Moby Dick Ishmael Character Analysis Essay

While reading a narrative such as Moby Dick, the audience is able to acknowledge the working conditions within the whaling industry as the operations include enforced procedures, hours of hard labor, and ultimately, constant distractions from the weather. When preparing to work on any ship, members are expected to have some experience of manual labor and not only be ready to follow captain’s orders, but also the daily routines and complete every task given to them. Pulling an example from The Specksynder, Ishmael generally explains how the rank of each member determines the type of routine and objectives required from that specific member. When discussing the role of a Speksnyder, Ishmael describes it as a “fat-cutter” who is somewhat of a leader on the deck that is in

If often leads shipmates to be vulnerable at times and even experience signs of trauma, such as Stubb when Ahab abused his authority against him during the confrontation. Although members are given assignments each day and follow them to avoid brutal punishments, Ishmael’s description implied that whoever has a high or low rank, such as the Specksynder, or however the agenda is assigned, shipmates are to work overtime most of the period. Speaking of working from day to night, it’s expected from workers to work throughout the day and at times, even sacrifice their sleep along with breaks especially if there’s a whale possibly close by. When Moby Dick was spotted close to the Pequod during The Chase, they spent three consecutive days on the hunt and there was no sign of rest, lunch, or sleep from anyone as they were to ordered to be in positions and chase after the whale. With the story demonstrating the procedure and process of capturing the whale, it not only shows another example of structured tasks, but also illustrates the hours and days of hard