Moby Dick: Rhetoric-Stage Inquiry

Do you sympathize with the characters? Which ones, and why?

Actually I sympathize mostly with Captain Ahab. From Ishmael narration, we can see that Ahab is an experienced and talented captain. I think, if I was a passenger, I would feel safe when I know a captain with Ahab’s qualities is leading the ship. It’s so pity that he cannot let go of his anger; he cannot make peace with the bitter past. When the whaling voyage is approaching the end, Ahab feels the divine atmosphere which encourages him to share his noble thoughts to Starbuck. He knows that he can’t receive salvation if he keeps fighting the more powerful power than his. Nevertheless, he keeps on his plan, and it leads him to doom.

What does the setting of the book tell you about the way human beings are shaped?

I can only think of one thing: how men can often be so stubborn (and foolish). When he knows very well that there is only one way to achieve salvation, he choose the other—darker—way that will certainly lead him to death. That’s human beings’ weakness: arrogance; they think they can fight (and win from) God, their Creator.

What exactly is the writer telling you?

Men often blame God for their misfortune, and they foolishly want to contest God for it. It is as foolishly as taking revenge to a whale which has snatched your leg. And why did it do so? Because you have hunted it first. If you let the whale in peace, it would not have hurt you. And why must you hunt the whale? Isn’t it because of your own greediness? So when we have misfortunes, we should reflect our own past. Perhaps we have done wrong or wicked things to God and/or to others? Perhaps we did not obey Him? Perhaps the misfortune is intended to lead us to repentance? By fighting God, not only it would have been vain, but you put yourself farther from Him and your own salvation.

In what sense is the book true?

In man’s stubbornness and foolishness to pick the wrong way only to justify his misfortunes. How often it is, when we get through bitterness or hardness of life, that we accuse God for not loving us; for not being just. Instead of asking His forgiveness and let Him help us, we nourish our wound and won’t let it go before we get even with someone/something, or…..sometimes, with God! It is so true, and I have read in Ruth’s post that Melville, in a way, has been through the same path himself, that inspired him to write this wonderful book.

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Moby Dick: Logic-Stage Inquiry

What does Ahab want? What is standing in his way? And what strategy does he pursue in order to overcome this block?

Ahab wants to make peace with himself, and so, just like any human being, he wants to seek God. After forty years of sailing, Ahab too was weary. But he has something that is standing in his way to the peaceful unity with God; it is his anger of life’s injustice that has snatched his happiness (in the shape Moby Dick who has snatched his one leg). There should be two alternatives to overcome the block: either compromising with life, or pursuing the unfinished business. Unfortunately, despite of chance of repentance given to him, Ahab persists to follow his passion to revenge.

Which point of view does the writer choose to use? What does he gain and lose through it?

It’s a combination of third person-limited—by using Ishmael to narrate the whole story; and the omniscient POV—because through Ishmael Melville questioned often about morality.

Beginnings and endings

Melville used the mystery approaching for starting the novel, by hinting about the mysterious enigmatic Captain Ahab—a person whom people talk both with fear and admiration. The ending is a resolution—as the Pequod and its passengers were swallowed by the ‘sea’ (and the sea is indeed a metaphor, as I hinted below).

Images and metaphors

I think Melville used a lot of whaling-related metaphors here to convey his philosophy, but I’d only analyze one of them that touched me most (and the most intriguing too) – from chapter 132: The Symphony.

‘The snow-white wings of small unspeckled birds’ which represents the gentle thoughts of feminine air is a metaphor of Good; while ‘mighty Leviathans, sword-fish and sharks’ which represents the strong, troubled, the murderous thinking of the masculine sea is the metaphor of Evil.

“…Though thus contrasting within, the contrast was only in shades and shadows without; those two seemed one.” It represents us, human, inside whom there are always the Good and the Evil; and the two powers merge in one soul.

And this following passage is, I think, particularly about Ahab’s condition of soul.

“Aloft, like a royal czar and king, the sun seemed giving this gentle air to this bold and rolling sea.” It might represent how the Good in Ahab’s soul is working to win him from the Evil. And that’s why Ahab suddenly becomes melancholy; it is when love is touching his soul, that he remembers his wife and child, and how he had selfishly treated them. But unfortunately, Ahab had let his revenge passion stays in him. He is too stubborn to unleash the anger; that the Evil might overpower him, and so he can’t but submitted—as we can find it here:

“What is it, what nameless, inscrutable, unearthly thing is it; what cozening, hidden lord and master, and cruel, remorseless emperor commands me; that against all natural lovings and longings, I so keep pushing, and crowding, and jamming myself on all the time; recklessly making me ready to do what in my own proper, natural heart, I durst not so much as dare? (…) Is it I, God, or who, that lifts this arm?”

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Moby Dick: Grammar-Stage Inquiry

Here again I’m working on the inquiries from The Well-Educated Mind. As part of this first level inquiry, I have posted six summaries of the book:

Chapter 1 – 22

Chapter 23 – 47

Chapter 48 – 66

Chapter 68 – 92

Chapter 93 - 135

Next we are required to summarize the story by creating our own title and subtitle (which is different from the book’s). But before that, we must conclude this one….

Is there some point in the book where the characters change? Does something happen that makes everyone behave differently?

Now, this is quite a tough question, because I really didn’t find much alteration from the main characters throughout the book. Ahab consistently stuck to the plan of killing Moby Dick. Starbuck kept contradicting him, though not too strong. Ishmael kept being an outsider. Stubb…well, he kept being indifferent as ever. But without solving this problem, I might be struggling through the next inquiries. So, after some moments of reflection, I decided that there might be slight changes in Captain Ahab (as the main and central character) and Starbuck.

The point of change is the night before their first day of Moby Dick chases; the only moment when Ahab shared his troubled soul to Starbuck. Before this Ahab was always self-possessed and full of determination, but that particular night he was more human. He thought about how vain and foolish it was for him, to leave his wife and children, to sail solitarily in the sea for forty years. He felt pity for his wife that he has widowed to chase his prey. At that moment Ahab came to a point of repentance; he was inspired by the divine air that was lurking at that precise moment (chapter 132 – The Symphony). God’s power appeared in the shape of “snow-white wings of small, unspeckled birds” which represented the ‘gentle thoughts’ (I’ll analyze this deeper in the next stage inquiry). He appeared to in the eyes of Starbuck, who up to that moment keep his conscience clear (I see my wife and my child in thine eye)

This change changed Starbuck’s view too towards Ahab. Before this, he saw him as a wicked power which will ruin their lives with his monomaniac revenge. But now I think Starbuck regarded Ahab with some pity. Oh, he is just a man, who cannot hide from God’s presence. Ahab’s heart is not completely frozen; he still has affection towards his family. So Starbuck’s approaches to Ahab changed too; he even called him noble.

Give the book your own title and subtitle

Ahab’s monomaniac revenge to a whale – How a whaling ship Captain who was possessed by revenge passion, killed his conscience and against God, given a chance to repent, but discarded it, and so his life is doomed.

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Moby Dick, Finally!...: Moby Dick Chapter 93 – 135

Captain Ahab aiming his harpoon to Moby Dick

When money is more important than humanity

Pip was Pequod’s one clumsy crew. One day, when he was stationed on Stubb’s boat during a lowering, he jumped accidentally to the sea. At first Stubb took an effort to row back and picked him up, but the next time he abandoned poor Pip stranded on the sea for sometimes because they were too busy hunting a whale, before the ship finally picked him up. The incident changed poor Pip soul; he got mad after that.

Ahab’s restlessness madness was increasing

When they are approaching Moby Dick’s location, Ahab asked the blacksmith to build him a deadly harpoon from special iron, which was baptized with the hapooners’ blood in the name of the Devil. However, on the other side, Ahab has strangely touched by the mad boy Pip, that he let him stay in the same cabin. And afterward, Pip could never part from Ahab.

The Pequod met another whaling ship—the Rachel—which has just met Moby Dick and lost several boats and crews because of it. Its captain pleaded Ahab to help them in the search, but Ahab abandoned them, now that the sign of Moby Dick’s presence has finally appeared.

Ahab vs Starbuck

One day the cask containing sperm oil was leaking; Starbuck asked for Ahab’s command to hoist the ship to Burtons, but Ahab rejected it. Starbuck bravely countered him, and finally Ahab consented to it. When the Typhoon storm attacked Pequod, the ship was shook severely; Starbuck insisted to change direction homeward, but Ahab insisted to go through the storm to chase Moby Dick. The lightning burnt a part of the ship, but instead of frightened, Ahab cursed and worshipped the fire.

Finally the storm subsided; when Starbuck was going to report it to Ahab, he found him asleep. He almost tried to kill Ahab with his own musket to ship the ship, but, struggling with his consciences, he finally declined the plan.

Finally….hunting Moby Dick!

The Pequod finally entered the Pacific oceans and headed to Japanese sea, in where it is suggested that Moby Dick was now swimming. For days the sea was so calm and serene, just like the strange calmness in the air before storms. 

In order to see Moby Dick first, Ahab located himself on the highest mainmast head. He need to secure himself by ropes, and must trust one of his men to handle it. Strangely, he picked Starbuck, the man who often contradicted him and whose loyalty thus should have been the least. Nonetheless, Ahab put his life into Starbuck’s hand. With Starbuck too did Ahab express his sadness. It was on a bright sunny morning, when Ahab’s heart was softened and he felt weary of forty years of whaling, leaving his wife and children. Starbuck—for the umpteenth time—persuaded him to go home, but Ahab persistently went on. But before that, he insisted that Starbuck must stay onboard while he would be lowering for Moby Dick.

Moby Dick finally appeared! On the first day of hunting, it survived after having broken Ahab’s boat in two and thrown the old man into the sea. The old man drenched but survived too. On the second day, Moby raised again from the sea, attacked again the boat, turned over Ahab’s boat, again—as if it knew who’s its real foe!—and this time he lost his ivory leg. It turned out later that his Oriental crew, Fedallah, has killed. At one point Ahab realized the vanity of the pursue; he also feared the dark omens himself. Still, he’s too stubborn to let the revenge go, and strove to Moby Dick the next day.

The final day was the superb climax of this book.

My random thoughts

Stubb’s abandonment of Pip only shows, that indifference is in fact another shape of moral corruption. The interesting thing is how the monomaniac Ahab—while he could abandon another ship’s pledge to search its missing crew—could be touched by Pip, that he treated him like a son. So, in a way, perhaps indifference is even worse than monomaniacness? Ahab might be cold against anything that hindered him from his revenge, but somewhere in the corner of his heart, he might still have room for humanity. While Stubb….well, I doubt it that he ever have a pity or affection towards others. After several reflections, I think the following passage from the end of chapter 96 highlights this idea.

“There is a Catskill 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 flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar.”

If I understand it right, Melville wanted to say that a person should be noble or virtuous; that although he might one day fall into sin, he might still has chance to rise again. While an indifferent one, without any principles in him, is much worse, because he is just indifferent whether he does right or wrong, and thus there is no hope to bring him to salvation. Do you think that’s what it means? But whatever it is, by the above quote, I think Melville did not explicitly put Ahab as a wicked villain. Rather, he showed us what an irony, for a man as noble and clever as Ahab, to fall like that just because he has let himself led by passion of revenge. Do you agree?

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The Brutality in Whaling: Moby Dick Chapter 67 – 92

'The Pequod', Used in the Film 'Moby Dick', c.1954

by Jack Sullivan

The whale’s anatomy

(part 2 – the 1^st part is in the previous chapter post)

After being killed, a whale’s body would be slain. Its head would be hung on the side of the ship. One remarkable aspect of sperm whale is how it can live both at equator and at the pole with the same lungs and warm blood as in human being. It is because the nature provides it with thick ‘blanket’ as skin, which is called ‘blubber’. The more interesting analysis is about sperm whales head—which is more noble than the right whale’s—and its eyes, which are located on both sides of the head, instead of on the front.

One aspect of sperm whales that nobody knows, is the substance of its spout; is it water or vapor? As sperm whale’s outer skin is poisonous, men cannot touch it to investigate, and so it remains a mystery. But Ishmael believed it’s vapor, which signified with deep thoughts, and thus makes sperm whale a profound being :D. He also thought sperm whale is the most devoted animal because of its ‘fluke’ tail.

One very important article comes from sperm whale is ambergris, a waxy and highly fragrant substance used in perfumery and other cosmetics products. It is actually produced from the bowels of a whale with dyspepsia!

The noble creatures that are treated barbarianishly

Whale hunting used to be much more honorable in the past when they treated whales as noble creature. Now they were cruelly slain after being caught. The Pequod met a blind whale one day; this too was killed cruelly by Stubb. Ishmael also criticized the use of lance pitch-poling, which produced an even crueler effect to whales than harpoons. Stubb could even made jokes about the poor whale while it was slowly dying.

One day The Pequod met a herd of whales which swam in a giant circle. Ishmael’s boat was carried away into the centre of the circle; where he saw an amazingly calm group of young and nursing female whales with their babies. It was an amazing sight, but then one wounded whale entered the circle and replaced the calmness with panic moves, from which the boat could narrowly escape at the end.

The dark ‘superstitious’ of whale hunting

The Pequod met another whaling ship—Jerobeam—whose passenger was a lunatic man who believed himself as the incarnation of Gabriel the Archangel. He prophesied once that hunting and killing Moby Dick would be doomed as it was the Shaker God incarnated. And the prophecy came true, as a mate was killed while the Jerobeam was hunting Moby Dick.

Though not its assignment, Captain Ahab instructed his men to hunt a Right Whale too. It turned out later that Ahab—of Fedallah’s advice—wanted to hung its head on the opposite side of the sperm whale’s to ‘protect’ the ship.

My random thoughts

In many occasions, Melville has explained about the nobleness in whales, especially Sperm Whales. Now the question is, can killing a whale be justified by our conscience? In an occasion the Pequod hunted a blind whale—quite a pitiable view—and killed it. Look at how Melville described about it:

“For all his old age, and his one arm, and his blind eyes, he must die the death and be murdered, in order to light the gay bridals and other merry-makings of men, and also to illuminate the solemn churches that preach unconditional inoffensiveness by all to all.”

Is killing an animal is really wrong, then, while we can utilize its organs for our daily lives? Didn’t God create them for our needs? Why killing a whale is brutal while killing a cow isn’t? Why eating whale’s meat means cannibalism while eating a cow’s isn’t? I think, to answer these questions did Melville wrote this book, well….one of his purposes. I believe the only answer we can get is our own conscience. When we kill the animals to feed ourselves, it’s natural; but killing them for enriching us, or for putting the blame of our misfortune, that is a murder! Why killing a blind-pitiable whale is right for someone (Flask) but wrong for the other (Starbuck)? Again, it’s all about conscience, as illuminated by these dialog right after the blindness of the whale be known:

Flask: “A nice spot! Just let me prick him there once”

Starbuck: “Avast! There’s no need of that!”

Sperm whale’s ambergris is another proof of Melville’s genius in finding deep philosophy in whaling:

“Now that the incorruption of this most fragrant ambergris should be found in the heart of such decay; is this nothing? (….) ..how that we are sown in dishonor, but raised in glory.”

And isn’t that how we are in the presence of God? Sinners but redeemed nonetheless to see His glory.

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The Whaling Philosophy: Moby Dick Chapter 48 – 66

Finally…some actions!

When the first sign of whales came, the crew looked at five mysterious strangers besides Ahab, but had no time to mind it, as they must immediately lower their boats for the whale hunt. Unfortunately thick mist fell upon the sea, and through the mist and the increasing wind before a storm, they went nearer to the whale. Starbuck instructed Queequeg to attack, but the whale escaped, only with a scratch from Queequeg’s harpoon. Their boat collapsed and drenched all the crew before help from other boats came, and took them return to the ship. This was Ishmael’s first experience in whale hunting, and after the life and death moment, now he realized and was much prepared for the great risk of the voyage.

It was clear now that Ahab has snuggled those five crews on board. Fedallah, the Oriental hair-turbaned, was the most interesting mystery around. Meanwhile, for several nights a single white jet often appeared within the waves, seemed to taunt the Pequod to sail further to follow it. It felt ghostly, and everyone thought it was Moby Dick. Ahab often stayed sleeplessly for nights because of that, and on the whole, it created a ghastly aspect for the crew.

One morning the Pequod’s men had an apparition of a giant white creature which they thought at first was the White Whale, but it turned out to be a giant squid. Nonetheless the apparition has struck them. And finally, their first catch was done by Stubb, who caught and killed a Sperm Whale.

Have any other ships met Moby Dick?

The Pequod met another whaling ship, the Albatros, and on their question about the White Whale, Captain Ahab suddenly looked terrified. Ishmael then told the strange affair of the Town-Ho whaling ship that has once had an encounter with Moby Dick, and it turned out to be a divine moment in their trouble.

The fishery handling system

Ishmael criticized the fishery system invariably used in whaling ships, where harpooners, not only were they needed to pitch darts to the whales with all their power, they were also responsible to pull the oar during a chase, which often exhausted them already before the fight. Ishmael believed that harpooners must be relieved from pulling the oar job in order to save their energy. He also pointed up the danger of using the second (back up) harpoon which was connected to the first one with a line.

Consumption vs cannibalism

Ishmael also remarked sailors who ate sea creatures he has just killed as outlandish. He questioned whether this was not—in a way—a cannibalism. He also criticized how sharks were massacred only to get its skin (?).

The whale’s anatomy

It is difficult to draw the exact structure of a whale, and for centuries people have failed to do that. They could never catch the majestic and noble aspect of whale, and thus it remained unpainted, unless in whaling voyage though with a very high risk. (to be continued in next chapter post)

My random thoughts

Chapter 51 is my most favorite chapter so far! It makes me quite shudder to imagine the serene atmosphere on Pequod at those nights when the single white jet appeared. I wanted to quote some phrases here, but it’s impossible to get the exact feeling without reading the whole chapter. I believe I haven’t read one so intense chapter like this one, of which, every words and sentence brings deep meanings.

Melville’s point of view about cannibalism is early interesting. I have been wondering why he described Queequeg’s savage side very detailed, but now I understand his real aim. I think he wanted to highlight the irony of how civilized people despised cannibalism, while they often do worse things than that. They perhaps don’t eat their own kind, but couldn’t rapaciousness and brutality in killing innocent creatures be regarded as savagery?

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When Business and Revenge Collide: Moby Dick Chapter 23 – 47

The whaling business

Ishmael highlights the prestige in whaling business despite of people’s underestimation. Whalemen even supply sperm oil for Kings and Queens’ coronation. Its spermaceti—wax obtained from the head of sperm whale—is also used as ointment and medicament. And that’s what makes sperm whale business is more prestige than other whales’.

The whaling crew

Here is the ‘rank chart’ of the whaling cruise on board of Pequod (from what I gathered so far):

Starbuck is the chief mate, seems to be a careful sailor, very brave—from brutal experiences—also the most experienced and educated person. Stubb the second mate is an easy-going, indifferent, and humorous person who is never seen without his pipe. While Flask the third mate is an ignorant but fearless person. Each of them picks a harpooner as his ‘squire’ when they are at work. And finally…the enigmatic Captain Ahab makes his first appearance on deck. He is a determinate man with erect figure and strong charisma. Stubb is the first who gets the ‘blow’ when Ahab is angry.

According to Ishmael, the harpooners should have ranked equally with the captain, however here in particular, Ahab has something ‘grandeur’ in him that makes him much distinguished. Moreover, in dining time, harpooners have their turns after the mates, so informally they are a lower partner of the mates.

The monomaniac Ahab

Ahab finally makes everyone understand that his real intention for the cruise is to take his personal revenge on Moby Dick, the famous White Whale, which has taken one of his legs. In fact it’s not just a bitter rage; in Ahab, the attack has given him a madness and monomaniac hatred. And so big is his hatred that he will do anything to hunt Moby Dick; he technically calculates and maps everything to locate it.

Starbuck doesn’t agree because Ahab has turned the whaling business into a violent revenge, but Ahab is too strong in character, that Starbuck has no choice but to obey. Nevertheless, Starbuck still has his conscience and a little hope to fight the darkness that begins to infiltrate the ship. In fact, each with his reaction, everyone on board feels the evil air surrounds them. Knowing how vulnerable his ambition among his men is, Ahab pretends to still have interest in the voyage’s original business, while at the same time keeps pursuing Moby Dick.

The legendary Moby Dick

Moby Dick, the White Whale, has become a legend among the whalemen. It is clever and has caused several accidents in the sea. Moby Dick is distinguished and recognizable because of its unique shape: the peculiar snow-white wrinkled forehead, the pyramidical white hump, and the shrouded blue streaks and spots which makes it looks whitish. The color white has much psychological value in different societies, but in Moby Dick, it has this divine, noble, and pureness aspect.

More mysteries

One of the crew hear human noises under the hatches. His friend hushes him at that time, but then, when the first sign of whales comes one night, the crews are surprised by the appearance of five Oriental men who turn out to be Ahab’s crew, smuggled into the board unknowingly by the bosses. And so, there is the first commotion in the ship when one of Ahab’s men finally sees the sign of whales.

My random thoughts

My favorite in this stint is Starbuck’s monologue in chapter 38. It reflects the uneasiness when we know that there is an evil intention within our group. It’s like the dark cloud that disturbs your pure soul. In the helplessness of facing the ‘devil’, he can only cries: “Oh, life! ‘tis now that I do feel the latent horror in thee! But ‘tis not me! That horror’s out of me! And with the soft feeling of the human in me, yet will I try to fight ye, ye grim, phantom features! Stand by me, hold me, bind me, O ye blessed influences!”  Here I really felt like reading a play!

About Moby Dick, it is always our world’s typical, that the unknown or the not-yet-visible would create such a mystic. It is the case also with Moby Dick: “Though in many of its aspects this visible world seems formed in love, the invisible spheres were formed in fright.”

And this got to be the most perfect quote to portray Ahab:

“God help thee, old man, thy thoughts have created a creature in thee; and he whose intense thinking thus makes him a Prometheus; a vulture feeds upon that heart forever; that vulture the very creature he creates.”

Previous chapters:

Chapter 1 -22

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Get Ready For Whaling: Moby Dick Chapter 1 - 22

[source]

Approaching the end of the year, Moby Dick would probably be the last book I’ll read for my WEM Project. This is a very interesting book, and I’m intending to chew it very slowly. As usual, I’ll begin with chapter posts—there are 135 chapters, by the way! I’ll post randomly every now and then, hopefully it will entertain you a bit before I get to my review… :)

Ishmael, the narrator

“Call me Ishmael” is probably one of the most memorable opening lines in literature. He is a sailor, used to work in merchant ships. He always loves the sea, and now is inspired to go for a whaling voyage. As Nantucket is the best and most famous place to go whaling (Nantucketers are the Kings of Sea!), there goes Ishmael. However, he must stay a night in New Bedford first, where he finds an old inn. The inn is fully occupied, but wait a second! If he just need a lodge for a night, would he share a bed with a harpooner staying there?, suggested the landlord. The harpooner turns out to be a cannibal, and this quite worries Ishmael, but he shares the bed nonetheless.

Meet Queequeg, the cannibal harpooner

After spending the night Ishmael finds with a surprise that, as a cannibal, Queequeg is very civilized, affectionate and polite. Walking around the town—and New Bedford is indeed a fine whaling town—Ishmael stops by a chapel. He is fascinated by the ‘ship-like’ of the pulpit’s construction which represents the relationship between the world and the Heaven. Now he realizes how whaling can be a mortal activity! And lo, how the chaplain—an ex-sailor—preaches on Jonah and his repentance so emotionally.

Now Ishmael, seeing how Queequeg, being a cannibal, could have such a kind heart, Ishmael finally binds a very intimate friendship with him. He can even tolerate Queequeg’s pagan worshiping and smoking-in-bed habit quite easily. Queequeg then tells a bit of his history; how he used to be a pagan Prince in his homeland, but dreamed to journey to Christendom. However here, he found disappointedly how wicked Christian people could be. Nonetheless, he takes Ishmael as an intimate friend now, and agrees to accompany him to Nantucket for whaling.

On board the schooner to Nantucket, Queequeg was humiliated by other passengers. But when the schooner is in danger, it is Queequeg nonetheless who becomes the brave hero and saves others. He gets respect, but keeps humble, as for him, helping others is a principle of being human.

On board the Pequod

Finally Ishmael closes the deal to sail with the Pequod, owned by Captain Peleg and Captain Bildad, and led by a mysterious Captain Ahab. Meanwhile Ishmael is fascinated—and a bit impatient—by Queequeg’s fanaticism in practicing his Ramadan fasting. The next day Ishmael and Queequeg register themselves as crew and harpooner in the Pequod. Queequeg is accepted finally despite of his being cannibal, but not before the owner’s efforts to Christianize him. Right after that a beggar-like sailor named Elijah warns them something more mysterious about Captain Ahab, that Ishmael begins to feel disturbed by every cloud surrounds their captain-to-be.

The Pequod is now equipped and prepared for the long journey, but….the enigmatic Captain Ahab has not yet appeared on board, and this grows Ishmael’s suspicion. Elijah wants to warn them further about Ahab, but declines for no reason. And so, the Pequod finally lifts its anchor and begins to sail, with only Captain Peleg and Bildad supervising. After certain point both captain are no longer needed on board, so they are dropped onto a sail boat, and off the Pequod starts its voyage across the Atlantic.

My random thoughts

The chaplain’s preach of Jonah’s repentance is probably the most interesting non-sailing aspect of these first chapters, especially this:

“All the things that God would have us do are hard for us to do, and hence, He oftener commands us than endeavors to persuade. And if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves, and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists.” –our and God’s will are always on the opposite sides, and only with humility one can truly repent.

“In this world, shipmates, sin that pays its way can travel freely, and without a passport; whereas Virtue, if a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers.” –which means, I guess, how the world praises money and status much more than morality. As long as you have money, everything is possible, whereas morality won’t earn you anything.

Queequeg is a clear example for it. He is ignored by the world; a pagan among Christians, yet he is much more ‘Christian’ in doings than most of those (who claim to be) civilized Christians. When Queequeg went for registration, Captain Bildad hesitated to accept him at first just because he was not Christian; it’s only one example of people prejudices.

Talking about bravery, not only in Queequeg’s heroic act on the schooner we can see it; I think Ishmael deserves a thumb at least for being brave to share a bed, and even a blanket, with a cannibal! If I was in his situation, I’d probably choose to sleep on the chair! LOL…

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