Drew Kocher

Moby Dick - All things to all

Moby Dick is a novel written by Herman Melville. The large, white whale in the novel, named Moby Dick, is many things to the different crew members of the Pequod. The whale is something different Ismael than to Queequeg, Stubb, Starbuck, or Captain Ahab. Each of them interprets Moby Dick differently. Also, the novel as a whole represents different things on different levels. The levels that are present in the novel are a literal level, a symbolic level, and an allegory level. Each level interprets Moby Dick differently.

Moby Dick is a story about whaling. Captain Ahab is on his ship, the Pequod, one day, when he encounters Moby Dick for the first time. During this encounter, Moby Dick ends up taking off part off Captain Ahab's leg. After that, Ahab vows to hunt down and kill Moby Dick at all costs. So, a crew that thinks it is going whaling with Captain Ahab, ends up realizing that the main purpose of the expedition was not to kill just any whale, but to kill Moby Dick. All of the crew members end up being killed by Moby Dick, except for Ismael, who survives.

To Ismael, the whale is many things. Ismael is a newcomer to the whaling industry and wants to find everything out about it that he can about whaling and life. He is an everyman. He is just like the average person. The whale is the ungraspable phantom of life to Ismael. He wants to find out what life is. He sees the whale as the ungraspable phantom of life because he can never see all of the whale, part of it is always covered by the water. It is just like life. You can never see all of life, only parts of it are able to be seen. He also sees Moby Dick as nature and all of its wonder. Moby Dick is a huge, beautiful animal and Ismael sees this. Though many others around him want to kill the whale, Ismael has found a peace with him. He finds Moby Dick to be a truly beautiful thing.

Moby Dick is also many things to Queequeg. Queequeg is a cannibal and a harpooner on the Pequod. He sees Moby Dick as a father. He is one with nature and is a Christ figure. Since he is a Christ figure, the whale may be God to him. That would make him Queequeg's father. Queequeg does many things that prove that he is a Christ figure. He signs his name with a fish. The fish is a Christian symbol. He is also an outsider, like Christ. Another thing that makes him a Christ figure is that he saves Ismael, when he is in danger, like Christ did when others were in trouble. One more thing that shows Queequeg is a Christ figure is that he is able to foresee his own death, like Christ did. If Queequeg is a Christ figure, then Moby Dick is God and the all-powerful. That would make Moby Dick his father. Moby Dick may also be Queequeg's brother. Queequeg is one with nature and lives a naturalistic lifestyle. He does not live a civilized or materialistic lifestyle. He lives in nature. He is just like any other animal in the wild. Since Moby Dick is a whale and part of nature, he is a brother to Queequeg, like all other animals in nature. Moby Dick may also be the devil to Queequeg. Since he is a Christ figure, Queequeg may see Moby Dick as pure evil.That would make Moby Dick the devil.

Stubb is the second mate on the ship. He feels laughter is the cure to all that is weird in life. He feels Moby Dick is like a god. He says that whales can do absolutely anything, just like a god. He says that if God were a fish, he would be a whale, just like Moby Dick. He also sees Moby Dick as life. Stubb is constantly laughing, but he does not laugh at life. When he sees Moby Dick, he does not laugh. He finally sees what life is when he witnesses Moby Dick.

Starbuck is the first mate on the ship. He is a very constant character. He feels one way about something and never changes his mind about it. He sees Moby Dick as just a whale. He feels Moby Dick is no different than any other whale that he hunts. He does not feel that Moby Dick is more special than any of the other whales. He feels that a whale is only something to be killed for money. So, when Captain Ahab tells them to leave a place that is full of whales, just to find Moby Dick, Starbuck is angered. He thinks the whales are sent by God and you should not go against the will of God. He fears the wrath of God. So, he tells Ahab "to be enrages with a dumb brute (Moby Dick) that smite thee out of blind instinct is just blastfulness." He thinks Ahab should forget about Moby Dick and they should kill the whales currently around them before they leave. Another thing that shows Moby Dick is just a whale to Starbuck is that when Ahab is killed, Starbuck still says to go after Mob Dick and kill him, because they are whalers and Moby Dick is just a whale.

Ahab, who is captain of the Pequod and wants revenge on Moby Dick, feels differently than Starbuck. Ahab never sees Moby Dick as just a whale. Ahab sees the whale as a god. Ahab is sort of evil. He may be the devil. His mother cursed him and gave him an evil name from The Bible. He spit in the holy goblet at Valapraiso. God also struck Ahab with lightning, splitting him in half. If Ahab is the devil, Moby Dick would be God. Moby Dick would be God because, he and Ahab are completely opposite of each other. Ahab sees himself going to hell. Therefore, Moby Dick is good and is God. But, Ahab also sees Moby Dick as the devil. He sees him as being all that is evil in the universe. Ahab believes Moby Dick is an evil and destructive being that bit off Ahab's leg for no reason. He feels Moby Dick did it just because he is the devil. Ahab never sees Moby Dick as just a whale. He sees more. He believes all visible objects are pasteboard masks. He feels that it is what is behind the mask that is important.

Moby Dick is many things on different levels. The literal level is what the story said. There is no interpretation involved. On a literal level, Moby Dick is an excellent story about whaling. It involves all of the important details of a great whaling story. It includes the way the crew hunts down, kills, and skins whales. It also tells all about the crew, the boat, the whales, and what is used on a whaling expedition. Everything needed to make a great whaling story are included.

Moby Dick is also different on a symbolic level. Symbolic is something that represents, or stands for, something else. Some characters in the novel have names from The Bible. Each character that has a biblical name is a lot like the corresponding person in The Bible. The characters with biblical names are Ahab, Ismael, and Elijah. There is also a boat named Rachael. A person named Rachael is also found in The Bible. God is also symbolized in the novel. Moby Dick may be the main representation of God. He could do anything and was very powerful. You should not go against God. you will be punished if you do. All of the crew members who went against Moby Dick were killed. So, that could mean that Moby Dick is God. There were also seagulls flying around that would only land on Moby Dick. Those seagulls represent the angels of God. So, seagulls are the angels of Moby Dick.

There is also a lot of allegory involved in Moby Dick. Allegory is a symbolic journey through life. One allegory is man vs. nature. The crew of the Pequod fought against all of the whales and against Moby Dick. But, they ended up failing. Another allegory is man vs. God. Multiple times in Moby Dick Ahab went against the will of God. He spit in the holy goblet earlier in his life. He also went away from a vast number of whales sent to him by God. Also, Moby Dick could be God. That would make another time that Ahab went against God. He went against Moby Dick by having an on going need to gain revenge on Moby Dick. Ahab went against Moby Dick. Therefore, he went against God.

Another allegory is the crew of the Pequod as a microcosm. A microcosm is something that represents the whole world, only to a smaller scale. The crew of the Pequod was made up of people from all over the world. They were of different races, religions, cultures, and civilizations. But, they all were able to work together for the common purpose of hunting whales. It is like all of the people of the world working together for survival. Whaling being a way of life is another It showed the hardships and troubles that whalers went through. It may have been a popular industry, but it was not glamourous. One last allegory in Moby Dick was the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was a very big industry in New England. Whale Oil was the biggest industry in the country during the Industrial Revolution. Just like the Industrial Revolution, the crew of the Pequod destroyed nature while whaling. The name Starbuck, which was the name of the first mate, is also part of the Industrial Revolution. The first part, star, refers to his constant character. The second part, buck, refers to his want for money through whaling. Money was a key factor to many during the Industrial Revolution.

Moby Dick is a novel written by Herman Melville. The whale, Moby Dick, represents different things to the crew members of the Pequod. He ranges from being just a whale, to being all that is evil in the universe. The novel itself is also different things on different levels. It ranges from being a great story about whaling to symbolizing the Industrial Revolution. The whale and novel could be just about anything if you thought about it long enough.
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