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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
It is truly astonishing to me that I read this once before and not only gave it 4 stars but called it "boring". This second read through has taken the veil from my eyes and let me see this work for the beast that it is - a triumph of language and philosophy that holds pieces of truth for every life ever lived. It is a genuinely fantastic book.
The imagery Melville employs, particularly with Ahab, is so vivid and stark in the mind that one cannot but become an acolyte of the captain themselves at times. I have never felt so engaged in a character as I was when Ahab stands tall and triumphant against the typhoon of God and calls down lightning to christen (satanen?) his harpoon in The Candles - blowing out the very flame of heaven on its spear tip in one hot breath. I too have never felt such poetry in prose as when reading about the spirit fountain the Pequod spots night after night, or such peace as when Ishmael describes the calm in the midst of The Armada, or the ocean as spotted by those on the mastheads. The breadth of writing is astounding.
Melville created a work reflective of his own character, building on themes that he experienced first hand over the course of his early life - meaning, country, race, philosophy - drawing on his own struggle for purpose. I don't believe anyone can read this book properly without understanding the circumstances of its creation; Melville was a whaler for a brief period, in which he learned of the tragedy of the Essex, a Nantucket whaling vessel whose doom bears great similarity to the demise of the Pequod. This, to me, lends greater weight to the chapters oft deemed unnecessary; Melville uses his own whaling knowledge to build the foundation for his final three chapters, in which his vision cannot be properly expressed without knowledge of his terminology. His father was also a judge in the northern half of the states during the years leading to the civil war, one of the first to make a ruling following the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act, and someone who, despite his ruling against the slave, was in favor of emancipation. Melville combined his own life and reaching for meaning with the struggle for unity in the states. He saw the inevitability of conflict brewing and chose to express the course of failure we were on in this tome of a novel; blending personal philosophy with the clairvoyance of the US populace of the era. I won't be expanding much on my experience of that theme, but it is ever-present and worth exploring.
Back to the book.
"Call me Ishmael" - already we are faced with a great conundrum. Who are we calling Ishmael? Is this his real name? If nothing else, we can glean that the person implicitly positing this question is one who is searching; he is given (by himself or another) the name of a biblical wanderer, Ishmael, cast out by Abraham and left to drift alone. He is a man broken by life, one who lives with a "drizzly November" in his soul, looking towards the vast, uncaring ocean for meaning, as he says all men do.
The beginning of this book is characterized by a relatively intimate exploration of the philosophy of Ishmael. We get his insights into humanity, companionship, the ocean, religion, and even the best kind of sleep (That of a cold crown of the head to provide comparative warmth - "Nothing exists in itself"). In this composite image, we see his falling away from religion, found in his confusion with the actions of the mourning churchgoers (why weep if their loved are in heaven?) and time living in the valley dearth of meaning. We see his conceptions about "civilized" people falling away in his beautiful relationship with Queequeg; a man found to be often more civil than the local Americans, and a man who comes to be his closest companion (and in a way, ultimate savior). His search leads him to the Pequod, and by extension, leads him to Ahab.
Ahab is perhaps the most powerful character in any book I have read thus far, reaching heights equivalent to Judge Holden, a clear acolyte of Ahab. Named after the Ahab of Israel, he too is a despotic and cruel ruler (he also has his own Elijah, but in this story, Elijah unfortunately has no power). It would be surprising to some that a good 3rd or 4th of the book passes before Ahab enters the stage; but this delay allows his entrance to be all the more powerful.
Ahab is a man bent on taking revenge on the world itself - he has been deeply wronged by it; his leg stolen from him by this white brute of the ocean, his life drained by the sea, any purpose he once had trumped by this new vitriolic passion. The reader watches as the ship, and the very novel itself, becomes enraptured with Ahab, ensnared in his doomed net of purpose - resigned ultimately to the fate of the one who steers them. This capturing comes most violently in the chapter The Quarter-deck, following what I believe to be the reveal of the guiding philosophy of Ahab; in his "pasteboard masks speech". Ahab spits venom onto the page; he laments the veneer he believes is over the world - vowing himself to punch through the mask of reality to reach the true world that lies beneath. For him, the whale is the heart of what he wishes to reach. The senseless cruelty he has been privy to for his whole life cannot be all there is, and it cannot be allowed to reign free of his intervention - he must destroy it. This is the churning engine in his monomania and ultimately the noose around his neck.
Ishmael, in the chapter The Whiteness of the Whale, provides what I see as an alternate (and ultimately true) view of reality; one more bleak than the hidden vitality of the world Ahab desires, and in fact, its exact opposite. Ishmael ponders the potential that the visage of the surface world is but a mirage hiding the empty whiteness beyond. He wonders - what if at its core, the blank whiteness is all there is? He uses a comparison of the world being a leper; life itself and the color infused within it being nothing but the surface blemish of a cruel and uncaring world. This is Ahab's fatal flaw - this is not the world of Ahab, but it is the world. He lives in direct opposition to the universe as it exists, trying in complete vain to reveal what is beyond the white, all the while blind to the notion that the white is all there is.
This is why he must die. Ahab cannot live in the tension - he cannot live a life with purpose if the world itself is devoid of it. He would strike against the sun if it wronged him but would die of the flames. To him, this is all there can be. A world devoid of meaning to Ahab mandates a life of spite and rebellion. In some sense, Ahab embodies a certain kind of Camusian absurd hero - doomed to die but living a life subsumed by violent vitality beforehand. Ahab died in vain, but he died in as heroic a way as anyone could - kicking and screaming and dragging "a living part of heaven" into the depths. But despite this, the ocean will roll on, and on, and on, as it has since the dawn of mankind. What care could it possibly have?
Ishmael finds himself at the end of the novel right at the heart of this tension. He is adrift in the ocean, but nonetheless alive. He is an orphan of the universe, kept breathing by holding onto his personhood and companionship; relaying this trauma in the form of a novel he can comprehend, bringing the Lacanian realm of the Real into the realm of the Symbolic, showing he has the fortitude necessary to live in hell.
For as much as I've written here, there are thousands more pages I could write detailing my thoughts on the novel. I only discussed a few characters, not even touching on some of my favorites. Starbuck, for instance, a living embodiment of reason doomed to die for his fear of death being lesser than his zeal for life - Pip, a child representative of the contact with this absurd and meaningless world, the last link to reality severed by Ahab - Fedallah, the personification of Ahab's mania and thruster behind Ahab's rocket. Not to mention one of my favorite parts of the book, when Stubb forces the black cook to give a sermon to the sharks; the cook delivering a sermon worthy to be preached to the whole pre-fracture US. He lets the sharks know they could be angels if only they had self-control; an analogue message to the US that they could have been saved if not for their lack of self-control - they could not hold back from slavery. This was to be the downfall of the states of the 17th century.
Truly one of the best books I have read, if not the best. While I may enjoy other single books more than I did this one, Moby Dick is simply too layered and complex to not dive headfirst into. Therefore this review/essay is significantly longer than anything else I am likely to write elsewhere. I've done a great deal of thinking and study around this novel and I am sure there is a boatload more I will come to appreciate with time. I think everyone deserves to have their time with this book and hopefully will come to appreciate it as I do.
The imagery Melville employs, particularly with Ahab, is so vivid and stark in the mind that one cannot but become an acolyte of the captain themselves at times. I have never felt so engaged in a character as I was when Ahab stands tall and triumphant against the typhoon of God and calls down lightning to christen (satanen?) his harpoon in The Candles - blowing out the very flame of heaven on its spear tip in one hot breath. I too have never felt such poetry in prose as when reading about the spirit fountain the Pequod spots night after night, or such peace as when Ishmael describes the calm in the midst of The Armada, or the ocean as spotted by those on the mastheads. The breadth of writing is astounding.
Melville created a work reflective of his own character, building on themes that he experienced first hand over the course of his early life - meaning, country, race, philosophy - drawing on his own struggle for purpose. I don't believe anyone can read this book properly without understanding the circumstances of its creation; Melville was a whaler for a brief period, in which he learned of the tragedy of the Essex, a Nantucket whaling vessel whose doom bears great similarity to the demise of the Pequod. This, to me, lends greater weight to the chapters oft deemed unnecessary; Melville uses his own whaling knowledge to build the foundation for his final three chapters, in which his vision cannot be properly expressed without knowledge of his terminology. His father was also a judge in the northern half of the states during the years leading to the civil war, one of the first to make a ruling following the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act, and someone who, despite his ruling against the slave, was in favor of emancipation. Melville combined his own life and reaching for meaning with the struggle for unity in the states. He saw the inevitability of conflict brewing and chose to express the course of failure we were on in this tome of a novel; blending personal philosophy with the clairvoyance of the US populace of the era. I won't be expanding much on my experience of that theme, but it is ever-present and worth exploring.
Back to the book.
"Call me Ishmael" - already we are faced with a great conundrum. Who are we calling Ishmael? Is this his real name? If nothing else, we can glean that the person implicitly positing this question is one who is searching; he is given (by himself or another) the name of a biblical wanderer, Ishmael, cast out by Abraham and left to drift alone. He is a man broken by life, one who lives with a "drizzly November" in his soul, looking towards the vast, uncaring ocean for meaning, as he says all men do.
The beginning of this book is characterized by a relatively intimate exploration of the philosophy of Ishmael. We get his insights into humanity, companionship, the ocean, religion, and even the best kind of sleep (That of a cold crown of the head to provide comparative warmth - "Nothing exists in itself"). In this composite image, we see his falling away from religion, found in his confusion with the actions of the mourning churchgoers (why weep if their loved are in heaven?) and time living in the valley dearth of meaning. We see his conceptions about "civilized" people falling away in his beautiful relationship with Queequeg; a man found to be often more civil than the local Americans, and a man who comes to be his closest companion (and in a way, ultimate savior). His search leads him to the Pequod, and by extension, leads him to Ahab.
Ahab is perhaps the most powerful character in any book I have read thus far, reaching heights equivalent to Judge Holden, a clear acolyte of Ahab. Named after the Ahab of Israel, he too is a despotic and cruel ruler (he also has his own Elijah, but in this story, Elijah unfortunately has no power). It would be surprising to some that a good 3rd or 4th of the book passes before Ahab enters the stage; but this delay allows his entrance to be all the more powerful.
Ahab is a man bent on taking revenge on the world itself - he has been deeply wronged by it; his leg stolen from him by this white brute of the ocean, his life drained by the sea, any purpose he once had trumped by this new vitriolic passion. The reader watches as the ship, and the very novel itself, becomes enraptured with Ahab, ensnared in his doomed net of purpose - resigned ultimately to the fate of the one who steers them. This capturing comes most violently in the chapter The Quarter-deck, following what I believe to be the reveal of the guiding philosophy of Ahab; in his "pasteboard masks speech". Ahab spits venom onto the page; he laments the veneer he believes is over the world - vowing himself to punch through the mask of reality to reach the true world that lies beneath. For him, the whale is the heart of what he wishes to reach. The senseless cruelty he has been privy to for his whole life cannot be all there is, and it cannot be allowed to reign free of his intervention - he must destroy it. This is the churning engine in his monomania and ultimately the noose around his neck.
Ishmael, in the chapter The Whiteness of the Whale, provides what I see as an alternate (and ultimately true) view of reality; one more bleak than the hidden vitality of the world Ahab desires, and in fact, its exact opposite. Ishmael ponders the potential that the visage of the surface world is but a mirage hiding the empty whiteness beyond. He wonders - what if at its core, the blank whiteness is all there is? He uses a comparison of the world being a leper; life itself and the color infused within it being nothing but the surface blemish of a cruel and uncaring world. This is Ahab's fatal flaw - this is not the world of Ahab, but it is the world. He lives in direct opposition to the universe as it exists, trying in complete vain to reveal what is beyond the white, all the while blind to the notion that the white is all there is.
This is why he must die. Ahab cannot live in the tension - he cannot live a life with purpose if the world itself is devoid of it. He would strike against the sun if it wronged him but would die of the flames. To him, this is all there can be. A world devoid of meaning to Ahab mandates a life of spite and rebellion. In some sense, Ahab embodies a certain kind of Camusian absurd hero - doomed to die but living a life subsumed by violent vitality beforehand. Ahab died in vain, but he died in as heroic a way as anyone could - kicking and screaming and dragging "a living part of heaven" into the depths. But despite this, the ocean will roll on, and on, and on, as it has since the dawn of mankind. What care could it possibly have?
Ishmael finds himself at the end of the novel right at the heart of this tension. He is adrift in the ocean, but nonetheless alive. He is an orphan of the universe, kept breathing by holding onto his personhood and companionship; relaying this trauma in the form of a novel he can comprehend, bringing the Lacanian realm of the Real into the realm of the Symbolic, showing he has the fortitude necessary to live in hell.
For as much as I've written here, there are thousands more pages I could write detailing my thoughts on the novel. I only discussed a few characters, not even touching on some of my favorites. Starbuck, for instance, a living embodiment of reason doomed to die for his fear of death being lesser than his zeal for life - Pip, a child representative of the contact with this absurd and meaningless world, the last link to reality severed by Ahab - Fedallah, the personification of Ahab's mania and thruster behind Ahab's rocket. Not to mention one of my favorite parts of the book, when Stubb forces the black cook to give a sermon to the sharks; the cook delivering a sermon worthy to be preached to the whole pre-fracture US. He lets the sharks know they could be angels if only they had self-control; an analogue message to the US that they could have been saved if not for their lack of self-control - they could not hold back from slavery. This was to be the downfall of the states of the 17th century.
Truly one of the best books I have read, if not the best. While I may enjoy other single books more than I did this one, Moby Dick is simply too layered and complex to not dive headfirst into. Therefore this review/essay is significantly longer than anything else I am likely to write elsewhere. I've done a great deal of thinking and study around this novel and I am sure there is a boatload more I will come to appreciate with time. I think everyone deserves to have their time with this book and hopefully will come to appreciate it as I do.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is so extremely dense. Because of the lack of options entertainment-wise, I can see why this was such a hit in it's own time. You really learn a lot about whale fishery, whales, other cultures, ships and about the human mind. I didn't enjoy reading it and couldn't follow the story without the audiobook reading along with me. But I do love the insights it gave me in what life was like in 1851, including the morals people held during those days (lot's of racism, mysogony and closeted gays but almost no ableism for some reason) and the history lessons about other places around the world. Alsothe disgusting practices a lot of the world still holds dear. What do you mean "old man and his very young, daughter-like wife"?!?!?!?!
Would never read it again and also not recommend it to anyone other then people that, like me, enjoy just knowing about other times through the stories that were massive in their times.
Would never read it again and also not recommend it to anyone other then people that, like me, enjoy just knowing about other times through the stories that were massive in their times.
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Part of me never wants to read Melville again; the other to read everything. This book is maddening, and as much as I recognise its brilliance, I understand also its lack of initial recognition. Will write more ad my thoughts gather. Whether or not this is a five-star masterpiece to you depends wholly on the ceteology sections. Maybe I'll be more patient with those when I read it again; for I must.
Quick summary
It is told from the perspective of this gentleman called Ishmael (famous line alert: “call me Ishmael).” Ishmael decides he is going to board the ship called The Pequod to go whale hunting. He’s having a bit of a mid-life crisis. Little known to him and the crew (Queequeg, Tashtego, Dagoo, Flask, Stubb, Starbuck, and others) at the beginning, they are going to become obsessed like their fearless and insane leader, Captain Ahab, in chasing after the famous white Sperm Whale called Moby Dick. Moby Dick is the reason Capt. Ahab has a false leg, and he wants his vengeance on the whale who took it.
Why Did I Love This Book?
Just like many other readers think, this book is scary to look at. First it is a classic meaning there is a whole bunch of stuff that must really be analyzed and reflected upon. I caught myself asking this question over and over as I read it, “Why did Melville write it like this?” I mean it was clear that as I read it I thought “Why did he write that in 5 paragraphs when that could have been said in 4 sentences?” Second of all the actual story itself is a whopping 655 pages not including the helpful appendices. Third of all, it is written in a way kind of Shakespeare meets Lovecraft style. Lovecraftian (is this a word? It is now) in the fact that there is some cosmic horror and Shakespearian with his similar writing patterns and characters. It was like Shakespeare and Lovecraft had a love child and I became the cool aunt that was witnessing their work grow up.
Okay, if none of that sunk your heart and made you want to run away perfect. It is a challenging book. I will be the first to admit that. Sometimes I had to reread paragraphs, pages, and sometimes even whole chapters. But the writing is gorgeous. Melville wants you to use your senses, he wants you to feel the emotions, and he wants you understand the life of a whaler and all of their beautiful knowledge. It is long winded. And sometimes it feels like I was reading poetry, but this complex writing style opens up thousands of ways to interpret this wonderful work of art. I really love the fact that at points of the book I was thinking to myself “wow I am learning so much about whales!” and then the next moment I was like “what the holy fuck of voodoo witchcraft?! Melville, you sneaky bitch, you were actually teaching me about all of the things of what it means to be human, the world, and connections to the universe. LIKE ALL OF THE THINGS.”
There were points I had to put down the book and walk away and think about something because it hit a nerve so deeply. I felt like at times I was watching a magician. The writing style was really unique and not like anything that I have read. It would sometimes be told from the perspective of the main character Ishmael, sometimes it was told from someone else’s perspective, other times it read like a historical essay, and then sometimes it read like a play (almost emphasizing the drama). There are so many parallels between the whaling industry and human life and I think that was a major theme Melville was trying to give that access and wisdom to his readers.
Chapter 69 is called The Funeral and that one just kind of hit home for me. This chapter is about how after the crew has cut into the whale, they let it go (this being called a funeral). The only living things that mourn this animal are the vultures and the sharks. The whale carcass floats away from the boat. Later, other boats see this whale and avoid it because their ginormous bodies are mistaken for rocks or shoals. The ships make note of this large obstacle by putting it on their boat maps to avoid that area. I had to reread this chapter because I came to this conclusion which kind of slayed me: Even though the whale is dead, just like when it was alive, it still puts fear into humans!!!
There are some parts of the reading in which I felt like I was reading essays on whales in various contexts. I found it completely fascinating that they were in the voice of Ishmael but written with this academic flair. I will admit that sometimes I had to reread them because I forgot what type of whale I was reading about or I would have to look up some information to understand what I read. They are super interesting though and I was so impressed with learning how each part of the whale was used so as to not waste as much as possible. It reminded me not only of Native American culture, but of my Grandpa.
When telling a few people that I finally finished Moby Dick, they laughed and said “Why did you read that? The story is there is crazy captain, takes the ship out, tries to kill a whale, and then people die. Oh and there is this guy called Ishmael who tells the story. The moral of the story was to not chase what you can’t obtain.”
Well my answer is going to go into the deepest part of the ocean. First of all, you just literally tore my heart and soul into pieces by that awful summary. HOWEVER, what if I mentioned that there are cannibals, there is a crazy captain who convinces his crew to kill a vicious white whale (after they are 1,000s of miles from the port because, hidden agenda), there are some hints of LGBTQIA diversity (I am by no means an expert but there were some moments I was like dammmnnnnn that is some homoerotic tension for sure), race, brotherhood, WHALES, survival, man vs. nature, QUEEQUEG (did I mention him yet?! because he is the shit), comedy, peg limbs (yes, there is another character with a peg arm!), equality, murder?! and I am pretty sure that Herman inserted himself into this book at times because at some points I had no idea who was talking. I mean that would have been easy to do because he used to be a sailor and a whaler. He was able to add his real-life experiences into this book. That should make anyone want to pick up this fracking book. I mean you had me at cannibals and whales! I absolutely love this book because it focuses on cetology and characters (being a D&D player I love the leveling up and backstories, so this was really engaging for me).
Characters
The characters in this adventure epic are phenomenal and so well rounded. Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously. The characters reminded me a lot of Shakespeare and how he wrote. There were the villains (Moby or Ahab) (I’d like to pose Ahab because Moby was a whale and was just enjoying his beautiful life as a whale and was made to be the villain), you have the comics (Stubb, Pip), Ishmael and Herman himself were the Lover of whales), and heroes (Queequeg and Starbuck). But they are strong, complex characters that you get to really know, you can relate to something in each of their stories, and even though they are sailors they talk to you in a way that is understandable and relatable in the human life.
There is Ishmael (which sometimes I question if he is the main character/ narrator, a crazy captain (Captain Ahab) who doesn’t appear for the first like 25ish chapters, a first mate named Starbuck, there is second mate Stubb, Flask, the harpooners named Queequeg, Tashtego, and Dagoo, and Fedallah, a blacksmith named Perth, a carpenter (has a special purpose), and Pip the cabin boy. Lastly, Moby Dick. I mean he is mentioned in the title so I cannot forget him!
Ishmael, Ishmael, Ishmael. He is supposed to be the narrator. However, he kind of removes himself somehow from the story at points and it’s like he was able to watch and hear things that he shouldn’t have been able to know. Like the scene where Captain A is sleeping and Starbuck holds a gun in his hand after an argument with the Cappy. It was just the Captain and Starbuck in those quarters. How did Ishmael know about this?! OooooOOOooOooOoOOOoO! Also, in some chapters (especially near the end) Ishmael isn’t there. Where the hell did he go? WHERE IS HE?! This is a theme I see in the book. People come and go in chapters. But you know who else comes and goes in some chapters? THE FUCKING WHALE! That whalllllleeeeee duuuuddeesssss!!!! And Ishmael. They both disappear and reappear throughout the book. Shit man, that’s a revelation. Oh shit, and then there was a ship, the Rachel that appears, disappears, and reappears. Oh my gosh. I need to reread this book.
He seems timid of new things, but he is interesting in the fact that he is willing to have an open mind and tries to understand that person, culture, or idea. I find his knowledge of whaling and the world interesting and would find myself reflecting quite a bit on this particular characters noticings. I can definitely feel how Ishmael suffers, sees hunting whales as violent, and the sorrows he has of whaling, but he and the reader are well aware that this is his paycheck. He uses this adventure as a way to analyze and add knowledge to Cetology.
Okay so Captain Ahab has one leg, which was taken by the mysterious White Whale. This guy and his quest to kill Moby Dick pretty much take hold of the plot and story line, but he is definitely interesting all right. This quest to kill Moby Dick is really Ahab on this quest for vengeance which leads him on the rails of the crazy train (or shall I say the waves of the crazy boat). This kind of leads me to relate to Shakespeare’s writing because it is really the idea of a person slowly destroying their own lives, but still Lovecraftian (I mean what’s scarier than coming face to face with a giant beast which metaphorically is everything Ahab sees wrong with the world).
Starbuck is the first mate of the Pequod and he holds a special place in my heart. He is this major follower of Ahab. I got the sense that he was kind of lost throughout most of the journey. He never argued with Ahab until he had a moment with him on the ship (really touching moment where they looked into each other’s eyes) and told Ahab he wanted to go home to his family. He is one of the only people to try and stand up against crazy Captain Ahab and tell him that chasing Moby Dick is really a bad idea. I felt like this was Starbuck standing up for the other brainwashed crew members as well.
Stubb, second mate honestly pisses me off. His character is supposed to be seen as humorous, but he is super racist. I honestly couldn’t stand the dude. I hated how everyone on the boat seems to see each other as equals, but he really doesn’t do that, especially with the cook or Pip.
Flask is the third mate. He is a young, short guy who is eager to fight. His character made me feel like there was and always has been beef between him and the majestic leviathans of the deep.
Finally I get to talk about Queequeg! This dude is tight as shit. First of all he is a headhunter and cannibal from Polyponesia. He has tattoos all over, speaks very little English, is black, and teaches Ishmael to be more open minded. This is simply another reason that I love this adventure novel. Melville was trying to demonstrate that all people are just that, people. It doesn’t matter your race, your past, yadda yadda, what matters is everyone is on equal ground. That was really apparent especially when Melville describes how men have to die (metaphorically) in order to be reborn on the whaling ship. That is also seen in the chapter mentioned later in in the character of Tashtego below.
Normalizing people and their differences. That was a huge moment while reading that made me just revel in all of this books glory. Besides Stubb being a douche canoe, everyone is on the same level of brotherhood and survival. I love in the beginning of the book where Ishmael and Quee meet and have to share a bed because all of the rooms are occupied. This then turns into a blooming bromance and can be seen as a marriage between the two later.
One of my favorite moments in the book where Queequeg thinks he is going to die, so he has a coffin made for him. However, he then wills it that he cannot die because he has one last thing to do before death and he is miraculously healthy again. I loved this part. It was truly funny, queer, and shocking. Queequeg is the shit. Nuff said. (Also, I can’t go into too much detail about the coffin because it is a major spoiler, but THE COFFIN, YO!
Tashtego is a Wampanoag Native American harpooner. Favorite story of him is when he falls into the whale’s head. That is a story you will just have to read for yourself. But there is a lot of great information and parallels in this story.
Dagoo is this huge African harpooner. I think he was a part of Flask’s boat.
Oh, Fedallah. This has to be my second favorite character. He is Ahab’s secret harpooner and his spiritual guide. He is an ancient Indian of the Zoroastrian faith and lived in China at one point. He is a character that is not introduced at all for some time because he is actually hidden beneath deck for some point of the book. He is a super spiritual human being who only goes on deck when whales are to be killed. I think at one point the rest of the crew thinks he is secretly the devil. He predicts how our favorite ol cappy will die. Is he right? Guess you’ll have to read the book!
Perth is the ships’ blacksmith. Perth’s story is really tough for me to read because it is super relatable to anyone that has had a relationship of any form with an alcoholic. It was his story of how alcoholism destroyed his life. His main role was to create the harpoon that would destroy the White Whale.
Pip is an African American cabin boy. He is pretty weak compared to other boys his age. Cabin boys stay on the ship while the others go after the whale. However, at one point he is to go out in Stubb’s boat (the racist asshole). After this voyage, Pip does not return the same.
Okay, so the whole book is named after a whale… meaning we should probably talk about him as a character. The life lesson of the whale is pretty present throughout the whole book. You will drive yourself crazy (AHAB) if you keep seeking something you shall never have (MOBY DICK). It eventually will lead to your demise.
But wait, that’s not all! I really think the whale symbolizes different things to different crew members and myself at different times. Each character has a different view of this whale. Ahab’s view of the whale represents the evilness of the world and all of the suffering. For some of the crew members I felt like Moby symbolizes God. Moby Dick is a leviathan that has been brought up in legends, some people have seen him, others haven’t, and it is their pursuit to have a chance to meet this God of the seas. I felt like for many of them, it was a way to see if this whale exists, if God exists. I truly don’t think they were interested in killing the whale. That was Ahab’s whole motive and end goal. However, I think the crew’s goal (or especially Ishmael’s because of his love, respect, and want of understanding for whales) was to just simply be do their job and be in the presence of The Whale.
In conclusion, READ THE FRACKING BOOK.
It is told from the perspective of this gentleman called Ishmael (famous line alert: “call me Ishmael).” Ishmael decides he is going to board the ship called The Pequod to go whale hunting. He’s having a bit of a mid-life crisis. Little known to him and the crew (Queequeg, Tashtego, Dagoo, Flask, Stubb, Starbuck, and others) at the beginning, they are going to become obsessed like their fearless and insane leader, Captain Ahab, in chasing after the famous white Sperm Whale called Moby Dick. Moby Dick is the reason Capt. Ahab has a false leg, and he wants his vengeance on the whale who took it.
Why Did I Love This Book?
Just like many other readers think, this book is scary to look at. First it is a classic meaning there is a whole bunch of stuff that must really be analyzed and reflected upon. I caught myself asking this question over and over as I read it, “Why did Melville write it like this?” I mean it was clear that as I read it I thought “Why did he write that in 5 paragraphs when that could have been said in 4 sentences?” Second of all the actual story itself is a whopping 655 pages not including the helpful appendices. Third of all, it is written in a way kind of Shakespeare meets Lovecraft style. Lovecraftian (is this a word? It is now) in the fact that there is some cosmic horror and Shakespearian with his similar writing patterns and characters. It was like Shakespeare and Lovecraft had a love child and I became the cool aunt that was witnessing their work grow up.
Okay, if none of that sunk your heart and made you want to run away perfect. It is a challenging book. I will be the first to admit that. Sometimes I had to reread paragraphs, pages, and sometimes even whole chapters. But the writing is gorgeous. Melville wants you to use your senses, he wants you to feel the emotions, and he wants you understand the life of a whaler and all of their beautiful knowledge. It is long winded. And sometimes it feels like I was reading poetry, but this complex writing style opens up thousands of ways to interpret this wonderful work of art. I really love the fact that at points of the book I was thinking to myself “wow I am learning so much about whales!” and then the next moment I was like “what the holy fuck of voodoo witchcraft?! Melville, you sneaky bitch, you were actually teaching me about all of the things of what it means to be human, the world, and connections to the universe. LIKE ALL OF THE THINGS.”
There were points I had to put down the book and walk away and think about something because it hit a nerve so deeply. I felt like at times I was watching a magician. The writing style was really unique and not like anything that I have read. It would sometimes be told from the perspective of the main character Ishmael, sometimes it was told from someone else’s perspective, other times it read like a historical essay, and then sometimes it read like a play (almost emphasizing the drama). There are so many parallels between the whaling industry and human life and I think that was a major theme Melville was trying to give that access and wisdom to his readers.
Chapter 69 is called The Funeral and that one just kind of hit home for me. This chapter is about how after the crew has cut into the whale, they let it go (this being called a funeral). The only living things that mourn this animal are the vultures and the sharks. The whale carcass floats away from the boat. Later, other boats see this whale and avoid it because their ginormous bodies are mistaken for rocks or shoals. The ships make note of this large obstacle by putting it on their boat maps to avoid that area. I had to reread this chapter because I came to this conclusion which kind of slayed me: Even though the whale is dead, just like when it was alive, it still puts fear into humans!!!
There are some parts of the reading in which I felt like I was reading essays on whales in various contexts. I found it completely fascinating that they were in the voice of Ishmael but written with this academic flair. I will admit that sometimes I had to reread them because I forgot what type of whale I was reading about or I would have to look up some information to understand what I read. They are super interesting though and I was so impressed with learning how each part of the whale was used so as to not waste as much as possible. It reminded me not only of Native American culture, but of my Grandpa.
When telling a few people that I finally finished Moby Dick, they laughed and said “Why did you read that? The story is there is crazy captain, takes the ship out, tries to kill a whale, and then people die. Oh and there is this guy called Ishmael who tells the story. The moral of the story was to not chase what you can’t obtain.”
Well my answer is going to go into the deepest part of the ocean. First of all, you just literally tore my heart and soul into pieces by that awful summary. HOWEVER, what if I mentioned that there are cannibals, there is a crazy captain who convinces his crew to kill a vicious white whale (after they are 1,000s of miles from the port because, hidden agenda), there are some hints of LGBTQIA diversity (I am by no means an expert but there were some moments I was like dammmnnnnn that is some homoerotic tension for sure), race, brotherhood, WHALES, survival, man vs. nature, QUEEQUEG (did I mention him yet?! because he is the shit), comedy, peg limbs (yes, there is another character with a peg arm!), equality, murder?! and I am pretty sure that Herman inserted himself into this book at times because at some points I had no idea who was talking. I mean that would have been easy to do because he used to be a sailor and a whaler. He was able to add his real-life experiences into this book. That should make anyone want to pick up this fracking book. I mean you had me at cannibals and whales! I absolutely love this book because it focuses on cetology and characters (being a D&D player I love the leveling up and backstories, so this was really engaging for me).
Characters
The characters in this adventure epic are phenomenal and so well rounded. Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously. The characters reminded me a lot of Shakespeare and how he wrote. There were the villains (Moby or Ahab) (I’d like to pose Ahab because Moby was a whale and was just enjoying his beautiful life as a whale and was made to be the villain), you have the comics (Stubb, Pip), Ishmael and Herman himself were the Lover of whales), and heroes (Queequeg and Starbuck). But they are strong, complex characters that you get to really know, you can relate to something in each of their stories, and even though they are sailors they talk to you in a way that is understandable and relatable in the human life.
There is Ishmael (which sometimes I question if he is the main character/ narrator, a crazy captain (Captain Ahab) who doesn’t appear for the first like 25ish chapters, a first mate named Starbuck, there is second mate Stubb, Flask, the harpooners named Queequeg, Tashtego, and Dagoo, and Fedallah, a blacksmith named Perth, a carpenter (has a special purpose), and Pip the cabin boy. Lastly, Moby Dick. I mean he is mentioned in the title so I cannot forget him!
Ishmael, Ishmael, Ishmael. He is supposed to be the narrator. However, he kind of removes himself somehow from the story at points and it’s like he was able to watch and hear things that he shouldn’t have been able to know. Like the scene where Captain A is sleeping and Starbuck holds a gun in his hand after an argument with the Cappy. It was just the Captain and Starbuck in those quarters. How did Ishmael know about this?! OooooOOOooOooOoOOOoO! Also, in some chapters (especially near the end) Ishmael isn’t there. Where the hell did he go? WHERE IS HE?! This is a theme I see in the book. People come and go in chapters. But you know who else comes and goes in some chapters? THE FUCKING WHALE! That whalllllleeeeee duuuuddeesssss!!!! And Ishmael. They both disappear and reappear throughout the book. Shit man, that’s a revelation. Oh shit, and then there was a ship, the Rachel that appears, disappears, and reappears. Oh my gosh. I need to reread this book.
He seems timid of new things, but he is interesting in the fact that he is willing to have an open mind and tries to understand that person, culture, or idea. I find his knowledge of whaling and the world interesting and would find myself reflecting quite a bit on this particular characters noticings. I can definitely feel how Ishmael suffers, sees hunting whales as violent, and the sorrows he has of whaling, but he and the reader are well aware that this is his paycheck. He uses this adventure as a way to analyze and add knowledge to Cetology.
Okay so Captain Ahab has one leg, which was taken by the mysterious White Whale. This guy and his quest to kill Moby Dick pretty much take hold of the plot and story line, but he is definitely interesting all right. This quest to kill Moby Dick is really Ahab on this quest for vengeance which leads him on the rails of the crazy train (or shall I say the waves of the crazy boat). This kind of leads me to relate to Shakespeare’s writing because it is really the idea of a person slowly destroying their own lives, but still Lovecraftian (I mean what’s scarier than coming face to face with a giant beast which metaphorically is everything Ahab sees wrong with the world).
Starbuck is the first mate of the Pequod and he holds a special place in my heart. He is this major follower of Ahab. I got the sense that he was kind of lost throughout most of the journey. He never argued with Ahab until he had a moment with him on the ship (really touching moment where they looked into each other’s eyes) and told Ahab he wanted to go home to his family. He is one of the only people to try and stand up against crazy Captain Ahab and tell him that chasing Moby Dick is really a bad idea. I felt like this was Starbuck standing up for the other brainwashed crew members as well.
Stubb, second mate honestly pisses me off. His character is supposed to be seen as humorous, but he is super racist. I honestly couldn’t stand the dude. I hated how everyone on the boat seems to see each other as equals, but he really doesn’t do that, especially with the cook or Pip.
Flask is the third mate. He is a young, short guy who is eager to fight. His character made me feel like there was and always has been beef between him and the majestic leviathans of the deep.
Finally I get to talk about Queequeg! This dude is tight as shit. First of all he is a headhunter and cannibal from Polyponesia. He has tattoos all over, speaks very little English, is black, and teaches Ishmael to be more open minded. This is simply another reason that I love this adventure novel. Melville was trying to demonstrate that all people are just that, people. It doesn’t matter your race, your past, yadda yadda, what matters is everyone is on equal ground. That was really apparent especially when Melville describes how men have to die (metaphorically) in order to be reborn on the whaling ship. That is also seen in the chapter mentioned later in in the character of Tashtego below.
Normalizing people and their differences. That was a huge moment while reading that made me just revel in all of this books glory. Besides Stubb being a douche canoe, everyone is on the same level of brotherhood and survival. I love in the beginning of the book where Ishmael and Quee meet and have to share a bed because all of the rooms are occupied. This then turns into a blooming bromance and can be seen as a marriage between the two later.
One of my favorite moments in the book where Queequeg thinks he is going to die, so he has a coffin made for him. However, he then wills it that he cannot die because he has one last thing to do before death and he is miraculously healthy again. I loved this part. It was truly funny, queer, and shocking. Queequeg is the shit. Nuff said. (Also, I can’t go into too much detail about the coffin because it is a major spoiler, but THE COFFIN, YO!
Tashtego is a Wampanoag Native American harpooner. Favorite story of him is when he falls into the whale’s head. That is a story you will just have to read for yourself. But there is a lot of great information and parallels in this story.
Dagoo is this huge African harpooner. I think he was a part of Flask’s boat.
Oh, Fedallah. This has to be my second favorite character. He is Ahab’s secret harpooner and his spiritual guide. He is an ancient Indian of the Zoroastrian faith and lived in China at one point. He is a character that is not introduced at all for some time because he is actually hidden beneath deck for some point of the book. He is a super spiritual human being who only goes on deck when whales are to be killed. I think at one point the rest of the crew thinks he is secretly the devil. He predicts how our favorite ol cappy will die. Is he right? Guess you’ll have to read the book!
Perth is the ships’ blacksmith. Perth’s story is really tough for me to read because it is super relatable to anyone that has had a relationship of any form with an alcoholic. It was his story of how alcoholism destroyed his life. His main role was to create the harpoon that would destroy the White Whale.
Pip is an African American cabin boy. He is pretty weak compared to other boys his age. Cabin boys stay on the ship while the others go after the whale. However, at one point he is to go out in Stubb’s boat (the racist asshole). After this voyage, Pip does not return the same.
Okay, so the whole book is named after a whale… meaning we should probably talk about him as a character. The life lesson of the whale is pretty present throughout the whole book. You will drive yourself crazy (AHAB) if you keep seeking something you shall never have (MOBY DICK). It eventually will lead to your demise.
But wait, that’s not all! I really think the whale symbolizes different things to different crew members and myself at different times. Each character has a different view of this whale. Ahab’s view of the whale represents the evilness of the world and all of the suffering. For some of the crew members I felt like Moby symbolizes God. Moby Dick is a leviathan that has been brought up in legends, some people have seen him, others haven’t, and it is their pursuit to have a chance to meet this God of the seas. I felt like for many of them, it was a way to see if this whale exists, if God exists. I truly don’t think they were interested in killing the whale. That was Ahab’s whole motive and end goal. However, I think the crew’s goal (or especially Ishmael’s because of his love, respect, and want of understanding for whales) was to just simply be do their job and be in the presence of The Whale.
In conclusion, READ THE FRACKING BOOK.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“I fell in love with the idea that the mysterious thing you look for your whole life will eventually eat you alive.”
laurie anderson, on moby dick
laurie anderson, on moby dick
Weird and spectacular, but naturally suffers from the issues most pre-1920s books do - turgid in many places, and often goes on tangents that drown the main narrative, until collapsing into the mayhem of the last 40 or so pages. Great book, surprisingly readable for being 150 years old, but aside from a brilliant opening and a great end, the centre is tough to chew, let alone digest
This book is a classic, a very long classic with good instances but some of the chapters very much become episodes in their own way and could have been missed. This took me 5 years to read and several attempts. Your the reader is up for a challenge please read away.