Good and Evil in Moby Dick

Good and Evil in a Morally Indifferent Universe in Moby Dick

The moral ambiguity of the universe is prevalent throughout Melville's Moby

Dick. None of the characters represent pure evil or pure goodness. Even

Melville's description of Ahab, whom he repeatedly refers to "monomaniacal,"

suggesting an amorality or psychosis, is given a chance to be seen as a

frail, sympathetic character. When Ahab's "monomaniac" fate is juxtaposed

with that of Ishmael, that moral ambiguity deepens, leaving the reader with

an ultimate unclarity of principle.

The final moments of Moby Dick bring the novel to a terse, abrupt climax.

The mutual destruction of the Pequod and the White Whale, followed by

Ishmael's epilogue occupies approximately half a dozen pages. Despite

Melville's previous tendency to methodically detail every aspect of whaling

life, he assumes a concise, almost journalistic approach in the climax.

Note that in these few pages, he makes little attempt to assign value

judgements to the events taking place. Stylistically, his narration is

reduced to brusque, factual phrases using a greater number of semicolons.

By ending the book so curtly, Melville makes a virtually negligible attempt

at denouement, leaving what value judgements exist to the reader.

Ultimately, it is the dichotomy between the respective fortunes of Ishmael

and Ahab that the reader is left with. Herein lies a greater moral

ambiguity than is previously suggested. Although Ishmael is the sole

survivor of the Pequod, it is notable that in his own way, Ahab fulfills his

desire for revenge by ensuring the destruction of the White Whale alongside

his own end. Despite the seeming superiority of Ishmael's destiny, Melville

does not explicitly indicate so. On the contrary, he subtly suggests that

Ishmael's survival is lonely and empty upon being rescued: "It was the

devious-cruising Rachel, that in her retracing search after her missing

children, only found another orphan." (724) That single instance of the

appellation "orphan" as applied to Ishmael speaks volumes when taken in

light of the destruction of the Pequod and her crew. Melville's inclusion

of Ishmael's survival as an epilogue, a suffix attached to the dramatic

destruction of the Pequod, suggests that Ishmael's survival is an

afterthought to the fate of Ahab and the rest of his crew. Ishmael's quiet

words at the beginning of the chapter, "Why then here does any one step

forth? —Because one did survive the wreck," (723) indicate a deep humility