, 4a$adans were stark nonsenseG bad for the healthG useless for
the soul.9 "sh$ael,s re$ark that he has 8the greatest respect for e#erybody,s religious obligations, ne#er $ind how
co$ical,9 pro#es that in fact he has yet to feel the respect he professes. <onetheless, he con#inces the two Juakers
that Juee2ueg, like e#eryone, belongs to 8the great and e#erlasting 0irst @ongregation of this whole worshipping
world.9
)he beliefs and practices of the Juaker Bildad raise $ore 2uestions about religion. Bildad 8had the reputation of
being an incorrigible old hunk, and in his sea!going days, a bitter, hard task$aster.9 "n all appearances the $ost pious
of $en, Bildad is in reality 8hardhearted.9
"$ages associated with the Pequod foreshadow death. )he #essel is na$ed after an etinct "ndian tribe. %er decks are
co$pared to the flagstones of @anterbury @athedral where 8Becket bled,9 a reference to the assassination of the
archbishop by the $en of %enry "". %er winches are $ade fro$ whales, teethG her tiller fro$ the 1aw. 8( noble craft,
but so$ehow a $ost $elancholyL (ll noble things are touched with that.9
=eleg,s description of (hab is si$ilarly paradoical. We see at once his dualistic nature, a $an of contradictions.
8%e,s a grand, ungodly, god!like $an.9 (lthough his biblical na$esake was a crowned king, he was a 8#ery #ile one.9
%e,s like any a#erage $an, but 8there,s a good deal $ore to hi$.9 %e,s 8$oody9 and 8sa#age,9 but 8(hab has his
hu$anities.9 "sh$ael feels both pity and awe for (hab. )his introduction suggests that (hab is a likely tragic hero.
Cha(ters ).-*-
Summary
(s Juee2ueg and "sh$ael approach the Pequod, which is being $ade ready for its long #oyage, they are accosted by
5li1ah, who $akes $any #ague and unsettling innuendos about the ship and its captain, who$ he calls Ald )hunder.
)he $orning the ship is to set sail, "sh$ael sees so$e 8shadows,9 which he takes to be $en, boarding the boat. 5li1ah
approaches hi$ once again and tells hi$ to see if he can find those sailors when he goes aboard. (lthough (hab had
co$e on the ship the night before sailing, he has re$ained in his cabin.
)he ship sets sail on @hrist$as $orning, piloted out of port by Bildad and =eleg. When it is ti$e for the$ to lea#e the
ship, they are reluctant to go. )hat night, "sh$ael is surprised to see Bulkington at the hel$.
"sh$ael defends whaling as a noble occupation. Whalers are no $ore butchers than are soldiers who earn praise for
their slaughtering. Whale oil lights the la$ps of the world and is used to anoint the heads of kings and 2ueens at their
coronations. 0or "sh$ael, whaling was his %ar#ard and Kale.
Discussion and Analysis
"n the Bible, the first book of >ings, the prophet 5li1ah is an ene$y of the wicked >ing (hab. )he 5li1ah who stops
"sh$ael is also a prophet. %e suggests that Juee2ueg and "sh$ael $ay ha#e signed o#er their souls when they signed
onto the Pequod. %e inti$ates that (hab lost his leg 8according to the prophecy.9 %e also raises the issue of fate when
he says, 8What,s to be, will be I it,s all fied and arranged a,ready.9
"sh$ael re$arks that he suspects so$ething is a$iss, but suppresses his suspicions. 8" said nothing, and tried to think
nothing.9 %is dis$ay increases when he sees shadows going onto the boat. )hese 8shadows9 will re$ain a $ystery
until later in the book.
)he Pequod sails on @hrist$as day, and Bildad is singing a hy$n 8full of hope and fruition9 as the boat pulls out of
port. 4egardless, because of the earlier foreshadowing and the words of 5li1ah, the reader has a sense of foreboding.
Bulkington, although we see hi$ only briefly, is a significant character. 8.and see$ed scorching to his feet.9 "n the
landMsea duality, the land represents safe, traditional knowledge and belief. An a the$atic le#el, Bulkington is the
8deep earnest thinker9G 8in landlessness alone resides the truth, shoreless, indefinite as 7od.9
Cha(ters *0-2)
Summary
)he first two chapters of this section, both entitled 8>nights and /2uires,9 describe the officers of the Pequod. 8)hree
better, $ore likely sea!officers and $en, each in his own different way, could not readily be found, and they were
e#ery one of the$ ($ericans.9
/tarbuck, a Juaker, is a lean, 8steadfast $an.9 %e had lost both a father and a brother to whaling and has a fa$ily at
ho$e. @onse2uently, he is a cautious whale$an who 8will ha#e no $an in :his; boat who is not afraid of a whale.9
8%appy!go!lucky9 /tubb, on the other hand, is 8easy and careless9 about whaling. %is pipe is a per$anent feature of
his face. "t is /tubb who confronts (hab about his pacing the deck, keeping the crew awake at night with the
thu$ping of his i#ory leg. (hab gets angry and calls hi$ a dog. /tubb at first takes offense, but later, after a drea$
about (hab kicking hi$, decides that an insult fro$ a $an like (hab is, in fact, an honor.
0lask, the third $ate, is a 8stout, ruddy9 fellow called >ing!=ost. Bent on destroying whales, he is fearless as he feels
that he has been personally affronted by the creatures.
(hab at last appears on deck where, e#entually, he will stay $ost of the ti$e. "sh$ael is filled with apprehension at
his first sight of hi$. (hab is branded with a scar that runs down his face into his shirt. %e puts the tip of his i#ory leg
into auger holes, which ha#e been drilled into the deck. /o$eti$es he sits upon an i#ory stool to s$oke, but when
s$oking 8no longer soothes,9 he throws his pipe into the sea.
Discussion and Analysis
)hat Moby-Dick is a tragedy of epic proportions is $ade clear to us in this section. Mel#ille uses the classic de#ice of
apostrophe to address absent beings or abstract concepts. "n an ele#ated style, he speaks to the 81ust /pirit of 52uality,
which hast spread one royal $antle of hu$anity o#er all.9 )his apostrophe is not unlike %o$er,s or Milton,s asking
the Muses for di#ine inspiration. Mel#ille eplains that he will i$bue co$$on $en with heroic, 8high 2ualities9 and
8tragic graces.9 %e asks the /pirit of 52uality to intercede for hi$ against critics who ob1ect.
)he Pequod is a $icrocos$ $anned by sailors of all races. Mel#ille re$arks that $ost of the$ are islanders,
8isolatoes,9 li#ing on their own separate continents, but united on this ship3sy$bolically, the world.
5ach $ate represents a different approach to whaling and, on a the$atic le#el, to nature and life itself. /tarbuck
respects the whale as strong and dangerous. %e also #alues life and $eans to preser#e his own. 0or hi$, whaling is a
way to $ake a li#ing. /tubb see$s to ha#e accepted things as they are and goes about his business cheerfully. 0lask
sees whales as ene$ies. %e has no re#erence for 8the $any $ar#els of their $a1estic bulk and $ystic ways.9
Cha(ters 2*-2-
Summary
"sh$ael belie#es that to understand the references to whales that will follow in his narrati#e, it is first necessary to
ha#e so$e knowledge of the general classifications of whales. %e defines the whale as 8a spouting fish with a
hori*ontal tail.9 %e then classifies whales according to si*e into three 8books,9 each with its 8chapters.9 )he first book
is $ade of the largest whales, such as the sper$ and right whales. )he second consists of $iddle!si*ed whales, such
as the narwhale and killer whale. )he last contains porpoises.
"sh$ael then eplains the hierarchy of the whale ship. )he chief harpooner is known as the specksynder. Because
ulti$ately the success of a #oyage depends on the harpooners, they are gi#en 2uarters aft with the captain and $ates.
7eneral sea$en li#e forward of the $ast.
)he $ates take their $eals with the captain in his cabin. With (hab, this is a silent, sole$n affair. (fter they ha#e left,
the harpooners ha#e their dinners. )hey are so boisterous and li#ely that they frighten the steward.
Af all the ship,s duties, standing the $asthead can be $ost pleasant. An bal$y days, "sh$ael, standing watch high up
on the $ast, perfor$s his duty poorly, for he gets lost in the re#erie of his thoughts. -nfortunately, whalers that fish in
the /outh /eas are not e2uipped with crow,s nests, and on cold, stor$y days, $asthead watch is $ost unpleasant.
Discussion and Analysis
.ike the 85ty$ology and 5tracts9 sections that precede the first chapter, the cetology chapter suggests that what we
know is open to interpretation, that $eaning can be, and often is, a$biguous. >nowledge is also inco$plete, as is
rightly so according to "sh$ael, for the greatest works are those that are left to posterity to finish. "sh$ael calls his
own work, 8but a draught3nay, but the draught of a draught.9 )he cetology chapter de$onstrates "sh$ael,s passion
to understand.
)he classification of whales and of those who hunt the$ presents an interesting co$parison. -nlike whales, hu$ans
depend upon social for$, such as who eats in the cabin, to $ake distinctions a$ong the$sel#es. 80or be a $an,s
intellectual superiority what it will, it can ne#er assu$e I supre$acy o#er other $en, without the aid of so$e sort of
eternal arts.I9
(hab is characteri*ed as alienated. 8)hough no$inally included in the census of @hristendo$, he was still alien to it.9
.ike a hibernating bear, 8(hab,s soul, shut up in the ca#ed trunk of his body, there fed upon the sullen paws of its
gloo$.9
)he the$e of the spiritual unity of li#ing things is reiterated when "sh$ael describes standing duty on the $asthead.
Koung $en like "sh$ael ga*e down at the ocean below and see their identities in the 8$ystic ocean, the #isible i$age
of that deep, blue, botto$less soul, per#ading $ankind and nature.9
Cha(ters 20-,/
Summary
(hab su$$ons all hands to the 2uarter!deck. %e ha$$ers a gold coin to the $ast and pro$ises it to the first $an
who sees the white whale 8with a wrinkled brow and a crooked 1aw.9 (hab ad$its that it is Moby Dick, the whale that
8dis$asted9 hi$. %e also ad$its that killing Moby Dick is the purpose of the #oyage. %e rallies all the $en behind
hi$G only /tarbuck dissents.
(hab gathers the crew around hi$, his hand upon the crossed lances of his $ates. )hey all drink fro$ a pewter
goblet. )he harpooners drink fro$ the detached iron spears of their harpoons.
(hab, alone in his cabin, cannot en1oy the beauty of the sunset. %e is 8da$ned in the $idst of paradise.9 %e defies the
gods that ha#e 8knocked :hi$; down.9 /tarbuck thinks about the power (hab has o#er hi$. %e is tied to hi$ and,
though rebelling, $ust obey. /tubb tells hi$self that all is predestined and the only thing to do is laugh about it.
)he sailors drink, dance, sing, and fight until a s2uall co$es up and they $ust reef the $asts. =ip, the frightened cabin
boy, prays to the 8big white 7od9 to ha#e $ercy on a little black boy.
Discussion and Analysis
/tubb, obser#ing (hab, tells 0lask, 8the chick that,s in hi$ pecks the shell. N)will soon be out.9 )hat 8chick9 is
(hab,s $ono$aniacal desire for re#enge on Moby Dick.
When /tarbuck tells (hab it is blasphe$ous to eact #engeance fro$ a du$b brute that 8si$ply s$ote thee fro$
blindest instinct,9 (hab replies that to hi$ the whale represents e#il. )he whale is a $ask, a wall, behind which is the
realityH 8inscrutable $alice.9 (hab belie#es his 8high perception9 has da$ned hi$ and dri#en hi$ to $adness. 8What
",#e dared, ",#e willedG and what ",#e willed, ",ll do. )hey think $e $ad I but ",$ de$oniac, " a$ $adness
$addened.9
Mel#ille takes great liberties with the narrati#e for$ in this section. "n 8/unset,9 the point of #iew changes fro$
"sh$ael,s first person point of #iew to (hab,s internal $onologue. /i$ilarly, internal $onologues are used for
/tarbuck and /tubb. 8Midnight, 0orecastle9 is a play, stage directions and all.
@olor i$agery de#elops i$portance in this section. )he white whale represents e#il to (hab. )he white 7od is
sal#ation to =ip. Daggoo says he is 82uarried9 out of blackness and fights with a white /paniard o#er the color issue.
(hab,s white scar is co$pared to the lightning bolt in the sky.
Cha(ters ,)-,*
Summary
(s encounters with Moby Dick beco$e $ore fre2uent a$ong whalers, ru$ors about hi$ grow $ore fantastic. /o$e
say he is ubi2uitous, that he could be in two places at once. Athers say that he is i$$ortal. Many ascribe to the
creature a kind of $alignant intelligence.
"sh$ael learns $ore about (hab,s encounter with Moby Dick. %is three boats sto#e in and his crew swirling in the
eddies, (hab futilely plunged a si!inch blade into the whales,s flank. "t was then that Moby Dick took his leg in his
great, crooked 1aw.
(hab,s $adness ca$e upon hi$ during the ho$eward #oyage. 0or $onths, he lay in his ha$$ock, 8his torn body
and gashed soul bled into one another9 and so $ade hi$ $ad. .ater he was able to hide this $adness. )he
<antucketers belie#ed that his going back out to sea was the best thing for hi$.
"sh$ael speculates on (habOs and his own feelings for Moby Dick. (hab 8piled upon the whale,s white hu$p the su$
of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race fro$ (da$ down.9 0or (hab, Moby Dick e$bodies the #ery
essence of e#il. "sh$ael,s feelings for the whale ha#e $ore to do with its color. (lthough whiteness $ay signify
beauty and innocence, it is also the color of the horse upon which Death rides and the color of a corpse,s skin. More
frightening to "sh$ael is that whiteness is an absence. "t is blankness.
Discussion and Analysis
8Moby Dick9 and 8)he Whiteness of the Whale9 are $ore atte$pts by "sh$ael to co$prehend. "n these chapters, he
analy*es and reasons, but ad$its that 8to eplain, would be to di#e deeper than "sh$ael can go.9 0urther$ore, he
hints at an a$biguity of feeling for Moby DickG for at the beginning of his chapter on whiteness, he uses the
2ualifying phrase, 8what a imes he was to $e.9
4egardless, "sh$ael is bound to (hab and see$s fated to help hi$ in his re#enge. 8%ere, then, was this grey!headed,
ungodly old $an, chasing a whale round the world, at the head of a crew $ade up of $ongrel renegades, and
castaways, and cannibals I specially picked by so$e infernal fatality.I9 )his description e$phasi*es the contrast
between the $a1estic whale and the rag!tag band hunting hi$. "t also suggests the futility of striking out against Moby
Dick and what he sy$boli*es.
"sh$ael,s #oyage, figurati#ely, is a 2uest to know, to understand. )he 8na$eless horror9 e$bodied in the whale,s
whiteness is, at best, that there is no absolute $eaning. "sh$ael eplains how whiteness can be interpreted as both
good and e#il. 8whiteness is I the #isible absence of color, and at the sa$e ti$e the concrete of all colors.9 (t worst,
the 8na$eless horror9 is that the uni#erse has no $eaning at all. 8<atureIpaints like the harlot, whose allure$ents
co#er nothing but the charnel house within.I9
Cha(ters ,2-,3
Summary
(rchy hears coughs fro$ under the hatches where no one should be. @abaco tells hi$ it $ust be so$ething he ate.
5#ery night in his cabin, (hab studies nautical charts trying to $ap out the $ost likely path to bring hi$ to Moby
Dick. 0or se#eral years the whale has been sighted at the ti$e and place known as /eason!on!the!.ine. )he /eason
will not occur for another year, but in the $eanti$e, (hab plots the $igratory patterns of sper$ whales.
"sh$ael offers proof for all he has said about whales. Whales do ha#e recogni*able traits and are gi#en na$es such as
4inaldo 4inaldini, )i$or )o$, Don Miguel, and others. /per$ whales ha#e destroyed entire ships such as the !ssex
out of <antucket.
By using the Pequod for his own purposes, (hab has left hi$self open to the charge of usurpation. )he crew would be
legally 1ustified in a $utiny. %e $ust hunt for other whales in order to appease the crew, particularly /tarbuck.
(s Juee2ueg and "sh$ael are working together wea#ing a $at, )ashtego cries out, 8)here she blowsL9 )he $en,
lowering their boats, see 8fi#e dusky phanto$s9 preparing to 1oin (hab in the hunt.
Discussion and Analysis
(rchy,s suspicions are pro#en sound when the fi#e phanto$s are seen with (hab. )hese are the shadows "sh$ael saw
boarding the ship in <antucket.
Mel#ille further eplores the the$e of #engeance. 8What trances of tor$ents does that $an endure who is consu$ed
with one unachie#ed re#engeful desire. %e sleeps with clenched handsG and wakes with his own bloody nails in his
pal$s.9 (hab wakens fro$ his drea$s with wild cries and runs fro$ his stateroo$. "t is his soul that cries out and
runs in terror of the cra*y (hab. )he concept of dualistic $an is here e$phasi*ed.
"n a classical allusion, (hab is co$pared to =ro$etheus, the 7reek god who ga#e fire to $an. %e is punished by being
bound on a $ountain where an eagle eats out his li#er. "n (hab,s case, a 8#ulture,9 his #engeance, eats out his heart.
"sh$ael belie#es the $at that he and Juee2ueg wea#e is sy$bolic of necessity, free will, and chance. %e calls their
wea#ing 8the .oo$ of )i$e.9 Wea#ing and knitting are fre2uently sy$bols of fate.
Cha(ters ,1--)
Summary
(hab,s boat is lowered by 0edallah and his crew. 0edallah is tall and dark and has one tooth protruding fro$ his lips.
%is braided white hair is wrapped around his head like a turban. (hab takes his place at the hel$ of his whale boat.
(ll the other boats are lowered as well.
+ust as Juee2ueg throws his harpoon at a whale, the boat is swa$ped. "sh$ael, /tarbuck, and the others are thrown
fro$ the boat, but $anage to pull the$sel#es back in. )hey are separated fro$ the others and lost all night in the
stor$ and fog. (t dawn, the Pequod finds the$. (fter this incident, "sh$ael $akes out a will.
0edallah spots a sil#ery spout. )he Pequod is ne#er able to catch up with it although it appears e#ery night at
$idnight. (s the ship nears the @ape of 7ood %ope, the weather beco$es coldG the ocean, treacherous.
Discussion and Analysis
0edallah is associated with e#il. When (hab 2uestions hi$, 0edallah 8hisses9 a reply. %e is dark and dressed in
8funereal9 black. "sh$ael i$agines hi$ the offspring of the de#il who 8consorted with the daughters of $en.9
0edallah,s crew are yellow!co$pleioned Manillans, belie#ed to be agents of the de#il by so$e sailors.
0edallah and his crew are described as 8dusky phanto$s fresh for$ed out of air.9 An a sy$bolic le#el, they are
spiritual for they represent (hab,s dark alter ego e$erging as he co$es closer to the ob1ect of his #engeance.
/i$ilarly, the spirit!spout, belie#ed to be that of Moby Dick, represents the #engeance luring (hab to destruction.
(t the sa$e ti$e, the spirit!spout is spotted, flocks of sea!ra#ens perch upon the stays as if the Pequod is uninhabited,
8a thing appointed to desolation.9 )he hea#ing black sea is $etaphorically co$pared to a conscience 8in anguish9 for
the 8suffering it had bred.9 )he at$osphere of 8)he /pirit!/pout9 chapter is gri$ and foreboding.
"sh$ael,s writing his will see$s an ac2uiescence to his fate. %is acceptance of his $ortality takes a weight fro$ his
heart. 8%ere goes for a cool, collected di#e at death and destruction,9 he tells hi$self 1okingly, epressing his new
8desperado philosophy.9
Cha(ters -*--,
Summary
/outhwest of the @ape of 7ood %ope, the Pequod $eets the Albaross, a ship heading ho$e after a four!year #oyage.
(hab hails the ship asking if they ha#e seen the White Whale. (s the other captain is about to reply, he drops the horn
through which he was about to speak into the water. %is reply is lost in the wind.
)his $eeting, peculiar to whaleships, is known as a ga$. 0re2uently, the boats, crews echange #isits, $ail, papers,
and whaling news.
)he Pequod then has a short ga$ with the To"n-#o fro$ which $uch is learned about the White Whale. "sh$ael
hears a secret part of the story, fro$ )ashtego.
)wo years earlier, the To"n-#o was sailing the =acific when the ship sprang a leak. ($ong the sailors laboring at the
pu$ps was a 8tall, noble ani$al9 na$ed /teelkilt. +ust as /teelkilt sat down to rest, the ugly first $ate, 4adney,
ordered hi$ to sho#el up so$e pig droppings fro$ the deck. /teelkilt refused. 4adney ca$e at /teelkilt with a
ha$$er, and /teelkilt punched hi$ in the $outh.
/teelkilt and so$e of his allies chose to be locked in the hold, rather than lashed. When they finally ca$e out, the
captain lashed the two allies, but didn,t dare touch /teelkilt who had whispered so$e threat. 4adney, howe#er,
grabbed the rope and lashed /teelkilt hi$self.
/teelkilt planned 4adney,s $urder, but was sa#ed the effort when the To"n-#o ca$e upon Moby Dick. 4adney,
tossed fro$ his whaleboat, was sei*ed in the 1aws of the great whale.
Discussion and Analysis
)he $eeting with the Albaross reinforces a the$e articulated earlier in the bookH alienation. @o$$unication between
the two ships is thwarted 1ust as it is a$ong the 8isolatoes9 of the world.
)he sea$en of the Pequod are dis$ayed by the 8o$inous incident9 at the first $ention of Moby Dick. (hab hi$self
see$s saddened when he sees the schools of little fish that had been swi$$ing alongside the Pequod for days dart
away toward the Albaross. (hab beco$es a pariah to nature as he seeks his #engeance on the White Whale.
(lthough part of the story as a whole, the To"n-#o narrati#e, is so$ewhat re$o#ed fro$ it by a double fra$ing
de#ice. "sh$ael relates the story as he told it to Dons =edro and /ebastian at an inn in .i$a. )he dialogue of these
characters is inter1ected throughout the story and at the end, "sh$ael swears on a Bible that what he has told the$ is
the truth.
)o "sh$ael, the To"n-#o,s encounter with Moby Dick see$ed predestined. 8( strange fatality per#ades the whole
career of these e#ents, as if #erily $apped out before the world itself was charted.9 "n this story, Moby Dick sa#es
/teelkilt fro$ the 8da$ning thing he would ha#e done.9 )hat Moby Dick can be hea#en,s $inion to /teelkilt and the
essence of e#il to (hab is another de$onstration of the a$biguity in hu$an perception.
Cha(ters ---0/
Summary
0ew pictures of whales are accurate because the true $a1esty of the whale can be seen only in unfatho$able waters.
%owe#er, there are $any pictures of whales. ( crippled beggar in .ondon holds a painted board depicting the scene in
which he lost his leg. /ailors car#e and etch whale bone and whale teeth, a craft called scri$shanding or scri$shaw.
With i$agination, whales can be seen in the stars and in undulating $ountain ridges.
)he Pequod cruises through a $eadow of brit, the yellow substance eaten by right whales. Daggoo raises the cry for
the White Whale, but what he has sighted is really a huge, white s2uid. /tarbuck considers it a bad o$en.
)ypically, the whaling line, the line attached to the harpoon, is run through a series of co$plicated turns fro$ bow to
stern, enclosing the si!$an crew in its coils.
Discussion and Analysis
"n this section, the reportorial style of the $aterial de#oted to the pictures of whales contrasts with the $ore poetic
style of descripti#e passages such as thisH
8But one transparent blue $orning, I when the long burnished sun!glade on the waters see$ed a golden finger laid
across the$ I, when the slippered wa#es whispered together IG in this profound hush I a strange spectre was
seen.9
)he 8spectre9 is the s2uid. )he diction used to describe its appearance creates a $ystical at$osphere, as does the use
of the biblical word in the lineH 8.oL in the sa$e spot where it sank, once $ore it slowly rose.9
)he the$e of the duality of $an is repeated when "sh$ael co$pares the land and sea. 8do you not find a strange
analogy to so$ething in yourselfC9 he asks his readers. )he analogy refers to $an,s sa#age, unta$ed nature
represented by the sea and to his gentle, peaceful nature represented by an island in that sea. <e#er #enture fro$ that
$etaphorical island, he says, for there is no return. (hab is one who has done that, both literally and figurati#ely.
)he unity of $an is suggested in the i$age of the whale line, but the i$age is not positi#e. (ll hu$ans are connected
by #irtue of the fact that they are all in the sa$e $ess, so to speak. 8(ll $en li#e en#eloped in whale!lines I but it is
only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that $ortals reali*e the silent, subtle, e#er!present perils of life.9
Cha(ters 0)-00
Summary
Drowsing during his watch at the fore$ast!head, "sh$ael, spots a gigantic sper$ whale lolling in the tran2uil waters
of the "ndian Acean. )he boats are loweredG )ashtego harpoons the whaleG and /tubb kills it with his lance.
8"t is the harpooneer that $akes the #oyage.9 %e $ust cast his harpoon '0 or D0 feet after rowing with all his strength
and shouting loudly at the sa$e ti$e. )wo harpoons are set in the crotch, but the second is usually thrown o#erboard
where it dangles dangerously fro$ the $ain harpoon line.
)he whale is secured net to the Pequod. /tubb tries to en1oy his whale steak dinner, but is disturbed by the noise of
the sharks. %e tells 0leece to speak to the sharks and 2uiet the$. 0utilely, 0leece deli#ers a ser$on and benediction.
During the night, Juee2ueg and another sea$an try to protect the whale carcass by killing sharks with their sharp
whaling!spades.
Discussion and Analysis
( drowsy, tran2uil scene opens chapter .P". "sh$ael, on $asthead watch, idly sways in the 8enchanted air.9 "n his
drea$y $ood, his soul goes out of his body. %e and the other two $asthead watches 8lifelessly swung fro$ the
spars.9 )he i$agery creates a sleepy, sultry at$osphere, but, at the sa$e ti$e, suggests the crucifiion scene.
)he at$osphere and i$agery in the first part of chapter .P" contrast with that of the last part. )he tran2uil
at$osphere beco$es a wild chase. Drea$y i$ages beco$e realistic i$ages of the kill as 8gush after gush of clotted
red gore I shot into the afrighted air.9
/e#eral parallels are drawn between the whale and its hunters. )he whale is lolling about like the $en on the shipG a
81et of white s$oke was agoni*ingly shot fro$ the spiracle of the whale9 as puff after puff of s$oke ca$e fro$ the
$outh of the ecited /tubb. When the whale dies, /tubb,s pipe goes out.
Man and shark are not so unlike either. During sea battles, the sharks in the water fight o#er the bodies fallen
o#erboard as the $en on deck fight with each other. 8 I turn the whole affair upside down, it would still be pretty
$uch the sa$e thing.9
0leece,s ser$on to the sharks, deli#ered in the old black $an,s dialect, is wryly hu$orous. 0leece addresses the
sharks as 8Belubed fellow critters9 and co$es to the conclusion that /tubb is $ore of a shark than a shark. )he
chapter reiterates the the$e of the dual nature of $an and the necessity to control the dark side.
Cha(ters 03-3)
Summary
An /unday, a pulley syste$ is rigged to the $ast and a hook is attached to a huge strip of blubber. )he strip of blubber
is peeled fro$ the whale like a peel fro$ an orange. /tarbuck and /tubb stand on staging 1ust abo#e the whale and
si$ultaneously cut a scarf line with their sharp sho#els. )he whale spins like a log in the water as the spiraled blubber,
called the blanket, is hoisted up.
)he headless carcass of the whale is set adrift. )he head has been hoisted about halfway out of the water against the
side of the ship. (hab speaks to the head telling it to re#eal all the secrets it knows.
)he $eroboam approaches, but because of an epide$ic on his ship, @aptain Mayhew speaks to (hab fro$ his
whaleboat. Ane of his oars$en is the cra*ed 7abriel, who tells (hab to 8beware of the blasphe$er,s end.9 (s 7abriel
had predicted, the chief $ate of the $eroboam was killed by Moby Dick, who$ 7abriel belie#es to be his /haker god.
"ronically, the Pequod is carrying a letter for the deceased Macey. When (hab tries to hand it o#er, 7abriel grabs it,
pierces it with a knife, and throws the knife at (hab,s feet.
Discussion and Analysis
Ance again, the inscrutability of nature is suggested. )he whale,s skin is crisscrossed with 8hieroglyphical9 lines, but
8the $ystic!$arked whale re$ains undecipherable.9 )his passage suggests that Moby Dick will re$ain
undecipherable as well.
)hat Moby Dick is an a$biguous sy$bol is further illustrated by 7abriel,s belief in hi$ as the /haker god. )he
/hakers, a celibate religious sect, $aintain that 7od is a duality, both $ale and fe$ale, the parents of $ankind. )he
two $ad$en, (hab and 7abriel, constitute another dualityH to one, Moby Dick is the incarnation of 7odG to the other,
the incarnation of e#il.
(hab,s speech to the whale,s head is also about the inscrutability of nature3in this case represented by the sea. )o
(hab, the sea is that 8awful water!land9 in which the whale has seen all $anner of death. )he sea is the 8$urderous
hold of this frigate earth ballasted with bones of $illions of the drowned.I9 (hab asks the head to share the secrets
of the sea deaths it has witnessed. 8A headL9 (hab apostrophi*es, 8)hou hast seen enough to split the planets and
$ake an infidel of (braha$.9
Cha(ters 3*-31
Summary
During the process of stripping the blubber fro$ the whale, Juee2ueg $ust $ount the carcass to secure the hook. 0or
safety, he is attached to a $onkey rope, a line which runs up the side of the ship and is attached to "sh$ael.
(hab orders the killing of a right whale because 0edallah has told hi$ that a boat with a sper$ whale head on one
side and a right whale head on the other cannot sink.
/tubb and 0lask kill a right whale. While they are towing it back to the boat, they discuss 0edallah. /tubb belie#es
hi$ to be the de#il and suggests that (hab has $ade a pact with hi$.
"sh$ael contrasts the two whale heads now hoisted on either side of the ship. )he sper$ whale,s head is sy$$etrical,
but the right whale,s is 8inelegant.9 "sh$ael sees the $outh as 8really beautiful and chaste!looking.9
Within the sper$ whale,s head is a well of precious sper$aceti. )ashtego $ounts the $ain yardar$ to lower a bucket
into the tun and begin the process of bailing out its 500 gallons of sper$aceti. When )ashtego slips and falls into the
head, the whole thing falls fro$ the side of the ship. Juee2ueg 1u$ps into the water, swi$s to the sinking head, cuts a
hole in it, reaches in, and pulls out )ashtego.
Discussion and Analysis
)he the$e of the unity of $an is sy$boli*ed by the line that connects Juee2ueg and "sh$ael. 0urther$ore, the line
sy$boli*es the interrelatedness of all hu$an actions. What one $an does affects another, and as in the case of "sh$ael
and Juee2ueg, it could be a $atter of life and death.
(lthough there is so$e hu$or in /tubb,s speculation about 0edallah being the de#il, it is clearly established that he is
an e#il presence. /tubb 1okes about how 0edallah hides his de#il,s tail and how his one tooth is shaped like the head
of a snake, but when (hab steps on deck to #iew the whale head, 0edallah literally stands in (hab,s shadow.
0igurati#ely, 0edallah is (hab,s shadow self.
=art of "sh$ael,s $etaphoric 1ourney toward understanding in#ol#es the resolution of dichoto$ous ideas. With an eye
on either side of his head, the whale, can percei#e two i$ages at the sa$e ti$e. 0or $an it is not so easy. .ike (hab,
$an tends to see things as all e#il or all good. )he two whale heads sy$boli*e the true dualistic nature of the
uni#erse.
Cha(ters 3.-1)
Summary
"sh$ael describes the physiogno$y of the whale. )he sper$ whale has no nose, which gi#es the creature an added
grandeur. "ts brow gi#es it a 8high and $ighty 7od!like dignity.9 )he sper$ whale is a fit ob1ect for pagan worship.
)he brain is encased in a skull, which when scaled down, is not unlike $an,s. )he whale,s hu$p rises o#er one of its
largest #ertebrae. )his hu$p indicates the 8indo$itableness9 of the sper$ whale.
)he net whale hunt, in#ol#ing both the $un%frau and the Pequod, illustrates such indo$itableness. )he $un%frau has
no oil, and @aptain Derrick De Deer approaches the Pequod with the idea of getting so$e la$p oil fro$ her.
%owe#er, 1ust as his boat co$es near, a pod of whales is spotted.
Ane blind, crippled old bull struggles along at the rear of the pod. Derrick,s four boats and the Pequod,s three
co$pete to capture this large whale. Juee2ueg, )ashtego, and Daggoo harpoon the whale first. )he whale is killed
and secured to the Pequod, but the whale begins to sink, pulling the Pequod o#er sideways. Juee2ueg $anages to cut
through the fluke chains, and the whale sinks.
Derrick and his $en chase after a finback, $istaking it for a sper$ whale. )he finback is an uncapturable species
because of his speed and agility.
Discussion and Analysis
Ance again, "sh$ael epresses his appreciation of the great beauty of the whale. %e sees si$ilarities between this
creature and $an, suggesting the unity of $an and nature.
4e$arking on the inscrutability of the whale,s brow, "sh$ael tells us, 8" but put that brow before you. 4ead it if you
can.9 %ere, it see$s Mel#ille tells his readers that it is up to the$ to find their own $eaning in Moby Dick.
"sh$ael,s diction in recounting the killing of the old whale arouses sy$pathy. )he whale,s 8tor$ented9 1et, his 8agony
of fright,9 his 8cruel wound9 and 8$ore than sufferable anguish9 are 8$ost pitiable.9 )he brute is co$pared to a bird
with a clipped wing, but the bird can epress its fearG the whale has no #oice. 5#en /tarbuck tries to stop 0lask fro$
causing the creature further pain.
)he $un%frau is no $atch for the eperienced crew of the Pequod. $un%frau $eans #irgin, and so it is appropriate that
she is a 8clean9 ship, 8that is, an e$pty one.9 %er na$e also suggests the ineperience of her crew, who go chasing
after the uncapturable finback. 8Many are the 0in!Backs, and $any are the Derricks, $y friend,9 says "sh$ael.
Cha(ters 1*-10
Summary
"sh$ael na$es 8de$i!gods, heroes, and prophets9 who ha#e been whalersH a$ong the$, =erseus, /t. 7eorge,
%ercules, ?ishnu, and +onah.
<ot long after the $un%frau episode, whales are spotted. )he chase re2uires the use of the pitchpole, a 10! to 1'!foot
lance $uch lighter than a harpoon. )he pitchpole can be thrown so$e distance to pierce the whale and then pulled
back by a line and thrown again and again. )ashtego plants his iron in a whale, but the whale continues its fleet flight.
)he pitchpole is used to slow it down, and then it is caught.
"sh$ael continues his speculations about the whale,s physiology. %e tells us he is writing this particular passage on
Dece$ber 1E, 1851. )he topic is the whale,s spout through which it breathes. When the whale surfaces, he 8breathes,9
filling #essels on either side of his spine and along his ribs with oygenated blood. %e draws upon this supply when
he swi$s underwater. (lthough there is no definite answer to the 2uestion of whether the spout is #apor or #apor
$ied with water, "sh$ael $aintains it is a kind of $ist. Whale$en belie#e the 1et to be poisonous, har$ful to the
skin, and blinding.
)he sper$ whale,s tail is '0 feet across and its upper surface is at least 50 s2uare feet. (lthough the tail is incredibly
powerful, it is nonetheless #ery graceful. )he whale uses it for progression, hitting, sweeping, lobtailing, and peaking.
Discussion and Analysis
Whale$en constitute a brotherhood not only of co$$on whalers, but also of the high and the $ighty. )he whalers
"sh$ael $entions represent a cross section of cultures. =erseus is a 7reek hero and %ercules, a 7reek god. /t. 7eorge
is so$ewhat facetiously included a$ong the whalers and is the patron saint of 5ngland. +onah is %ebrew.
)he 8grand $aster9 of the fraternity is ?ishnu, a %indu god who in his first incarnation was a whale that rescued the
?edas fro$ the botto$ of the sea. "sh$ael says, 87i#e us the di#ine ?ishnoo hi$self for our .ord.9 )his chapter
reinforces the idea that all $ankind is represented by the whalers. "t also supports the the$e of the unity of $an.
"sh$ael continues to see great beauty and $a1esty in the whale. )he peaking of the whale,s flukes is 8the grandest
sight to be seen in all ani$ated nature. Aut of the botto$less profundities, the gigantic tail see$s spas$odically
snatching at the highest hea#en.9 "sh$ael also reiterates the inscrutability of the creature. 8Dissect hi$ how " $ay, I
" know hi$ not, and ne#er will.9 )he whale represents the forces of nature, which are destructi#e, beautiful, and
unfatho$able.
Cha(ters 13-.*
Summary
<ear the straits of /unda, the Pequod is chased by Malaysian pirates who$ the Pequod is able to outrun. )he ship
then encounters a huge herd of whales. Mid!chase, the whales beco$e 8gallied,9 disoriented and swi$$ing about in
all directions. Juee2ueg harpoons a whale that escapes after towing the boat into a cal$ spot occupied by cows and
their cal#es. )he oars$en pet the$. Beneath the surface, cows nurse their young.
)he whalers use a 8drugg9 to in1ure the gallied whales and slow the$ down so they can be captured later. ( drugged
whale, flailing about, in#ades the cal$ area and soon the whale boat is pressed on all sides by the whales. "n the
$elee, Juee2ueg loses his hat. Anly one drugged whale is captured.
5nor$ous herds of whales such as these are so$eti$es encountered, but schools of whales, consisting of '5 to 50
whales are $ore fre2uently seen. )hese schools usually consist of all $ales or all fe$ales. ( fe$ale school is
acco$panied by a school$aster, a full!grown $ale.
"n the pre#ious hunt, waif poles were used to $ark ownership of whales which had been 8drugged.9 By law, such
whales would be considered 0ast!0ish. ( 0ast!0ish is any fish secured to a ship or secured to any i$ple$ent of that
ship such as a waif pole or harpoon.
( curious 5nglish law states that the head of a fish belongs to the >ing, and the tail to the Jueen. <othing is left for
the whaler. "sh$ael cites a case in which this law has recently been applied in 5ngland.
( few weeks after the encounter with the huge herd of whales, the Pequod encounters the Rose-&ud. An one side of
her is a blasted whale, one which has died a natural death and is in so$e stage of decay. An the other side is a whale
which has dried up and died owing to so$e kind of digesti#e proble$.
%olding his nose all the while, /tubb #isits the boat, and disco#ers they know nothing of Moby Dick. )he chief $ate,
a 7uernsey!$an, recruits /tubb,s help in con#incing the captain to cut loose the stinking carcasses. While /tubb
insults the captain in 5nglish, the chief $ate con#inces the captain that the rotting whales will cause death and disease
on their ship. )he captain orders the whales cut loose.
/tubb knows the dried up whale contains #aluable a$bergris. ($bergris is a fragrant yellow, way substance used in
perfu$es. /tubb and his $en are able to get se#eral handfuls of the stuff before (hab calls the$ aboard.
Discussion and Analysis
)he irony of the gallied whale scene is that while whale$en slaughter and $ai$ whales, they can at the sa$e ti$e
take pleasure in the$. "sh$ael calls his $o$ents with the cows and their babies 8enchanted9 and feels secrets of the
deep ha#e been re#ealed to hi$. )he scene also brings together birth and death.
)he cal$ in the center of the gallied whales is sy$bolic of the soul at peace in the $idst of eternal tur$oil. 8 I
while ponderous planets of unwaning woe re#ol#e round $e, deep down I " still bathe $e in eternal $ildness of
1oy.9
)he Rose-&ud chapter pro#ides a good deal of hu$or. )he na$e of the stinking ship is, of course, ironic. /tubb,s
insults of the 0rench and their captain are 2uick and cutting. Without the captain knowing, /tubb calls hi$ a baboon
to his face. "ronically, the captain is so grateful, he offers /tubb a glass of wine. )he final irony is that /tubb tricks the
7uernsey!$an, who tricked the captain.
Cha(ters .2-..
Summary
=ip replaces an in1ured $an in /tubb,s boat. =ip is 1arred fro$ the boat and caught in the harpoon line. )ashtego
grudgingly cuts the line to sa#e =ip and loses the whale in doing so. An another hunt, =ip is once again thrown into
the sea, but this ti$e /tubb lea#es hi$. =ip is later picked up by the Pequod, but his eperience has left hi$ $ad.
"sh$ael eplains $ore steps in the processing of the whale. (s the sper$ cools in the tubs, it hardens. )he sailors dip
in their hands and s2uee*e the lu$ps back to li2uid. (lso, the whale,s phallus is skinned, the skin is dried, ar$ holes
are cut in it, and the $incer slips it on before cutting up pieces of blubber for the $elting pots.
)he blubber is $elted down o#er a kiln in two try!pots. )he sailors often help the$sel#es to the cooled oil to keep
their la$ps burning e#en as they sleep. )he cooled oil is put in casks and stored below.
=acing the deck, (hab, stops to study the doubloon he nailed to the $ast. "n its sy$bols, he sees hi$self. /tarbuck
interprets it as a sy$bol of 7od. /tubb, 0lask, the Man$an, Juee2ueg, 0edallah, and =ip also study and interpret the
$eaning of the doubloon.
Discussion and Analysis
8)he @astaway9 and 8)he /2uee*e of the %and9 are dualistic chapters. "n the first, the tender!hearted, 1o#ial =ip, left
adrift in the 8heartless i$$ensity9 of the sea, eperiences total isolation. )he following chapter deals with the
opposite the$e, the unity of $an. While "sh$ael is s2uee*ing the globs of sper$, he also s2uee*es other $en,s hands
and eperiences a re#erie of affection and lo#e.
)he cult of brotherhood is treated so$ewhat ironically in 8)he @assock.9 )he 8apron9 worn by the $incer looks like
a priest,s cassock and is $ade fro$ the $ale 8grandissi$us9 of the whale. "sh$ael notes that biblical characters ha#e
worshipped such idols.
"sh$ael is on the hel$ one night as the fires of the try!works create a hellish scene. (t one point, he beco$es totally
disoriented and a 8bewildered feeling as of death9 co$es o#er hi$. An a the$atic le#el, "sh$ael has been decei#ed
and led to despair by e#il on the Pequod, but like a 8@atskill eagle,9 his soul is able to soar up out of the depths to the
true light.
)he interpretations of the doubloon e$phasi*e once again the a$biguity of $eaning. 5ach $an sees so$ething
different in the engra#ings on the coin. (hab sees hi$self, the world, and his 1ourney to destruction. /tarbuck sees the
trinity of 7od. /tubb sees the life of $an. 0lask sees only $onetary #alue.
0ro$ the engra#ings, the Man$an predicts when Moby Dick will be sighted. Juee2ueg tries to $atch up the
engra#ings with his tattoos, but sees nothing in the coin of any #alue. 0edallah, a fire worshipper, bows down to the
sun engra#ed on the coin. )o =ip it is the na#el of the shipG and once it is taken down, at the first sighting of Moby
Dick, the ship and her $en will be destroyed.
Cha(ters )//-)/-
Summary
)he Pequod has a ga$ with the Samuel !nderby. )he blubber!hook is lowered for (hab to be hoisted aboard the
5nglish ship. @aptain Boo$er lost his ar$ to Moby Dick. %is boat was s$ashed and his ar$ pierced by a loose
harpoon. .ater, his ar$ had to be a$putated. %is carpenter $ade hi$ a whale!bone ar$.
@aptain Boo$er tells (hab he has seen the White Whale, but ad#ises hi$ to let well enough alone. (hab beco$es so
agitated that Dr. Bunger approaches hi$ to help, but (hab pushes hi$ against the bulwarks and hurriedly lea#es.
)he Samuel !nderby was na$ed after the $an who brought the first whaler into the /outh =acific. "sh$ael had the
opportunity to board the 5nglish ship $any years after the Pequod,s #oyage. %e re$arks about her wonderful
hospitality.
"sh$ael has beco$e so$ewhat knowledgeable about whale skeletons by dissecting a cub sper$ whale and by
inspecting the skeleton of a stranded whale on a =acific island that he was #isiting. )he skeleton had been turned into
a shrine. By "sh$ael,s calculations, the skeleton of a large sper$ whale is between 85 and &0 feet long.
0ossil whales show that o#er the centuries whales ha#e grown in si*e. "sh$ael belie#es that whales will ne#er beco$e
etinct.
Discussion and Analysis
@aptain Boo$er and (hab are eact opposites. Boo$er sees Moby Dick as 8a noble great whale9 and wisely ad#ises
(hab, 8%e,s best let alone.9 )o (hab, the whale is a 8$agnet.9
When Boo$er tells the story of his $ishap, (hab interprets Moby Dick,s actions as a conscious atte$pt to free the
whale Boo$er had harpooned. Boo$er replies, 8%ow it was eactly, " do not know.9 Dr. Bunger says that what is
taken for $alice in Moby Dick is actually awkwardness. (hab sees Moby Dick as the incarnation of e#ilG to Boo$er
,the whale is a noble creature, but nothing $ore than a whale.
)he two ships also pro#ide contrast. )he Pequod, with her pagan crew and $ad captain, is the eact opposite of the
Samuel !nderby whose captain and crew en1oy a ca$araderie which they etend to their #isitors. "sh$ael hi$self
attests to the spirit of that 1olly ship.
"n discussing the $agnitude of the whale, "sh$ael co$$ents on the $agnitude of his book. )o write it, he needs a
condor,s 2uill to dip into ?esu#ius, crater. )he hyperbole suggests the 8out!reaching co$prehensi#eness9 of his
narrati#e. 8)o produce a $ighty book, you $ust choose a $ighty the$e.9
Cha(ters )/0-)/.
Summary
(hab had left the Samuel !nderby in such haste that he did da$age to his i#ory leg. =rior to the Pequod,s #oyage, he
had had another $ishap in#ol#ing his leg. (hab had been found unconscious, lying face down, the leg nearly piercing
his groin. )he wound had not totally healed when the Pequod sailed, which eplains why (hab kept to his cabin at the
beginning of the #oyage. Because (hab is now wary of any weakness in his leg, the ship,s carpenter fashions hi$
another.
( leak is suspected in the oil barrels. /tarbuck enters (hab,s cabin to ask per$ission to 8up Burtons9G3that is, to take
the barrels out of the hold and find the leak. (hab forbids it, for this re2uires the ship to hea#e to for a week or $ore,
so$ething (hab is loathe to do. )he two $en argue and (hab points a loaded $usket at /tarbuck. /tarbuck does not
flinch and says, 8(hab beware of (habG beware of thyself, old $an.9 .ater, after so$e thought, (hab re#erses his
decision and orders the barrels hoisted.
Discussion and Analysis
)o (hab, the $ishaps in#ol#ing his leg $ake perfect sense, for he belie#es that $isery begets $isery. )he gods
the$sel#es are not happy and 8the sad birth$ark in the brow of $an is but the sta$p of sorrow in the signer.9 (hab
belie#es the uni#erse to be $ale#olent, and his i#ory leg is a sy$bol of that sad fact.
(hab,s discussion with the carpenter is of interest for both its structure and its content. Mel#ille again breaks the
narrati#e prose, this ti$e by inserting a section of interior $onologue. "n it, the carpenter discusses the relati#e $erits
of an i#ory leg. )his section is followed by a dialogue between the carpenter and (hab.
(hab tells the carpenter that he would like the blacks$ith to fashion a $an as =ro$etheus did, but (hab would like
the $an to be 50 feet tall, heartless, and with a brain the si*e of a 2uarter acre. )his $an would look inwardG the top of
his head would ha#e a skylight to gi#e hi$ the illu$ination to do so.
(lthough (hab #alues self!knowledge, he fails to see a connection between self and uni#erse. "n fact, as we ha#e
pre#iously seen, he belie#es self and uni#erse to be at odds. 8@ursed be that $ortal interindebtedness,9 (hab says.
0urther$ore, (hab appears to #alue intellect o#er e$otion. "t is ironic that he is epressing this to a $an who has
been described as #ery skillful, but re$arkably unintellectual.
"n the cabin scene, /tarbuck dares to stand up to (hab, but not to defy hi$. Both agree that what they ca$e 8'0,000
$iles to get is worth sa#ing9G but /tarbuck $eans the oil, and (hab $eans his re#enge on Moby Dick. @le#erly, (hab
decides to gi#e in on the barrels issue because he knows if anyone were to lead a $utiny, it would be /tarbuck. (hab
does not want to cause 8disaffection in the i$portant chief officer9 at this point.
Cha(ters ))/-)),
Summary
Working in the dank hold to hoist the barrels, Juee2ueg beco$es sick and nearly dies with fe#er. %e orders the
carpenter to $ake 8a canoe9 such as those in which the fallen whale$en of <antucket are laid to rest. "n the coffin,
Juee2ueg places the iron fro$ his harpoon, biscuits, water, and a bag of earth. %e cli$bs in it, crosses his ar$s, and
asks to ha#e Ko1o placed on his breast.
=ip asks Juee2ueg when he goes on his 1ourney to seek out one called =ip, who has long been $issing, and gi#e hi$
co$fort. Juee2ueg, howe#er, reco#ers when he re$e$bers he has so$e duty to take care of on shore. %e $akes a sea
chest of his coffin and on its lid, car#es patterns corresponding to his tattoos.
(s the Pequod sails into the =acific, =erth, the blacks$ith, prepares the tools for the whale hunting that will ensue.
=erth is an unhappy old $an who lost his fa$ily because of his drinking.
(hab asks =erth to forge hi$ a special harpoon. )he iron of the harpoon is $ade of the nailstubs fro$ the shoes of
race horses. (hab hi$self forges the shank. )he barbs, $ade fro$ ra*ors, are te$pered not in water, but in the blood
of )ashtego, Juee2ueg, and Daggoo.
Discussion and Analysis
)he the$e of death is eplored in this section. "sh$ael sees the 8i$$ortal health9 of the soul in the eyes of his dying
friend. %e i$agines that a dying $an eperiences re#elations. Juee2ueg hi$self en#isions death as a sailing away to
the stars, which his people belie#e to be islands.
=ip feels the sha$e of his cowardly 8death9 and co$pares it to Juee2ueg,s 8ga$e9 death. %e beats a dirge for
Juee2ueg on his ta$bourine. "n an apostrophe to death, "sh$ael cries, 8Ah, Death, why canst thou not be ti$elyC9 "f
=erth had died a ti$ely death, his fa$ily would ha#e been spared. (hab, who recogni*es a kinship in =erth, asks hi$
how he can endure life and ad#ises hi$ to go $ad.
)hat death is a focus of these chapters is appropriate since the Pequod is co$ing closer to her fateful encounter with
Moby Dick. (hab prepares for this encounter by te$pering his harpoon in pagan blood and bapti*ing it not in the
na$e of 7od, but 8in no$ine diaboli.9
Cha(ters ))--)*)
Summary
0ull of oil, the &achelor 1oyously celebrates the beginning of her ho$eward 1ourney. )he captain tells (hab he has
heard of the White Whale, but doesn,t belie#e in hi$. %e in#ites (hab aboard, but (hab tells hi$ to be on his way.
/oon after, as if the good luck of the &achelor had rubbed off, the Pequod kills four whales. (hab watches as the
whale he killed turns its head to the sun, as do all dying sper$ whales. (hab,s boat stays with its whale during the
night since it is too far fro$ the ship to be brought in before nightfall.
During the night,s watch, 0edallah interprets a drea$ of (hab,s. %e predicts that before (hab dies, (hab $ust see two
hearses on the sea, one $ade of ($erican wood and one not $ade by $ortal hands. )he =arsee predicts that he will
die before (hab, yet will appear to (hab after his death. %e adds that only he$p can kill (hab.
)aking the ship,s bearings with the 2uadrant, (hab in frustration, s$ashes the instru$ent and throws it into the sea.
%e changes course. )he Pequod is then hit by a typhoon. %er sails are torn to shreds and her rigging glows with
corposants, /t. 5l$o,s fire. )he three!pronged lightning rods at the top of each of the three $asts are afla$e. (hab
grabs the lower chain end of the rod to feel the lightning course through hi$. /tarbuck tells (hab to gi#e up his ill!
fated #oyage and to head ho$e. (hab grabs his harpoon3its barbs a forked fla$e3and dri#es back his half!
$utinous crew.
(hab orders e#erything lashed down. )he whaleboats are drawn up high on their cranes, but (hab,s boat is s$ashed.
/tarbuck tells /tubb that the boat is s$ashed in the stern, eactly where (hab would stand.
Discussion and Analysis
)he &achelor is the eact opposite of the Pequod. (hab says, 8)hou art a full ship and ho$eward bound, I call $e
an e$pty ship and outward bound.9 )he &achelor is as 1olly as the Pequod is gri$. (hab considers the captain to be a
fool, for he has no depth of understanding concerning Moby Dick. =erhaps this captain can be so happy because he
si$ply chooses not to belie#e in or e#en think about Moby Dick and what he $ay represent.
(hab clai$s to ha#e learned a lesson fro$ watching the dying whale turn toward the sun. )hough one $ay try to turn
toward the light, it is all in #ainG for after death, all efforts are lost. (hab chooses despair o#er faith in the light of
goodness. 8)he dark %indoo half of nature9 is $ore real to (hab.
"ronically, the =arsee,s interpretation of his drea$ fills (hab with a sense of i$$ortality, for he belie#es the
predictions i$possible. "n the net chapter3he throws away the 2uadrant3to hi$ a sy$bol of $an,s li$ited
knowledge, and decides to rely on his own intuition.
%is new course brings hi$ into direct conflict with the forces of nature. )he ship,s rigging glows with /t. 5l$o,s fire
and her $asts look like candles before an altar. )he trinity of fla$es suggests the @hristian trinity, perhaps gi#ing
(hab one last warning. But fire also suggests e#il and the forces of destruction, as does the serpent,s tongue of fla$e
on (hab,s harpoon. (hab cries out, 8A, thy clear spirit of clear fire, I " now know that thy right worship is defiance.9
Cha(ters )**-)*3
Summary
/tarbuck goes below to infor$ (hab that the wind has changed to a fair wind. Autside (hab,s cabin, /tarbuck
re$o#es a loaded $usket fro$ the rack. %e thinks perhaps he should kill (hab or at least o#erpower hi$ and take
hi$ prisoner. %e reasons that (hab would ha#e killed hi$ with that #ery sa$e $usket, and (hab has no co$punction
about endangering the whole crew. /tarbuck turns fro$ the door and sends /tubb back down to tell (hab about the
change in wind direction.
)he net $orning on deck, (hab reali*es the ship is sailing west, but the co$pass reads east. )he stor$ had affected
the co$pass needles, a $ost unsettling o$en to the superstitious sailors. )o allay their fears and show the$ his power,
(hab fashions a new co$pass.
(hab orders the log and line3another $easure of speed and direction3repaired after the line snaps. =ip co$es along
during the operation and is handled roughly by one of the sailors. /wearing he and =ip will ne#er part, (hab protects
=ip and takes hi$ into his own cabin.
(s the ship nears the 52uatorial fishing grounds, a $an falls fro$ the $ast and drowns. )he life buoy thrown to hi$
pro#es to be da$aged. )he carpenter caulks Juee2ueg,s coffin to $ake it into a life buoy. (hab wants it out of his
sight.
Discussion and Analysis
5#en though /tarbuck knows that (hab is $ad and feels that he will 8drag a whole ship,s co$pany down to doo$,9
he still cannot kill hi$. <ot only is /tarbuck too $oral to co$$it $urder, but (hab,s power $ay be too great for hi$.
/tarbuck could not endure the sight of an i$prisoned (hab, who would be 8$ore hideous than a caged tiger.9
/tarbuck feels 8alone upon an open sea,9 a true isolato.
(hab flaunts his power. /eeing pieces of the s$ashed 2uadrant on deck and undaunted by the broken co$passes,
(hab boasts that he is 8lord o#er the le#el loadstone.9 )he only direction the Pequod now has is whate#er (hab gi#es
it. 8"n his fiery eyes of scorn and triu$ph, you then saw (hab in all his fatal pride.9 =ride, the classic tragic flaw of
hubris, will lead (hab to his downfall.
)he ship sails on heedless of ill o$ens. (hab is not daunted by the stor$, the loss of the instru$ents, the plainti#e
cries of the seals, or the death of the first $an to look for Moby Dick in the whale,s own area.
(hab does, howe#er, ponder the 2uestion of the coffin turning into a life buoy. 8What things real are thereC9 he
2uestions. )he coffin has been a canoe, a coffin, a sea chest, and now a life buoy. "t is a sy$bol of the $ultiplicity of
$eaning in things and e#ents, a unifying the$e of this no#el.
Cha(ters )*1-)2*
Summary
@aptain 7ardiner of the Rachel begs (hab,s help in finding a whaleboat which was last seen fastened to Moby Dick.
"n that whaleboat is 7ardiner,s 1'!year!old son. (hab refuses.
(hab now spends all his ti$e on deck and refuses to be in =ip,s co$pany. (hab fears =ip will soften his heart and
di#ert hi$ fro$ his purpose. %is silent co$panion on deck is 0edallah, who ne#er takes his eyes off (hab.
(fraid that his $en cannot be trusted to cry out when they see the White Whale, (hab rigs a basket in which he is
hoisted aloft. %e entrusts /tarbuck with the responsibility of watching the ropes that hold hi$ high abo#e the deck.
Anly $inutes after (hab has been hoisted up, a black, 8sa#age9 sea hawk di#es at (hab,s head and takes his hat.
)he Pequod encounters the Deli%h, which has lost fi#e $en to Moby Dick. %er captain is about to bury one of the
dead, and @aptain (hab unsuccessfully tries to get the Pequod away before the corpse is dropped into the sea.
)he 8cantankerous thing9 in (hab,s soul is te$porarily dispelled by a lo#ely, clear day. .eaning o#er the side, (hab
drops a tear into the water. %e tells /tarbuck that he has been at sea for Q0 years, lea#ing behind a young wife and son.
%e also tells /tarbuck to stay on board and sa#e hi$self when (hab lowers for Moby Dick. /tarbuck futilely begs
(hab to alter his course and head back to <antucket.
Discussion and Analysis
"n this section, (hab suppresses the last #estiges of hu$anity he has. %e heartlessly refuses to help @aptain 7ardiner,
a fellow <antucketer, knowing that he $ay not be able to forgi#e hi$self for such beha#ior. %e refuses to be in =ip,s
co$pany, for =ip $ay cure his 8$alady9 and, paradoically, (hab,s $alady is his 8$ost desired health.9 5#en in his
inti$ate con#ersation with /tarbuck, he hardens his heart against thoughts of his wife and son, choosing to bla$e fate
for his actions.
)he captain of the Deli%h warns (hab that 8the harpoon is not yet forged9 that can kill Moby Dick. <either this final
warning nor the bad o$ens of the corpse and the sea hawk can turn (hab fro$ his re#enge. %e is totally aligned with
0edallah, his dark self. (hab ga*es into the ocean and looks into a reflection of 0edallah,s eyes. 8 I in the =arsee
(hab saw his forethrown shadow, in (hab the =arsee his abandoned substance.9
(hab,s connection to /tarbuck with a rope $ay be co$pared to Juee2ueg,s connection to "sh$ael with the $onkey
rope. )here is a bond between the two $en. (hab trusts /tarbuck, and /tarbuck recogni*es the greatness in his
captain. But (hab is a true isolato who shuns dependency. %e speaks to /tarbuck of 8the desolation of solitude9 and
the 8walled!town of a captain,s eclusi#eness.9 %is Q0 years at sea has isolated hi$ and is sy$bolic of his refusal to
accept the interrelatedness of $ankind.
Cha(ters )22-)2- and e(ilo"ue
Summary
(hab is the first to spot Moby Dick. (ll boats, ecept /tarbuck,s, are lowered and gi#e chase. +ust when it see$s the
whale has sounded, he rises straight up fro$ the deep below (hab,s boat and bites the boat in two. -nder /tarbuck,s
co$$and, )he Pequod, dri#es the whale off, and (hab and his crew are rescued.
An the second day, Moby Dick see$s intent on destroying all three boats. )he harpoon lines, fast to the whale,
beco$e so entangled that /tubb,s and 0lask,s boats are drawn into each other and s$ashed. When (hab,s boat co$es
to their rescue, Moby Dick lifts it right up out of the water and du$ps its $en into the sea. 0edallah is drawn under in
the tangle of (hab,s line, and (hab,s i#ory leg is broken off. Ance again the Pequod dri#es the whale away and
rescues the $en. /tarbuck $akes one last plea to (hab to gi#e up the hunt.
An the third day, Moby Dick s$ashes in the bows of /tubb,s and 0lask,s boats. When the whale turns, 0edallah is
seen lashed by harpoon lines to his flank. )he two da$aged boats return to the ship to $ake repairs. When (hab
harpoons Moby Dick, the whale tips his boat. "sh$ael falls out, but $anages to swi$ and stay afloat.
)he harpoon line snaps as Moby Dick darts through the water and heads straight for the Pequod. )he whale s$ashes
his forehead into the side of the ship and she sinks. (hab,s boat is the last one left. %e once again throws his harpoon
and $akes fast to Moby Dick. )he line runs afoul, and as (hab stoops to clear it, the line catches hi$ around the
neck. %e is silently pulled fro$ the boat, down into the depths by Moby Dick.
"sh$ael, still swi$$ing, is drawn into the #orte of the sinking Pequod. -p fro$ the center of the whirlpool shoots
the coffin life buoy. "sh$ael, the sole sur#i#or, floats upon the coffin for a night and day until the Rachel, still
searching for her lost $en, rescues hi$.
Discussion and Analysis
Ance again, Moby Dick is depicted in a$biguous ter$s. (t first sight, the whale is co$pared to +o#eH 8not that great
$a1esty /upre$eL did surpass the glorified White Whale as he so di#inely swa$.9 %e glides on in 8enticing cal$.9
Ket it is not long before the whale creates a fren*y of destructionH 84etribution, swift #engeance, eternal $alice were
in his whole aspect.I9
)o /tarbuck, the whale is a du$b brute si$ply defending hi$self. /tarbuck pleads with (hab, 8Moby Dick seeks thee
not. "t is thou, thou, that $adly seekest hi$.9 "t is (hab that has i$bued the creature with e#il.
)hat there is no single $eaning that can be ascribed to the whale is central to the understanding of the no#el. What
"sh$ael has learned fro$ his 1ourney is that nothing is absolute, and in all things are a $ultiplicity of $eanings.
(nother thing that "sh$ael has learned is that, paradoically, in $ultiplicity there is unity. )hat "sh$ael sur#i#es by
floating on Juee2ueg,s coffin reiterates the the$e of the brotherhood and interdependence of $an. )he Pequod and
her crew sy$boli*e this i$portant conceptH 8the one ship that held the$ allG though it was put together of all
contrasting things3oak, and $aple, and pine wood9 was held together by one long, central keel. +ust so 8all the
indi#idualities of the crew, I all #arieties were welded into oneness.9
8)he dra$a,s done.9
hemes
#ndividual vs. Nature
)he #oyage of the Pequod is no straightforward, co$$ercially inspired whaling #oyage. )he reader knows this as
soon as "sh$ael registers as a $e$ber of the crew and recei#es, at secondhand, warnings of the captain,s state of
$ind. (hab, intent on seeking re#enge on the whale who has $ai$ed hi$, is presented as a daring and creati#e
indi#idual, pitted against the full forces of nature. "n de#eloping the the$e of the indi#idual :(hab; #ersus <ature
:sy$boli*ed by Moby!Dick;, Mel#ille eplores the attributes of natural forces. (re they ruled by chance, neutral
occurrences that affect hu$an characters arbitrarilyC Ar do they possess so$e for$ of ele$entary will that $akes
the$ capable of using whate#er power is at their disposalC
4od and Reli"ion
)he conflict between the indi#idual and nature brings into play the the$e of religion and 7od,s role in the natural
world. )he critic %arold Bloo$ has na$ed (hab 8one of the ficti#e founders of what should be called the ($erican
4eligion,9 and although Mel#ille wrote his no#el while li#ing in the ci#ili*ed Berkshires, near the eastern -./.
seaboard, and set it on the open seas, the reader $ust not forget that ($erica at that ti$e had $o#ed westward. )o
(hab it does not $atter if the white whale is 8agent9 or 8principle.9 %e will fight against fate, rather than resign
hi$self to a di#ine pro#idence. 0ather Mapple, who gi#es a ser$on near the beginning of the no#el, and, to a lesser
etent, /tarbuck both sy$boli*e the con#entional and conte$porary religious attitudes of nineteenth!century
=rotestantis$. (hab,s defiance of these is neither ro$antic nor atheistic but founded on a tragic sense of heroic and
una#oidable duty.
4ood and 'vil5 6emale and Masculine
(hab picks his fight with e#il on its own ter$s, striking back aggressi#ely. )he good things in the book3the loyalty
of $e$bers of the crew, such as young =ipG (hab,s do$estic $e$ories of his wife and child3re$ain peripheral and
ineffecti#e, a part of life that is ne#er per$itted to take center stage. Ather dualities abound. )he sky and air, ho$e for
the birds, is described as fe$inine, while the sea is $asculine, a deep dungeon for $urderous brutes. (lso contrasted
with the sea is the land, seen as green and $ild, a tran2uil ha#en. "n @hapter 58 Mel#ille writesH 8(s the appalling
ocean surrounds the #erdant land, so in the soul of $an there lies one insular )ahiti, full of peace and 1oy, but
enco$passed by all the horrors of the half known life. 7od keep theeL =ush not off fro$ that isle, for thou canst ne#er
returnL9 (lthough Mel#ille,s eact point of #iew is debatable, and the sy$bolis$ in the book is too rich to allow for
neat co$parisons, it can be said that 2ualities of goodness tend to be e2uated with the land, the fe$inine, and with
$ildness of te$per. ?iewing the Pequod,s #oyage as a $etaphor for life, the book see$s to be saying that in
following a$bition or any far!off goal, an indi#idual risks $issing out on $any of the good things in life, including
ho$e and do$estic happiness.
)he fact that there are no fe$ale participants in the no#el has encouraged so$e critics to consider that this is a
co$$entary on the $asculine character3thrusting, co$bati#e, and #engeful. But it is because the other characters
are all $ale, and they are not all like (hab, that interpretations cannot be so straightforward. )he #ery $asculinity of
(hab is co$plicated so$ewhat by the possibility that he has been castrated, not by the initial encounter with the
whale, but by the subse2uent accidental piercing of his groin by his i#ory leg. @ritics as di#erse as W. %. (uden and
@a$ille =aglia ha#e written about the seual sy$bolis$ in the no#el. "t is a $atter which in#ites debate, although any
discussion on the sub1ect needs to take into account that in the nineteenth century, it was an accepted con#ention to
gi#e certain characteristics a gender bias. Mel#ille, like his conte$poraries, was sophisticated enough to know that
$en and wo$en could e$brace a co$bination of traits dee$ed to be $asculine and fe$inine.
Choices and Conse7uences
(hab is both a hero and a #illain. "n $aking a choice and sticking by it, he can be seen as #aliantly eercising free
will. But the conse2uences of his decision transfor$ hi$ into a #illain, responsible for the death of such innocents as
=ip and good $en like /tarbuck. %is $ono$ania or obsession chains hi$ to a fate worse than that which $ight ha#e
pre#ailed had he not so stubbornly pursued his goal. @ontrasting readings of the no#el are possible, and $ost turn
upon the interpretation of the character of (hab and the choices he $akes3or, rather, towards the end of the book, the
choices he refuses to $ake. 8<ot too late is it, e#en now,9 /tarbuck cries out to hi$ on the third day of the cli$actic
chase. )he 2uestion is, in depicting a nu$ber of situations in which (hab is gi#en the possibility of drawing back, is
Mel#ille establishing a flaw in the indi#idual character, or is he e$phasi*ing the predestined and inescapable 2uality
of the no#el,s conclusionC
0or $uch of the final encounter, the white whale beha#es as any ordinary whale caught up in the chase, but in its last
rush at the boat, 84etribution, swift #engeance, eternal $alice were in his whole aspect.I9 )hese are eactly the
2ualities which (hab hi$self has ehibited during the #oyage. (hab is finally seen as both defined and consu$ed by
fate. When, at the end of the no#el, "sh$ael, the lone sur#i#or, is finally picked up and rescued by the Rachel, we are
re$inded that he had beco$e a $e$ber of the crew as the result of an act of free will rather than necessity, as a $eans
of escaping thoughts of death.
A((earance and Reality
-nderscoring all of these the$es is an ongoing consideration of the $eaning of appearances. ( key chapter in this
regard is 8)he Whiteness of the Whale,9 a $editation in "sh$ael,s #oice on the $ask!like a$biguities which affect
our interpretation of the #isible world. )here are a$biguities in the chapter itself, for in one of two footnotes Mel#ille
gi#es a firsthand account of his first sighting of an albatross. 8)hrough its inepressible, strange eyes, $ethought "
peeped to secrets which took hold of 7od.9 "s the reader supposed to think this is "sh$ael or Mel#ille speakingC
:($biguity beco$es a $a1or the$e in Mel#ille,s net no#el, =ierre.; "n this particular chapter, "sh$ael $editates on
the strange pheno$enon of whiteness, which so$eti$es speaks of godly purity and at other ti$es repels or terrori*es
with its ghostly pallor. )he $editation lea#es color references behind to beco$e a general $editation on the nature of
fear and the eistence of unseen e#ilH 8)hough in $any of its aspects this #isible world see$s for$ed in lo#e, the
in#isible spheres were for$ed in fright.9
Motifs
Whiteness
Whiteness, to "sh$ael, is horrible because it represents the unnatural and threateningH albinos, creatures that li#e in
etre$e and inhospitable en#iron$ents, wa#es breaking against rocks. )hese ea$ples re#erse the traditional
association of whiteness with purity. Whiteness con#eys both a lack of $eaning and an unreadable ecess of $eaning
that confounds indi#iduals. Moby Dick is the pinnacle of whiteness, and Mel#ille,s characters cannot ob1ecti#ely
understand the White Whale. (hab, for instance, belie#es that Moby Dick represents e#il, while "sh$ael fails in his
atte$pts to deter$ine scientifically the whale,s funda$ental nature.
/urfaces and Depths
"sh$ael fre2uently be$oans the i$possibility of ea$ining anything in its entirety, noting that only the surfaces of
ob1ects and en#iron$ents are a#ailable to the hu$an obser#er. An a li#e whale, for ea$ple, only the outer layer
presents itselfG on a dead whale, it is i$possible to deter$ine what constitutes the whale,s skin, or which part3
skeleton, blubber, head3offers the best understanding of the entire ani$al. Moreo#er, as the whale swi$s, it hides
$uch of its body underwater, away fro$ the hu$an ga*e, and no one knows where it goes or what it does. )he sea
itself is the greatest frustration in this regardH its depths are $ysterious and inaccessible to "sh$ael. )his $otif
represents the larger proble$ of the li$itations of hu$an knowledge. %u$ankind is not all!seeingG we can only
obser#e, and thus only ac2uire knowledge about, that fraction of entities3both indi#iduals and en#iron$ents3to
which we ha#e accessH surfaces.
Symbols
)he =e2uod
<a$ed after a <ati#e ($erican tribe in Massachusetts that did not long sur#i#e the arri#al of white $en and thus
$e$oriali*ing an etinction, the =e2uod is a sy$bol of doo$. "t is painted a gloo$y black and co#ered in whale teeth
and bones, literally bristling with the $e$entos of #iolent death. "t is, in fact, $arked for death. (dorned like a
pri$iti#e coffin, the =e2uod beco$es one.
Moby Dick
Moby Dick possesses #arious sy$bolic $eanings for #arious indi#iduals. )o the =e2uod,s crew, the legendary White
Whale is a concept onto which they can displace their anieties about their dangerous and often #ery frightening 1obs.
Because they ha#e no delusions about Moby Dick acting $ale#olently toward $en or literally e$bodying e#il, tales
about the whale allow the$ to confront their fear, $anage it, and continue to function. (hab, on the other hand,
belie#es that Moby Dick is a $anifestation of all that is wrong with the world, and he feels that it is his destiny to
eradicate this sy$bolic e#il.
Moby Dick also bears out interpretations not tied down to specific characters. "n its inscrutable silence and $ysterious
habits, for ea$ple, the White Whale can be read as an allegorical representation of an unknowable 7od. (s a
profitable co$$odity, it fits into the sche$e of white econo$ic epansion and eploitation in the nineteenth century.
(s a part of the natural world, it represents the destruction of the en#iron$ent by such hubristic epansion.
Juee2ueg,s @offin
Juee2ueg,s coffin alternately sy$boli*es life and death. Juee2ueg has it built when he is seriously ill, but when he
reco#ers, it beco$es a chest to hold his belongings and an e$ble$ of his will to li#e. %e perpetuates the knowledge
tattooed on his body by car#ing it onto the coffin,s lid. )he coffin further co$es to sy$boli*e life, in a $orbid way,
when it replaces the =e2uod,s life buoy. When the =e2uod sinks, the coffin beco$es "sh$ael,s buoy, sa#ing not only
his life but the life of the narrati#e that he will pass on.
Cha(ters
Ca(tain Ahab
"ntroduced by @aptain =eleg as 8a grand, ungodly, godlike $an,9 the reader learns two things about (hab, captain of
the Pequod in Moby-DickH (hab was orphaned when he was twel#e $onths old, and one of his legs was lost as a
result of his $ost recent whaling #oyage. )he wound is so fresh that the stu$p is still bleeding. %owe#er, it is so$e
ti$e before "sh$ael is able to #erify this. (hab does not $ake a proper appearance in the book until @hapter '8. )he
reader finds hi$ standing upon his 2uarter!deck, looking 8like a $an cut away fro$ the stake,9 with his white bone
leg :car#ed fro$ a sper$ whale,s 1aw; 1a$$ed into a specially drilled hole on deck. )he reader is told that (hab has
gray hair and has a white scar or disfigure$ent down the side of his face. )here are so$e aboard the ship who suspect
the $ark tra#els the entire length of (hab,s body, fro$ head to toe. But Mel#ille is $ore anious to co$$unicate an
at$osphere, in sentences such as, 8)here was an infinity of fir$est fortitude, a deter$inate, unsurrenderable
wilfulness, in the fied and fearless, forward dedication of that glance.9 )he long delay in (hab,s in#ol#e$ent in the
action of the no#el helps to build hi$ up as a grand figure, the $a1or tragic character Mel#ille wants his readers to
see.
(lthough (hab is awe!inspiring, Mel#ille is at pains to establish the captain,s dignity. "n @hapter DQ, 8)he @abin
)able,9 he is presented as a sultan dining with his e$irs. 8A#er its i#ory!laid table, (hab presided like a $ute, $aned
sea!lion on the white coral beach, surrounded by his warlike but still deferential cubs.9
7oaded by /tarbuck for wanting his re#enge upon the du$b beast which struck out at hi$ fro$ 8blindest instinct,9
(hab sets out in @hapter DE his belief that, on the contrary, the whale acted out of inscrutable $alice and that e#ery
action has a $oti#e or reason. 8",d strike the sun if it insulted $e,9 he states. )he following chapter, a short solilo2uy,
$akes eplicit (hab,s /hakespearian intensity. 8" a$ $adness $addenedL9 he cries out to hi$self, alone in his cabin.
%a#ing had the desire for re#enge 2uickened within hi$, (hab,s obsession is presented as a ra#enous $onster, rapidly
assu$ing an eistence independent of the $ind on which it feeds. @hapter QQ endsH 87od help thee, old $an, thy
thoughts ha#e created a creature in theeG and he whose intense thinking thus $akes hi$ a =ro$etheusG a #ulture feeds
upon that heart fore#erG that #ulture the #ery creature he creates.9
(hab,s artificial leg is da$aged as the result of an encounter with an 5nglish #essel, the Samuel !nderby. %a#ing
pulled alongside and gone aboard to disco#er that he has so$ething in co$$on with the 5nglish @aptain Bloo$er3
an a$putated li$b and an i#ory substitute3(hab takes offence at a co$$ent $ade by the 5nglish ship,s doctor.
+u$ping down into the Pequods landing!boat, his i#ory leg recei#es a fracturing blow. (lthough the leg is not
co$pletely broken, he orders the ship,s carpenter to $ake hi$ a new one, a fact that sy$boli*es the new light in
which the reader has co$e to #iew the captain3he is no longer the $agisterial co$$ander of the start of the #oyage,
but a possessed $an at the $ercy of his obsession.
"n @hapter 11&, 8)he @andles,9 (hab prays aloud and defiantly to the white fla$e of /t. 5l$o,s fire. /hortly before
this, he hurled the 2uadrant to the deck and tra$pled on it, an act in which he sy$bolically parts co$pany with
reason. Beco$ing an isolated $ad$an3and so$e critics ha#e co$pared (hab with /hakespeare,s >ing .ear3(hab
battles his e#il forces alone and is destroyed as a result.
Ca(tain 8ildad
@aptain Bildad is a retired whaling captain, a staunch Juaker, and a hard task$aster. With =eleg, he is co!proprietor
of the Pequod, and a licensed pilot. Mel#ille, wondering how such a captain s2uared up his belief in pacifis$ with the
#iolence of his lifelong trade, once co$$entedH 8=robably he had long since co$e to the sage and sensible conclusion
that a $an,s religion is one thing, and this practical world 2uite another.9
Ca(tain 8oomer
( one!ar$ed 5nglish whaling captain, Boo$er is $aster of the Samuel !nderby. %e lost his ar$ in an encounter with
Moby!Dick, and has good reason to hate the whale, but he doesn,t. %is character helps e$phasi*e how etre$e
(hab,s beha#ior is.
8ulkin"ton
( $ariner who is $ade the sub1ect of the short, transitionary @hapter 'D, 8)he .ee /hore,9 in Moby-Dick.
Dr. 8un"er
Dr. Bunger is the ship,s doctor aboard the Samuel !nderby. %e is responsible for a$putating @aptain Boo$er,s ar$.
Da""oo
)he third harpooner on the Pequod, Daggoo works fro$ 0lask,s boat. %e is described as 8a gigantic, coal!black
negro!sa#age.9
'li9ah
5li1ah is the na$e of the self!styled prophet in Moby-Dick who accosts "sh$ael and Juee2ueg on the 2uayside before
they set sail. %e warns the$ about (hab.
6edallah
0irst seen on deck in @hapter Q8, 0edallah dresses all in black, apart fro$ a white turban. %e is a $e$ber of the
Foroastrian =arsees, a sect that e$phasi*es the free choice of good or e#il and the conse2uences for the afterlife. %e is
seen by /tubb as the de#il incarnate. 0edallah is present with (hab at key $o$ents, such as the s$ashing of the
2uadrant and the burning of /t. 5l$o,s fire.
6lask
)he third $ate of the Pequod in Moby-Dick, 0lask is a nati#e of Martha,s ?ineyard. =ugnacious and fearless by #irtue
of a $ediocre intellect, he is nickna$ed >ing =ost because his short, stocky appearance rese$bles a s2uared!off
section of ti$ber called by that na$e.
6leece
)he =e2uod,s cook, 0leece is an old black $an who is often teased by /tubb.
4abriel
7abriel is a freckle!faced young $an with ginger hair who #isits the =e2uod after the +eroboa$, a sister #essel out of
<antucket, draws alongside. ( cra*ed eile fro$ the <eskyeuna /hakers, 7abriel, or the archangel 7abriel as he
chooses to call hi$self, has turned the $a1ority of @aptain Mayhew,s crew into his disciples, holding a fanatic,s sway
o#er the$. Mel#ille is 2uite clear about his disappro#al of this character.
Ca(tain 4ardiner
@aptain 7ardiner is the co$$ander of the Rachel, one of the ships the Pequod $eets at sea. Moby!Dick, it turns out,
is responsible for the death of 7ardiner,s son. %owe#er, 7ardiner, unlike (hab, recogni*es that this loss was the act of
a wild ani$al rather than an e#il creature.
Mrs. Hussey
Mrs. %ussey is the proprietor of the )ry =ots, the hotel and restaurant in which "sh$ael and Juee2ueg stay in
<antucket.
#shmael
"sh$ael is the na$e assu$ed by the otherwise anony$ous narrator of Mel#ille,s Moby-Dick. ( rootless indi#idual,
brought up as a good @hristian in 8the boso$ of the infallible =resbyterian @hurch,9 his way of 8dri#ing off the
spleen, and regulating the circulation9 is to periodically sign aboard a sailing #essel. (t the beginning of the book,
"sh$ael is in Manhattan, packing an old carpetbag and setting off for <ew Bedford, Massachusetts, where he arri#es
on a /aturday night, ha#ing 1ust $issed the ferry to <antucket. )his circu$stance forces hi$ to spend the weekend at
the /pouter "nn, reluctantly sharing a roo$ and a bed with a freakish!looking, harpoon!carrying sa#age na$ed
Juee2ueg.
(fter #isiting the Whale$an,s @hapel and hearing 0ather Mapple,s ser$on, the two sail out to <antucket together
and, boarding with Mrs. %ussey at the )ry =ots, they both sign up to sail aboard the Pequod.
%a#ing set sail, the nature of the narrati#e shifts and "sh$ael,s perspecti#e is lost, not to surface again until @hapter
Q1. "n this long, crucial chapter, "sh$ael, in contrast to /tarbuck,s rugged rationality, e$pathi*es with (hab and fully
understands the de#elop$ent of the @aptain,s $ono$ania. "n addition to understanding (hab, we disco#er that
"sh$ael has hi$self, to so$e degree, beco$e infected by all the ru$ors and gossip surrounding the white whale and,
in the subse2uent chapter, 8)he Whiteness of the Whale,9 has been willing to consider the albino whale as a #isible
sy$bol for all that re$ains horribly unseen. 8)hough in $any of its aspects this #isible world see$s for$ed in lo#e,9
he says, 8the in#isible spheres were for$ed in fright.9
"sh$ael,s friendship with Juee2ueg is gi#en a fulso$e, erotic gloss that has gi#en so$e critics grounds for eploring
ho$oerotic the$es in the no#el. @ertainly the fraternity which "sh$ael appears to en1oy with the rest of the crew is in
stark contrast to the lonely isolation of (hab. "t is this contrast3in#ol#ed ca$araderie against aloof detach$ent3
which is being set up in such scenes as the sper$!s2uee*ing incident in which "sh$ael, grabbing his co!laborers,
hands a$ong the globules of whale sper$, is o#erco$e with 8an abounding, affectionate, friendly, lo#ing feeling.9
(t the end of the no#el, when (hab and his crew are all killed by Moby!Dick, "sh$ael is the only one to sur#i#e.
0inding a coffin that had been built for Juee2ueg when he had beco$e gra#ely ill, "sh$ael $anages to sur#i#e the
sea until he is rescued by another ship.
:in" $ost
/ee 0lask
6ather Ma((le
0ather Mapple is the preacher at the Whale$an,s @hapel in <ew Bedford. )he ser$on he deli#ers in @hapter & is a set
piece, used by $any critics as a gloss on what subse2uently befalls the Pequod and its crew. @ertainly the ser$on
co#ers i$portant issues, such as the passi#e sub$ission to the will of 7od. But this con#entional @hristian doctrine is
counterpoised by the fierce crescendo of Mapple,s ser$on when he defines the true @hristian hero as one who 8gi#es
no 2uarter in the truth, and kills, burns and destroys all sin though he pluck it out fro$ under the robes of /enators
and +udges.9 )his is the role of a proud =uritan hero.
Ca(tain $ele"
=eleg is one of the owners of the Pequod, and ser#es as a de#ice to introduce the reader to @aptain (hab by describing
hi$ to "sh$ael.
$erth
)he Pequods blacks$ith, =erth is nickna$ed =ro$etheus. "n @hapter 11D he forges the harpoon with which (hab
hopes to triu$ph o#er Moby!Dick. When co$pleted the spear is 8bapti*ed9 with the heathen blood of )ashtego,
Juee2ueg, and Daggoo.
$i((in
Ane of the few na$ed sailors on the Pequod, =ip is 1ust a boy, a bright and cheerful (frican!($erican child. )he
duties of =ip do not nor$ally re2uire hi$ to go in the boats. "n @hapter &D, howe#er, =ip stands in for /tubb,s after!
oars$an, who has sprained his hand. (fter the whale has been harpooned, =ip panics, 1u$ps o#erboard, and beco$es
tangled in the line. )he capture has to be sacrificed to sa#e the young lad,s life. )ashtego, the harpooner, and other
$e$bers of the crew are furious. /tubb, percei#ed as acting fairly, warns =ip in a businesslike way ne#er to 1u$p
o#erboard again. When this ad#ice is ignored, /tubb,s boat declines to rescue =ip a second ti$e. )he boy is e#entually
picked up by the Pequod, but he has been in the water so long that he has lost his $ind.
$rometheus
/ee =erth
;uee7ue"
Juee2ueg is a highborn nati#e of an uncharted south!seas island. %is father was a %igh @hief, and his uncle a %igh
=riest. Juee2ueg is co#ered in tattoos and worships pagan gods, including a s$all black idol, Ko1o. "n the first
hundred pages of the no#el, Juee2ueg is a $a1or character. While he and "sh$ael board together at the /pouter "nn,
and then at Mrs. %ussy,s in <antucket, he is the source of a considerable le#el of a$use$ent. But the real point about
Juee2ueg is his friendliness. %e and "sh$ael strike up an instant co$radeship.
Starbuck
/tarbuck is the chief $ate of the =e2uod and a nati#e of <antucket. %e is a @hristian of an earnest Juaker disposition,
a 8staid, steadfast $an.9 (lthough only about thirty, his appearance is pinched and wi*ened. %e selects Juee2ueg as
his harpooner. Mel#ille depicts /tarbuck as a $an who beco$es possessed and de$oni*ed by (hab. "n the solilo2uy,
8Dusk,9 @hapter D8, /tarbuck eplains to hi$self that (hab has 8drilled deep down, and blasted all $y reason out of
$eL " think " see his i$pious endG but feel that " $ust help hi$ to it.9 5ssentially, he trusts to 7od to put in the
8wedge9 that will di#ert (hab fro$ his ob1ecti#e. But there are so$e key $o$ents when he stands up to his captain.
/tarbuck confronts (hab in @hapter 10& upon disco#ering that sper$ oil is leaking fro$ the hold. )his $eans, he
insists, that they $ust 8up Burtons9 :that is, hoist up the casks and see what barrels need repairing;. (hab furiously
refuses, at one point ordering his first $ate at gunpoint to go on deck and proceed as usual. But /tarbuck,s cal$ self!
righteousness i$presses the captain. 8)hou art but too good a fellow, /tarbuck,9 says (hab, as he proceeds to order
8up Burtons.9 .ater, in @hapter 1'D, 8)he Musket,9 /tarbuck is te$pted to $urder (hab in his sleep, using the #ery
weapon that was used to threaten hi$ in the earlier chapter. %e holds the $usket and takes ai$ but, after wrestling
with his angel, turns away and puts the gun back in its rack.
Stubb
/tubb is the Pequods second $ate. %e is the brother!in!law of @harity and a nati#e of @ape @od. ( 1o#ial, easygoing,
pipe!s$oking character, he ser#es as a contrast to the upright /tarbuck. /tubb catches and kills a whale with cool
efficiency in @hapter E1. %is colorful echanges with the ship,s crew pro#ide, in the $iddle section of the book, so$e
of the hu$or and entertain$ent that Juee2ueg pro#ides at the start. %e is $ore sensiti#e than 0lask, but not inclined
to speculation. %is philosophy, such as it is, is to laugh at life, as he eplains in the brief solilo2uy found in @hapter
D&, 80irst <ight!Watch.9
#m(ortant 7uotations ex(lained
). $ow it is 8 know not2 but there is no place like a bed for con"dential disclosures between friends.
Man and wife, they say, there open the very bottom of their souls to each other2 and some old
couples often lie and chat over old times till nearly morning. %hus, then, in our hearts, honeymoon,
lay 8 and 9ueeueg:a cosy, loving pair. %his passage comes at the end of 5hapter (+, when
8shmael is forced to share a bed with the tattooed ;savage< 9ueeueg at the &pouter-8nn. At "rst
horri"ed, 8shmael is uickly impressed by 9ueeueg,s dignity and kindness. %he homoerotic
overtones of their sharing a bed and staying up much of the night smoking and talking suggests a
profound, close bond born of mutual dependence and a world in which merit, rather than race or
wealth, determines a man,s status. %he men aboard the =euod are everything to one another,
and the relationships between them are stronger and more meaningful than even that between
man and wife. 8shmael,s willingness to describe his relationship with 9ueeueg in such conjugal
terms .;honeymoon<0 symboli!es his openness to new e1periences and people.
*. >. 5ome, Ahab,s compliments to ye2 come and see if ye can swerve me. &werve me? ye cannot
swerve me, else ye swerve yourselves@ man has ye there. &werve me? %he path to my "1ed
purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. /ver unsounded gorges, through
the ri#ed hearts of mountains, under torrents, beds, unerringly 8 rush@ Naught,s an obstacle,
naught,s an angle to the iron way@ Ahab speaks these words in his solilouy in 5hapter AB, daring
anyone to try to divert him from his purpose. %hough he is de"ant, he is also accepting of his fate,
asserting that he has no control over his own behavior:he must run along the ;iron rails< that
have been laid for him. %he powerful rhetoric and strong imagery of this passage are characteristic
of Ahab,s speech. $e uses his skill with language to persuade his crew to take part in his uest for
vengeance, stirring them with suggestions of adventure .;unsounded gorges,< ;ri#ed hearts of
mountains<0 and inspiring con"dence through his apparent faith in himself as ;unerring.< 6ust as
8shmael occasionally gets lost in digressions, Ahab occasionally gets lost in language, repeating
the phrase ;swerve me< until it becomes almost meaningless, merely a sound. $is speeches thus
become a kind of poetry or music, stirring the listener with their form as much as their content.
2. A. All that most maddens and torments2 all that stirs up the lees of things2 all truth with malice in
it2 all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain2 all the subtle demonisms of life and thought2 all
evil, to cra!y Ahab, were visibly personi"ed, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. $e piled
upon the whale,s white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from
Adam down2 and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart,s shell upon it. %his
uote, from 5hapter C(, is the e1istential heart of the book2 appropriately, the chapter from which
it comes shares its title with the 3hite 3hale and the novel itself. 3hile many sailors aboard the
=euod use legends about particularly large and malevolent whales as a way to manage the fear
and danger inherent in whaling, they do not take these legends literally. Ahab, on the other hand,
believes that Moby Dick is evil incarnate, and pits himself and humanity in an epic, timeless
struggle against the 3hite 3hale. $is belief that killing Moby Dick will eradicate evil evidences his
inability to understand things symbolicallyD he is too literal a reader of the world around him.
8nstead of interpreting the loss of his leg as a common conseuence of his occupation and perhaps
as a punishment for taking e1cessive risks, he sees it as evidence of evil cosmic forces persecuting
him.
,. C. %here is a wisdom that is woe2 but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a 5atskill eagle
in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and
become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever #ies within the gorge, that gorge is
in the mountains2 so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other
birds upon the plain, even though they soar. %his passage comes at the end of 5hapter EF, as
8shmael snaps out of a hypnotic state brought on by staring into the "res of the try-works. %he
image that 8shmael conjures here is typical of his philosophical speculation and his habit of uickly
turning from a very literal subject to its metaphorical implications. %his passage is a warning
against giving in to escapism:fantasy, daydreaming, suicide:and suggests that woe and
madness can be pro"table states for one with enough greatness of soul. Gor one who is intelligent
and perceptive:whose soul is ;in the mountains< and greater than the average person,s:such
states of mind provide a higher plane of e1istence than contentedness and sanity do for a normal
person. 8n other words, Ahab may be insane and ;for ever . . . within the gorge,< but his inherent
greatness makes even his destruction more important than the mere e1istence:the ;soarHingI<:
of other, more banal individuals.
-. *. %owards thee 8 roll, thou all-destroying but unconuering whale2 to the last 8 grapple with thee2
from hell,s heart 8 stab at thee2 for hate,s sake 8 spit my last breath at thee. &ink all coJns and all
hearses to one common pool@ and since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still
chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale@ %hus, 8 give up the spear@ Ahab utters
these words:his last:after Moby Dick destroys the =euod, in 5hapter (A*. As the action picks up
pace, the sense of tragedy becomes heightened. %hese words, &hakespearean in tone, are meant
to match the dramatic nature of the situation in which they are spoken. Ahab dies as he began,
de"ant but aware of his fate. %he whale is ;all-destroying but unconuering<D its victory has been
inevitable, but it has not defeated Ahab,s spirit. 8n an ultimate demonstration of de"ance, Ahab
uses his ;last breath< to curse the whale and fate. $e is, spiritually, already in ;hell,s heart,< and
he acuiesces to his own imminent death. %his "nal climactic e1plosion of elouence and
theatricality is followed by an overwhelming silence, as the whale disappears and everything and
everyone but 8shmael is pulled below the ocean,s surface.