The Impossibility of Man’s Returning to His Original Innocence In the novel Moby-Dick, Herman Melville explores the theme of the impossibility for a man to return to his original innocence, whether in the sense of the beginning of mankind or the innocence of a young child. Primarily written in the first person point of view and set on a mid-nineteenth century American whaling ship, the novel illustrates how the sailors on board the ship respond to the hardships and internal conflicts of whaling. Symbols, metaphors, biblical allusions, and personalities of main characters all weave into an intricate display of how all men become corrupt with varying forms of evil and how any attempts to reverse the effects are futile. In “The Quarter-Deck”, …show more content…
Looking at these three men on a spectrum, one could say that Starbuck is on the green (or “good”) end, Stubb is in the orange (a neutral character), and Flask is in the red end (or evil side of things). Starbuck’s demeanor consists of innocence and obedience. Stubb is abusive and a sloth who is at the same time jolly and happy with the idea that everything in life is predestinated and there is nothing to be done about it. Flask, the third and final mate, is short-minded and violent. Stubb’s abuse is highlighted in “Stubb’s Supper” when he forces Fleece to deliver a sermon to the sharks. He does this simply for his own amusement and for the feeling of power over another person. Later in the novel, Flask expresses his violent, inhumane side and unnecessarily stabs the whale that the crew has already injured and allowed to bleed out peacefully. While Starbuck appears never to have left his original innocence, his other two shipmates illustrate clearly the inability of man to return to his original innocence. Despite the fact that Starbuck is an innocent and religious man, even he is swayed by the dark influence of Captain Ahab. In “The Musket”, Starbuck goes below deck to Ahab’s cabin where he is found napping. Starbuck contemplates taking advantage of the moment to shoot Ahab in order to end the reckless behavior and selfish decisions. A hint of revenge is pulled into the scene when
Captain Jaggery then gets the key to the gun safe and goes on deck. He forces Charlotte to follow him. When he looks out to the crew see sees and extra member with one arm, the stowaway ( Mr.Cranick ). Mr.Cranick was the man that took off his arm on the last ship. Cranick pulls out the red-robin and declares the captain to unfit from being captain.
Analysis: Melville's Great American Novel draws on both Biblical and Shakespearean myths. Captain Ahab is "a grand, ungodly, god-like man … above the common" whose pursuit of the great white whale is a fable about obsession and over-reaching. Just as Macbeth and Lear subvert the natural order of things, Ahab takes on Nature in his
In conclusion, this essay analyzes the similarities and differences of the two stories written by Herman Melville, Billy Budd and Bartleby. The settings, characters, and endings in the two stories reveal very interesting comparisons and contrasts. The comparison and contrast also includes the interpretation of the symbolism that Melville used in his two stories. The characters, Billy and Bartleby, could even be considered autobiographical representatives of Herman Melville.
Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor is a critically acclaimed novella set around the shores of England in the last decade of the Eighteenth Century. The plot revolved around a young Sailor, Billy Budd, who was extracted from the ship he was originally on, The Rights of Man, and was oppressed to a British naval warship named the H.M.S. Billopotent. There were numerous allusions used throughout the novella that enhanced the meaning of this great work. The allusions used pertain towards myths, the Bible, History, and other works of literature. All of them together illuminate the true meaning of the entire novella.
Before exploring Ishmael, Ahab, and Moby Dick and their Biblical counterparts, it is important to understand Melville's background. He grew up as a baptized Calvinist in the Dutch Reformed Church. His parents trained him to obey God at all times, even if God’s commands seem unjust and cruel. However, he quickly turned against his faith after his father died. During his travels, he witnessed diseases, catastrophes, and hatred throughou...
it is notable that in his own way, Ahab fulfills his desire for revenge by
Brodhead, Richard H. "Trying All Things." New Essays on Moby-Dick. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge UP, 1986. 9. Print.
...thout writing fiction novels. The narrator is a symbol for Melville’s readers, and poor Bartleby is a symbol for Melville. The narrator demands Bartleby to keep copying his work, but Bartleby has stated numerous times that he “would prefer not to”. Melville is against writing more fiction because he did not want to cheapen the means of his fiction. In the end, none of Melville’s works after “Moby Dick” became popular and he ended up dying in poverty and obscurity, very similarly to Bartleby.
Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is fraught with sexual imagery. The elaborate descriptions with which the author establishes his indulgent style of writing aptly reflect the often indulgent behaviors of the characters. Melville's choice of words is loaded with sensuality. This is most noticeable in the relationship between Ishmael and Queequeg. The evolution of their relationship throughout the text associates homosexuality with negative consequences. As the book progresses their interactions become increasingly more erotic. This negativity culminates with the death of Queequeg. Thus, intimate relationships between men are negatively depicted through a range of literary devices. The subject matter is reflective of Melville's attempt to construct a social commentary about homosexuality.
Written during a period of American history characterized by great expansionism, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick may be read as a reflection upon both the rapidly changing geographical frontiers of America, and the accompanying shift of social, political, religious and cultural boundaries. The Pequod's world is governed by laws other than those of the American mainland. Figuratively situated at the frontier of the New World, the ship evokes the mythic American pioneer with the independent spirit, aggression and courage to wrench a nation from the wilderness. Melville lays out a version of the frontier myth that sees redefinition of national identity in terms of man confronting his other, reaffirming the self, and - through Ishmael's survival and narration - returning to civilization having defined what he is not.. Captain Ahab and his obsessive quest for the white whale symbolize in its most extreme form, an American desire to face the wild unknown and to promote national ascendancy through the confrontation.
Herman Melville’s stories of Moby Dick and Bartleby share a stark number of similarities and differences. Certain aspects of each piece seem to compliment each other, giving the reader insight to the underlying themes and images. There are three concepts that pervade the two stories making them build upon each other. In both Moby Dick and Bartleby the main characters must learn how to deal with an antagonist, decide how involved they are in their professions, and come to terms with a lack of resolution.
At first glance, Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, appears to be the story of a man, his captain, and the whale that they quest to destroy. But a closer look reveals the author’s intense look at several metaphysical ideologies. He explores some of the most ponderous quandaries of his time, among these being the existence of evil, knowledge of the self and the existential, and the possibility of a determined fate. All of these were questions which philosophers had dealt with and written about, but Melville took it to a new level: not only writing about these things, but also doing so in a lovely poetic language backed by a tale packed with intrigue. He explores the general existence of evil in his antagonist, the white whale, and through the general malice that nature presents to humans throughout the novel. The narrator, Ishmael, gains a lot of knowledge about himself through his experiences on the whaling voyage, where he also is able to learn much about the phenomenon of existence itself. Also, through Captain Ahab, he sees more about the existence of man and the things that exist within man’s heart. Especially through Ahab and his ongoing quest for the white whale, and also in general conversation amongst the whalers, the issue of fate and whether one’s destiny is predetermined are addressed in great detail, with much thought and insight interpolated from the author’s own viewpoints on the subject.
In Ahab, Melville developed an unlikely hero. He is not always appealing, but he does seek within his own realm of knowledge and experience to overcome what he perceives as a major evil force. Ultimately, Ahab gives his life in pursuit of a betterment for everyone.
"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.
First of all the Captain is an upstanding, well behaved individual, yet his cooperation with the killer, and Leggatt, uncovers him as somebody who is unreliable and effectively able to change, this characteristic