Colleen O’Boyle

Due 4/25/01

Final Paper

Professor Kim Paffenroth

"To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be who have tried it" states the narrating character Ishmael as he attempts to justify his reasoning on writing such a lengthy novel. Indeed, the whale may be the most complex and grandiose mammal on earth, yet one may still question the ulterior motive of Melville for explicating every detail of a whaling journey in Moby Dick. In fact, Melville develops many themes throughout the text that lead the reader to believe that his "mighty theme" is the meaning of life. Thus, the adventure of hunting the Great White Whale, Moby Dick, can be seen as a giant analogy to seeking the meaning of life. Through this journey, Ishmael describes the different members of the crew and their interpretation of the whale. Yet, Ishmael refrains from assigning one particular meaning to the whale and, in the end, is the only crewmember to survive the journey. Symbolically, Melville believes that an individual must be able to see many meanings in life in order to survive the trap of intolerance of different beliefs and lifestyles. To evidence this hypothesis, Melville presents a number of ironic contrasts in the text including religious hypocrisy, the false appearance of the sea, the relationship of Good and Evil, the coffin as a dual symbol of both life and death, the interpretations of the whiteness of the whale, and the life/death issue of the whaling industry. Through these contrasts, Melville strives to awaken the reader to the many meanings of life and to avoid limiting one’s mind to one, fixed meaning.

The first contrast that Melville develops revolves around the irony of a cannibalistic pagan whose true, loving character outshines his assumed evil nature. Before Queequeg is even officially introduced, both the reader and Ishmael receive intimidating information about his character. As the landlord of the Spouter-Inn relates, "That harpooneer is a dangerous man" (18) who sells human heads in the town. In fact, all the characteristics about Queequeg lead Ishmael to believe that he is a godless man, and one to be feared. These qualities include his cannibalistic tendencies, ceremonial pagan worshipping, and "unearthly tattooings" (48). In fact, Ishmael states that Queequeg’s idolatry "convinced me that he must indeed be a heathen" (22).

However, because of Ishmael’s accepting nature, the savage is able to prove his harmlessness. Interestingly, the pair sleeps in the same bed and Ishmael attests to his gentleness: "Upon waking next morning about daylight, I found Queequeg’s arm thrown over me in the most loving and affectionate manner. You had almost thought I had been his wife" (24). By developing Queequeg into a kind individual while maintaining his rough characteristics, Melville hopes to coax the reader to not merely accept appearance but to take the initiative to discover other possible angles to any situation. For had Ishmael merely slept in the same bed as Queequeg, without interaction and in fear of his barbarism, he would have remained ignorant of Queequeg’s dual character.

Additionally, Melville uses Queequeg’s pagan religion to highlight the hypocrisy of Christianity. Queequeg attests to the character of a group of Christian people who treated him very harshly, much unlike the preached "brotherly love" that disciples of Christ claim to show. Ironically, Queequeg insinuates that "he was fearful Christianity, or rather Christians, had unfitted him for ascending the pure and undefiled throne of thirty pagan Kings before him" (55). By ironically reversing the expected actions of pagans and Christians, Melville hopes to prompt the reader to question conventional meanings of titles and labels in the future, so as to not assign a particular meaning to something without examining all possibilities first. He also elevates Ishmael’s character beyond the conventional Christian, who may object to taking part in worshipping an idol, by temporarily partaking of Queequeg’s religious traditions in order to serve his fellow man.

Melville also testifies to the danger in trusting appearance as he describes the vast ocean waters that surround him. While in one of his contemplative moods at sea one day, Ishmael directly addresses the reader: "Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the loveliest tints of azure" (267-268). Just as he had previously misjudged Queequeg’s character from his appearance and actions, Ishmael warns the reader that it is easy to judge the waters of the ocean that reflect tranquility, without perceiving the dangers that threaten from beneath. Symbolically, perhaps Melville is cautioning humankind from merely accepting the false reflections of life. Beware, Melville would warn: the unsuspecting who venture into the seemingly calm waters of life will discover the merciless currents and preying animals, but not soon enough to save themselves.

In fact, Melville describes this very narrow-mindedness, as possessed by Ahab, which eventually leads to the downfall of the captain. His obsession with hunting Moby Dick stems from his inability to view the whale as anything other than the embodiment of evil. Because Ahab labels Moby Dick as synonymous with evil, he dedicates his life to destroying the whale and thus ridding the entire world of evil. This rationale sets the stage for Ahab’s fault in not considering the drawbacks of his quest to destroy evil. At first, one would agree that ridding the world of evil is a most upright and noble purpose. No more pain, suffering or injustice would exist; how could one possible question this motive? But Melville urges the reader to consider the opposite of evil and how it will be affected if evil becomes extinct. Ishmael states, "For there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself" (52). This insight supports the hypothesis that Good cannot exist without its opposite, Evil. However, Ahab’s limited view prevents him from considering this possible conflict and he continues toward his unobtainable goal, only to lead him to his own self-destruction.

Just as Evil is commonly, and falsely according to Melville, pigeonholed as a non-beneficial element of the world, people tend to categorize a coffin as a symbol of death. True, it is frequently used as a housing unit in burial of the dead. In fact, probably few persons make or purchase a coffin with an intended use other than burying a corpse. Melville, however, once again succeeds in expanding the horizon of the coffin’s use in order to stress the universality of any object.

For the majority of the story, the coffin serves for the conventional, burial purpose. For example, while at sea the carpenter crafts a coffin for the dying Queequeg. Melville waits to reveal the coffin’s multi-purpose usefulness until the latter part of the book, when Starbuck exclaims, "A life-buoy of a coffin!" (503). At this point, the coffin becomes a central structure to the remainder of the story. Many crewmembers, including the carpenter who is ordered to reshape the coffin, do not accept the versatility of the coffin. The carpenter voices his concern as he exclaims, "Are all my pains to go for nothing with that coffin? And now I’m ordered to make a life-buoy of it . . . I don’t like this cobbling sort of business – I don’t like it at all; it’s undignified; it’s not my place" (503). The carpenter wrestles with accepting new meaning to a structure; he assumes that because he created the wooden box for a coffin, it can only fully reach its potential usefulness if used as a coffin. The fact that he believes that "it’s not my place" to reassign a different purpose for the wooden box symbolizes the carpenter’s inflexible vision of the meaning of life. Additionally, he states, "I like to take in hand none but clean, virgin, fair-and-square mathematical jobs, something that regularly begins at the beginning, and is at the middle when midway, and comes to an end at the conclusion" (504). The carpenter only feels comfortable with clear-cut, mathematical concepts. If he does not find one, singular answer to a problem, he becomes distraught with ambiguity.

Melville demonstrates another poignant contrast in the creation of the coffin. The carpenter takes many efforts to customize the coffin for Queequeg’s height and size as Ishmael describes the carpenter, "Measured on it the exact length the coffin was to be" (461). Ironically, the actual use of the coffin as a life preserver need not have specific dimensions. In fact, the box could have been a square; the importance lies in its buoyancy. Perhaps Melville hopes to highlight the waste of time that individuals spend by trying to prepare their lifestyles for one, singular belief. Because one will not fathom any other purpose for an object other than their own, one wastes valuable time and effort.

After the carpenter agrees to transform the coffin, however, the coffin’s purpose becomes a life buoy and proves, at the end of the novel, to be a most useful lifesaver.

Ishmael reveals that he uses the buoyancy of Queequeg’s coffin to stay afloat amidst the violent ocean waters that threaten to drown him. Ironically, this coffin (that is normally the last earthly object that a dead body has contact with) is Ishmael’s only route of escape from death. In the epilogue, Ishmael relates the phenomenon: "I was then, but slowly, drawn towards the closing vortex . . . (yet) liberated by reason of its cunning spring, and, owing to its great buoyancy, rising with great force, the coffin life-buoy shot lengthwise from the sea, fell over, and floated by my side" (552). The reader can infer that because Ishmael does not limit himself to one purpose or meaning of the Great White Whale and life, the coffin/life-buoy similarly is not limited to one use.

On embarking upon the quest for the meaning of life in Melville’s tale, perhaps the reader should also concentrate on the other end of the spectrum, his meaning of death. Obviously, the whaling industry presents an innumerable amount of danger. From the moment the boat leaves port, many problems could arise that would threaten the life of the entire crew. These problems include uncontrollable and unpredictable weather disasters, the threat of sickness and lack of medication, and many dangers posed along each stage of pursuing and killing a whale. In order to support the true danger of a whaling voyage, Ishmael offers the probable reaction of a courageous officer of war:

"Let me assure ye that many a veteran who has freely marched up to a battery, would quickly recoil at the apparition of the Sperm Whale’s vast tail, fanning into eddies the air over his head" (103). Death, then, lingers in every moment at sea and Mother Nature seems to command its attack.

Yet, paradoxically, Ishmael guarantees that whaling instills unsurpassed life into those who accept its challenges. In the first chapter of the novel Ishmael praises the vivacity that whaling adds to his life. He questions,

For, whenever Ishmael feels the strain of life on land, materialism and other superficialities, he escapes to the sea for rejuvenation. In reflection of this observation, Ishmael continues, "Surely all this is not without meaning" (3). Conclusively, although Ishmael fully realizes the perils of whaling, he accepts these obstacles because they are far outweighed by the contrasted benefits. The alternative of remaining on land – although his age may flourish longer – will kill his spirit. To Ishmael, death at sea is an ironic awakening.

Melville writes the culminating chapter of Moby Dick entitled "The Whiteness of the Whale" in order to encapsulate his belief in comprehending multiple meanings of life. Ishmael communicates the importance of his assessments, despite his difficulties, by declaring, "But how can I hope to explain myself here; and yet, in some dim, random way, explain myself I must, else all these chapters might be naught" (181). In this chapter, Ishmael describes the numerous meanings of the color white that may pertain to the White Whale. Particular symbolisms include its ability to enhance natural beauty, the superiority of the white race over "every dusky tribe" (in his era), and "whiteness typifies the majesty of Justice" (181). Additionally, white is "the symbol of the divine spotlessness and power" (181), and holds religious significance, particularly in "the celebration of the Passion of our Lord" (182). All of these positive connotations elevate an object with white color.

Ishmael warns, however, that white also possesses many negative implications when he cautions, "There yet lurks an elusive something in the innermost idea of this hue, which strikes more of panic to the soul than that redness which affrights in blood" (182). These frightful symbols include white’s ghastliness, its connection with apparitions, and the "supernaturalism of this hue" (184). Ishmael particularly focuses on the "Albino man" who "repels and often shocks the eye, as that sometimes he is loathed by his own kith and kin!" (184). He also offers the contrast "As an essence whiteness is not so much a color as the visible absence of color, and at the same time the concrete of all colors" (188). By offering all of these vastly different meanings and associations of white, Ishmael supports his refusal to reserve a particular meaning of the White Whale. Undoubtedly, Ahab has not considered another meaning besides evil for Moby Dick and is doomed to perish in the sea of life. Ishmael, on the other hand, serves as a model by not limiting his view of the White Whale and embracing all of the interpretations. In this allegory, Melville hopes to convince mankind to welcome different meanings of life that are evidenced in institutions such as religion and culture.

Each individual contrast in Moby Dick is related to the reader from Ishmael’s perspective. Besides taking on the task of narration, Ishmael is an invaluable character because without his openness to different perspectives, the reader would, most likely, assign one particular meaning to the White Whale. In fact, if Melville had substituted a more narrow-minded character for Ishmael, the reader would have believed Queequeg is an evil savage, the sea is truly gentle and unthreatening, and liberating the world from all Evil strengthens its opposite, Good. Because the narrator would not have accepted the multiple uses for Queequeg’s coffin, he would have perished in the sea with the rest of the crew. Furthermore, the narrator would not have appreciated whaling for the dual purpose of attaining a higher intensity of life while toying with death. Fortunately, Melville effectively personifies the analytical Ishmael so that the reader gains unrivaled insight into the meaning of life and is not limited by Captain Ahab’s quest to destroy Evil. Just as Ishmael humbly admits his ignorance at the true meaning of life, "Dissect him how I may, then, I but go skin deep; I know him not and never will. But if I know not even the tail of this whale, how understand his head?" (367), the strength in Melville’s novel rests in the lack of one, singular answer to the question that has haunted mankind since the beginning of time. Identifying and accepting many meanings of life, by highlighting a contrast that lies in each interpretation, saves the soul from fooling itself into believing that the complexity of the universe is humanly intelligible.