Moby Dick is truly the main character of the book as the title shows. Although he is only in three chapters out of the whole, he takes on a big role to the crewmembers, especially Ahab. Firstly he becomes the focus of the whole whaling trip of the Peaquod. Moby Dick is not an ordinary whale. He has many features that set him apart. With his physical size and stature he towers over the sea, controlling everybody with fear. Other than the obvious physical obscurities, there are many symbols hidden in Melville’s whale. He has religious meaning, along with a national meaning, and an environmental meaning. Moby Dick is white. His color alone connects him to many things including religion. In Christianity white means pureness. Ishmael goes through a whole shpeel in chapter 42 literally named, the whiteness of the whale where he describes the many things that the color white means and what it is used for including how “it has been made the symbol of the divine spotlessness and power; by the Persian fire worshippers, the white forked flame being held the holiest on the altar; and in the Greek mythologies, Great Jove himself being made incarnate in a snow-white bull…to the noble Iroquois, the midwinter sacrifice of the sacred White Dog was by far the holiest festival of their theology, that spotless, faithful creature being held the purest envoy they could send to the Great Spirit with the annual tidings of their own fidelity; and though directly from the Latin word for white, all Christian priests derive the name of one part of their sacred vesture, the alb or tunic, worn beneath the cassock; and though among the holy pomps of the Romish faith, white is specially employed in the celebration of the Passion of our Lord” (Melville 354-355).... ... middle of paper ... ...he environment. Back then whaling had to be evenmessier and was not good for the water to leave parts behind, or take away an animal from it’s natural habitat for human use. uNowadays there are ideas of global warming that take o the same concept. People get mad because society as a whole does not take care of the environment. There are laws about littering and many activists groups that try to persuade society on how to live their life. In the end of this book nature won, but in the end of the world who will come out on top? Melville uses Moby Dick to challenge views on different opinions about Good vs Evil, Determination vs being content, Nature vs Humans. Moby Dick plays on both sides of each opinion and floats back and forth with his actions that make the audience use their own opinion as to which is true. There is endless symols held by the giant white whale.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how moby dick is the main character of the book. he takes on a big role to the crewmembers, especially ahab.
- Analyzes how moby dick's color alone connects him to many things including religion. in christianity, white means pureness. ishmael describes the whiteness of the whale as the symbol of divine spotlessness.
- Analyzes how moby dick acts as an omniscient god of the seas. he leads the whalers in their search for spermaceti oil and has crazy powers that he used to kill everyone except ishmael.
- Analyzes how moby dick can take on both sides of each argument. captain ahab sees him as the reincarnation of evil.
- Analyzes how melville turned bad things into lessons. the peaquod represented america, and the darker skinned males were the harpooners.
- Analyzes how the peaquod followed on a destructive path towards moby dick. ahab refused to stop on his delirious mission and became to represent the doom of america.
- Analyzes how moby dick refuted transcendentalism, which claimed that all things were connected, but the relationship was nothing but pleasant. tv shows like whale wars harp on whale hunting and how it effects the species.
- Analyzes how melville uses moby dick to challenge views on different opinions about good vs evil, determination versus being content, nature vs humans. he plays on both sides of each opinion and floats back and forth.
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- Melvilles Moby Dickanalytical essayMelvilles Moby Dick Melville was born in a time of American history where inspiring works of American literature began to emerge. It was also a time when America had not completely separated its literary heritage from Europe, partly because there were successful literary genius’ flourishing there. Melville proved to be a genius of his own, with his many works such as Moby Dick, Billy Bud, and Bartleby. Three distinct themes could be seen throughout most of his literature; whales and the whaling industry, commentary on the universe and human destiny, and ideas about God and nature. Moby Dick is an incredible work by Melville most often referred to as an epic, a tragedy, a novel, an exposition on the whaling, and a spiritual autobiography.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that melville's moby dick was born in a time when inspiring works of american literature began to emerge. three distinct themes were seen throughout most of his literature: whales and the whaling industry, commentary on the universe and human destiny.
- Explains that herman melville was born on august 1, 1819, to allan and maria. he was described as silent and slow; his mother thought him a dull child.
- Explains that melville's perspective on life was that god created the universe with an infinite number of meanings and man is always trying to determine one specific meaning.
- Analyzes how melville's work resembles this article, except the use of the name and basic idea. the reason for the transfer from mocha to moby is a mystery.
- Analyzes how melville rediscovered his lost buddy of the acushnet and fellow deserter on the marquesas, richard tobias greene, and began 'the story of toby'.
- Analyzes how ishmael's role in moby dick is to interpret the happenings about the pequod and its crew.
- Analyzes the symbolic relationship between ishmael and the pequod's captain, ahab, which was short.
- Analyzes how the harpooners wildly gesticulated with their huge pronged forks and dippers; the ship groaned and dived, and scornfully champed the white bone in her mouth and viciously spat round her on all sides.
- Compares melville's use of phrases and words such as "unholy," "huge pronged forks", "red hell" and "flames" to satan’s eternal fight for revenge against god
- Analyzes how melville's descriptions of nature have a romantic sense to them. the sea is vast, blue space in which the lives of the crew aboard the pequod.
- Opines that the iron crown of lombardy is too heavy that they wear.
- Explains that most objects, such as characters and settings, are representative of more symbolic meaning. moby dick is a symbol of all that is unattainable in the universe.
- Analyzes how melville's metaphors indicate the condition of man and about his uncertainty in the universe we live in.
- Analyzes how melville's goal was to indicate the condition of man and his uncertainty in the universe. he represented objects with ideas and beliefs of deeper meaning.
- Opines that an adventure loving reader will read this book and only focus on the action rather than what melville was trying to portray. moby dick can be significant to a reader seeking to know more about man’s relation to the universe.
1790 wordsRead More - Moby Dickopinionated essayMoby Dick I. Biographical Insights A. The culture this great author was a part of was the time in American history where inspiring works of literature began to emerge. It was also a time when American writers had not completely separated its literary heritage from Europe, partly because there were successful literary genius' flourishing there. B. Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819, he was the son of Allan and Maria Melville.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the time in american history in which this great author was a part of.
- Explains that b. herman melville was born on august 1, 1819, he was the son of allan and maria.
- Describes melville's "lessons" that he is likely to weave into his writing.
- Analyzes how ishmael's role in the hunt for "moby dick" is to interpret what is.
- Analyzes how ugly ishmael sees that queequeg has an honest heart, great honor, and a lot of respect.
- Opines that the jagged edge galls them so, their brain seems to beat.
- Explains that ideas are moby dick who is a symbol of all of the things in the universe.
- Opines that the meaning of any object lies in the beholder of the object and not its object.
- Explains that the literature he is referring to do not have name of the works but only the names of works.
- Opines that it's too late to make any changes.
- Opines that one can improve the present state of the universe once he has acted on his actions.
- Opines that it is difficult for the average man to comprehend. at best he can just figure it out.
- Explains that 's goal in this novel was to indicate the condition of the character.
- Analyzes how a man's decision once took him to the ocean.
- Narrates how herman decided he needed to go to sea after a short time in new york city.
- Analyzes how ishmael's personality changes, since he is the narrator, and doesn't talk about himself.
- Opines that ishmael's conflict was that he saw how ahab was such an evil man and was a good natured man.
- Opines that the iron crown of lombardy is too heavy that they wear. yet is it bright with many a gem; i, the wearer, see not its far flashings, but darkly fell.
- Analyzes how the details used to make us feel like we are watching a sunset are that the warm waves blush like wine.
- Analyzes how uses similes to compare the colored waves of the sunset to wine.
- Explains that the sea represents a man's life, it symbolizes the fears that he must overcome in life to gain fuller understanding of life.
- Opines that this novel has influenced their attitudes and beliefs on the destiny of man and has shown them that there is more than one view of every object.
- Opines that an adventure loving reader will read this book and focus on what went on rather than what the novel was trying to say.
1407 wordsRead More - A Comparison Of Moy Dick And Moby Dickanalytical essayMoby Dick is one of the greatest books written in American literature but when it was first made, Herman Melville was shamed for writing it and hated. After a while Moby Dick was noticed from being a book everyone hated to one of the most popular pieces of literature now. The title Moby Dick is known by almost everyone in America. Originally Moby Dick was called The Whale that was originally published in 1851 but was changed to Moby Dick in a later date. The book starts out with a very famous line called “call me ishmael” which was the name of the main character/narrator who goes out to sea as a merchant and wants to go on a whale adventure. Captain Ahab gathers his crew to hunt down Moby Dick even though they were supposed to go to get oil
In this essay, the author
- Explains that moby dick is one of the greatest books written in american literature but herman melville was shamed for writing it and hated.
- Analyzes how ahab became a monster filled with one sole purpose of revenge to kill moby dick for destroying his leg.
- Analyzes how ahab doesn't know the difference in when to deal with his problems at his own time compared to forcing everyone to help him and disrespecting all of his crew
- Opines that herman melville's book should be used in the school learning process because it teaches you about a perfect theme called revenge.
1156 wordsRead More - Analysis of Moby-Dickanalytical essayUltimately, it is the role of the reader to find meaning within this epic work. The doubloon stands as an allegory for the choices a man must make and the reasons for those choices. Each character throughout the passage, from Ishmael to Ahab, has separate reasons for partaking in the voyage to hunt for Moby-Dick. These characters represent different emotions and different reasoning of humans, however, they all are guided under one banner and one cause. The reader is left to dissect what each crew member is looking for and why Melville wrote this work. But perhaps it is this very pursuit for meaning that comprises Melville’s deep and elaborate story about a man and a whale.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how melville paints the crew of the pequod into a microcosm of actual society, where every character represents some human facet and the golden coin nailed to the mast peers into the souls of each shipmate.
- Analyzes how starbuck sees the coin as a symbol for god's watch on the crew. the doubloon contrasts heaven and hell by the moldy soil and the bright sun.
- Analyzes how ahab, a maniacal tyrant who commandeers his fellow sailors to doom, is an example of how motivation can not only destroy one person’s life, but the lives of the people around him.
- Analyzes how the doubloon stands as an allegory for the choices a man must make and the reasons for those choices. the reader is left to dissect what each crew member is looking for.
- Analyzes how the talisman implanted against the mast is only a symbol for the possible wealth ahead.
- Analyzes how each character interprets the doubloon as a metaphor for the search for meaning in life.
- Analyzes how ahab sees the doubloon as a reflection of himself, both metaphorically and literally.
1543 wordsRead More - Moby Dick: Culturally Aceptableanalytical essayContained in the text of Moby Dick, Herman Melville uses many widely cultural symbols, stories and actions to tell the tale of a whaling ship bent on the desires of its captains abhorrence for a real, and also symbolic, creature in the form of an albino sperm whale named Moby Dick. The time is 1851 and civil unrest is looming just over the horizon: slavery is the main point of interest in American politics, the last major novel released was The Scarlet Letter, Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th president following the untimely death of then president Zachary Taylor; the Fugitive Slave Act legally mandates all runaway slaves to be returned to their owners (regardless of what state in the union they were found); and religion is a driving force that defines both social and political actions. These among other things effected and determined the cultural climate of the United States found in Moby Dick. Herman Melville uses an isolated boat analogously to create and explore a microcosm of American culture and civilization. The story of Moby Dick is more than one of revenge, but an allegory of American culture and political unrest.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how melville's lessons in tolerance were perhaps ahead of their time to an american culture of 1851.
- Analyzes how melville, knowing how religious the populace of america was in 1851, used the same name when having elijah predict the doom of the pequod that is sailing under captain ahab.
- Analyzes how herman melville uses many widely cultural symbols, stories and actions to tell the tale of a whaling ship bent on the desires of its captains abhorrence for an albino sperm whale named moby dick.
- Analyzes how melville was known to respect and think in high regard to nathaniel hawthorne, who in 1850 released the scarlet letter. the dichotomy of the pequod's crew reflects how the american socio-economic structure was at this time.
- Analyzes how melville created an allegory for slavery, tolerance, leadership, and the political climate of america.
1943 wordsRead More - A Whale of a Story: Moby Dickanalytical essayLocated in the dark, cold pages of Moby Dick lies evil, an evil by the name of mankind. Mankind snarls its teeth into the face of nature and fellow-man by character development and a thick plot. By diving into the characters and the author, the motives of these individuals is shown clearly through the murky water.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how moby dick's dark, cold pages reveal evil, an evil by the name of mankind. mankind snarls its teeth into the face of nature and fellow-man by character development and a thick plot.
- Analyzes herman melville's motives, driven towards the dark side of humanity, which is believed that humans show evil through their actions.
- Analyzes how the characters are involved in the belief of the anti-transcendental philosophy and how each character acts with nature and each other.
- Analyzes how captain ahab exemplifies the example of anti-transcendental. he seeks the great white whale of moby dick and shows his evil side towards nature. queequeg is mentally disturbing.
- Analyzes how j.k. rowling's harry potter series encounters many evil characters through their actions, such as voldemort, victor krum, and ron weasley.
- Explains that both harry potter and moby dick exemplify the anti-transcendental philosophy. both books have characters that show evil with their actions but both have good hearts and are the survivors of both books.
554 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Moby-Dick By Herman Melvilleanalytical essayAbstract: There are many Analyst who would agree that the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, the whale is just half of what the novel is really talking about. They would also agree that Melville employs some sort of spiritual read by simply by providing scriptures and rephrasing verses from the Bible into the text. But what is it really about? What made Melville come up with this idea style of writing Moby-Dick? Other analyst who also asked themselves this questions, probably looked deeper into the novel doing tons of research figured out a possible solution. The solution that Melville was influenced by Shakespeare novel ‘Hamlet’ this has been established because of the allusions Melville makes to Hamlet are countless. Moby-Dick may be a contemporary version of Hamlet. This paper will illustrate how the characters of Moby-Dick counterparts with the characters in Hamlet, expanding the reason why the character in one works with the other.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how herman melville's novel, moby-dick, is a contemporary version of hamlet.
- Analyzes how melville uses hamletmelville great american novel to prove the superiority of american literature and american nation.
253 wordsRead More - Reading Moby-Dick as Ethnic Allegoryanalytical essayBrodhead, Richard H. "Trying All Things: An Introduction to Moby-Dick. New Essays on Moby-Dick or, The Whale. ed. Richard H. Brodhead. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes herman melville's unconventional portrayal of a non-white character, queequeg, which demonstrates his indecisive anxiety between an imagined fantasy of an alternative social reality and the historical reality of american westward expansionism.
- Analyzes how moby-dick illustrates and confronts the ways in which "white" america expresses a desire for hegemonic control.
- Analyzes how queequeg is introduced in the first fourth of the novel by ishmael, whose initial fascination with his seemingly cryptic actions and mannerisms soon develops into feelings of an ambiguously sexual/fraternal nature.
- Analyzes how the devil offered politely to yojo, but he never moved his lips. strange antics were accompanied by guttural noises from the devotee, who seemed to be praying in a singsong.
- Analyzes how ishmael senses the primitive unreadable tribal wisdom sought by and inherent in queequeg via this "pagan" enactment of devotion.
- Analyzes how melville's tactics to familiarize us with queequeg and his "strange" customs are undermined when, upon embarkation of the pequod, he virtually disappears from the narrative.
- Analyzes how queequeg used his coffin as a sea-chest, emptying into it his canvas bag of clothes, and carving the lid with all manner of grotesque figures and drawings.
- Analyzes how ishmael's decription of queequeg as "a riddle to unfold" recalls a lightly disguised version of an expansionist mentality.
- Analyzes how melville distinguishes between ishmael and queequeg's ethnic crewmembers.
- Analyzes how melville invites multiple interpretations of the pequod and its demise. james duban cross-reads it as both religious and political allegory.
- Analyzes how ishmael's expansionist mentality typifies the enthusiasm that fostered both the abuses of manifest destiny and the issue of whether to extend slavery
- Analyzes how duban sees "ishmael's expansionist mentality" allegorically illustrating the abuses incurred by the manifest destiny myth, mexican territorialism, and slavery, but his reading neglects melville'
- Proposes a reading that is slightly different from duban's but not entirely conflicting. on the sea, queequeg and the rest of the crew have been spatially removed.
- Analyzes how the final scene reveals a curious occurrence: ishmael, the lone survivor, is saved and resuscitated by queequeg's coffin.
- Recounts how they floated on a soft and dirge-like main, buoyed by the coffin lifebuoy and unharming sharks.
- Analyzes how queequeg's coffin, an ironic symbol of both death and life, is able to save ishmael from an almost-certain death. its strange powers even have a repellent effect on the sharks.
- Analyzes how the calmness and passivity embodied in the coffin offers an alternative ending in contrast to ahab's belligerence and ultimately violent death.
- Analyzes how melville posits queequeg as a potential "hero" figure despite the emphasis on his non-white, christian persona — his nonaggressive, spiritually placid demeanor takes on significance after being exposed to ahab's concentrated version of an epic hero.
- Analyzes how tashtego's nailing of the flag as the ship sinks illustrates a non-white character making the final gesture of valiance. his death is notably glorious.
- Narrates how the last whelmings intermixed themselves over the sunken head of the indian at the main-mast...the submerged savage kept his hammer frozen there.
- Analyzes how the triumph expressed in this scene bears resemblance to that of queequeg's coffin buoying up ishmael.
- Analyzes how melville's unconventional portrayal of queequeg, whose presence is crucial but inconsistent throughout the novel, indicates his unwillingness to pigeon-hole him as a novelistic convention or racial stereotype.
- Explains that berkhofer, robert f., the white man's indian: images of the american indian from columbus to the present.
- Describes brodhead's new essays on moby-dick or, the whale.
- Explains mcintosh, james, and brodhead's new essays on moby-dick or, the whale.
- Cites yarborough, richard, and eric sundquist in new essays on uncle tom's cabin.
2738 wordsRead More - The Problem Of Democracy In Harold Kaplan's Moby Dickanalytical essayHarold Kaplan states “that democracy and its moral dilemmas, particularly the problem of human equality, obsessed Melville at the time he was writing Moby-Dick. His mood was almost defiant on the subject…” (164). Melville’s views on the subject were shared by Nathaniel Hawthorne and in a letter to Hawthorne, he elaborates on his “ruthless democracy” in Moby-Dick – “It is but natural to be shy of a mortal who boldly declares that a thief in jail is as honourable a personage as Gen. George Washington. This is ludicrous. But Truth is the silliest thing under the sun” (Melville as quoted in Kaplan 164). In the novel such egotistic claims to Truth, on which the entire edifice of the colonial worldview was erected, as professed by the hubristic white
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how melville's belief in a "spirit of equality" unites the meanest orders of mankind with the noblest like george washington under the "royal mantle of humanity."
- Analyzes how ishmael's encounter with new bedford recasts him in the image of the early heroic voyagers who braved the untamed wilderness in establishing the new frontier.
- Analyzes how ishmael's relationship with queequeg is pivotal in bringing about the growth of his character. he recognizes the shadow line dividing the ‘self/other’ binary and establishes a strong relationship of equivalence and reciprocity.
- Analyzes how the principle of organization on board the pequod draws a direct parallel with the world at large. ahab contrasts with ishmael in terms of his ‘intimacy’ he shuns and ‘distance’
- Analyzes how ahab is able to unite the crew by ties that seemingly go beyond race or class while maintaining his hegemony through a carefully systemized pecking order.
- Analyzes how ahab's fetishistic pursuit of the whale locates and fixes him inversely as a slave to nature.
- Analyzes how ahab's inability to reconcile himself with the limits of man’s potential posits him in sharp contrast to ishmael.
- Analyzes how ahab's reenactment of the satanic oppositional philosophy sets the stage for his fall.
- Concludes that the dangers to an imagined eminence of the self are not located in an exteriority but emanate from the space of inescapable interiority.
- Analyzes how ishmael's ideological and cultural horizon is entrenched in the calvinistic puritan framework at the onset of the novel.
- Analyzes how ishmael's interpersonal relationships are established through the contrary modes of intimacy and distance, and the adoption of one mode in opposition to the other functions as a relevant indicator of the character’s self-fashioned subjectivity.
3458 wordsRead More - The Unwitting Vehicle for Evil in Moby Dickopinionated essayAside from the more obvious considerations touching Moby Dick, which could not but occasionally awaken in any man's soul some alarm, there was another thought, or rather vague, nameless horror concerning him, which at times by its intensity completely overpower all the rest; and yet so mystical and well nigh ineffable was it, that I almost despair of putting it in comprehensible form. it was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me. 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.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that moby dick's symbolism is a patchwork of the "evil captain" and "nothingness" theories, which cause an unlucky (as opposed to ill-fated) captain to become the unwitting vehicle for evil.
- Analyzes how herman was intentionally being non-descript in order for everyone to interpret the book in a different way.
- Analyzes how herman is trying to invoke pity for the whale, but soon realized he was just inciting hate. he's going to change his mind and write something contradictory.
- Narrates how satan's ship, which would not sink to hell until she had dragged a living part of heaven along with her, and helmeted herself with it.
- Opines that mellville's quote is more potent than they want to deal with right now. he calls the whale a living part of heaven.
- Analyzes how herman uses clever coincidence to make us humanize the whale while simultaneously de-humanizing ahab.
- Narrates how they married a poor girl and sailed for cape horn, leaving her one dent in their marriage pillow-wife?
- Illustrates how starbuck consoles the captain and tells him that he is not evil. ahab has given up his "nothing" status, and so is subject to wants and desires incomprehensible to an "evil."
- Opines, "weep so, and i will murder thee! have a care, for ahab too is mad."
- Analyzes how pip has stared into the inky blackness of nothing, and unlike the other "nothings," understands his role. he learned about his non status and inability to do anything about it.
- Explains that ishmael is a "nothing" that understands "somethings" but remains sane. he is "good" and it has higher understanding than "evil."
- Opines that the whiteness of the whale appalled them, and wonders at the fiery hunt.
- Opines that stubb deserted pip, but he'll never desert him, as stubb did. if thou speakst thus, ahab's purpose keels up in him.
1327 wordsRead More