The Whale as Symbol in Moby Dick
That there are various perspectives to the white whale as symbol is a result of the value which Melville
accords the symbol as a medium of expression. Melville regarded the symbol as, what William Gleim
terms, "a means of both revelation and concealment"(402). Visible objects are as masks through
which one can educe universal and significant order. The "eyes are windows"(Melville, 9) through
which one "can see a little into the springs and motives which [are] cunningly presented . . . under
various disguises"(Melville, 5-6). The symbol of the white whale lends itself easily to this concept.
To Ahab, the whale represents the malevolence of nature. To Starbuck, it is a commodity. To
Ishmael, however, it is "portentous and mysterious"(Melville, 6). It rouses his curiosity, but he
recognizes it as a thing remote. It is an "overwhelming idea"(Melville, 6): an idea which is larger
than his consciousness. Its implications surpass his conscious understanding and cause him to feel
significance even if he can not know it.
Melville represents much that one can know about the white whale. Moby Dick is literally an albino
sperm whale. In his categorization of all whales, Melville regards the sperm whale as the primate: "He
is, without a doubt, the largest inhabitant of the globe; the most formidable of all whales to encounter;
and lastly, by far the most valuable in commerce"(Melville, 133). The whiteness of the whale enhances
this correspondence in that it has regal associations, "a certain royal pre-eminence in this
hue"(Melville, 184). The white whale, therefore, stands, primarily, as, what Gleim would term, "the
ideal representation...
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...e organizes and creates commodity and joint stock
existence. Nature, however, is indifferent, and Moby Dick is the symbol of this indifference. Man can
impose perceptions of beauty upon nature and extract commodity from it, but the white whale
represents the absolute negation of these efforts: what Hoffman calls "the everpresent possibility
of cosmic nothingness"(271).
Works Cited
Hoffman, Daniel. Form and Fable in American Fiction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965.
Hughes, Charles. "Man Against Nature: Moby Dick and `The Bear'." DAI 32:5230 A (Texas Tech).
Gleim, William. "A Theory of Moby Dick." New England Quarterly, II (1929), 402-408.
Melville, Herman. Moby Dick. 1855; rpt., New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1966.
Sedgwick, William. Herman Melville: The Tragedy of the Mind. New York: Russell and Russell, 1944.
In the year 1832, the time of the Great Reform Bill, the name ‘conservative party’ became the official name of the party. Conservative leaders like Robert Peel and Benjamin Disraeli did not refuse all changes because they knew that change was good for progress. The post war consensus was between the year 1945-1979 and it was established immediately after the year 1945 by Attlee (Labour party). The conservatives were in power for 17 years out of the 34 years under the leadership of Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas ...
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
Once Father Mapple speaks about Jonah and the whale, it becomes clear that Herman Melville's 1851 novel has a connection to the Bible and Christianity. Melville fills Moby Dick with several biblical allusions, and the novel's main characters are linked symbolically to figures in the Bible. Melville alludes to the Bible in Moby Dick to mock Christianity. He uses his primary characters of Ishmael, Ahab, and Moby Dick to make God seem like a judgmental being who has no pity on sinners unless they obey him. He also portrays faithful Christians as outsiders who
Glaeser E., Shapiro, J. M. Strategic Extremism: Why Republicans and Democrats Divide on Religious Values. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120, 1283-1330.
Herman Melville’s novels, with good reason, can be called masculine. Moby-Dick may, also with good reason, be called a man’s book and that Melville’s seafaring episode suggests a patriarchal, anti-feminine approach that adheres to the nineteenth century separation of genders. Value for masculinity in the nineteenth century America may have come from certain expected roles males were expected to fit in; I argue that its value comes from examining it not alone, but in relation to and in concomitance with femininity. As Richard H. Brodhead put it, Moby-Dick is “so outrageously masculine that we scarcely allow ourselves to do justice to the full scope of masculinism” (Brodhead 9). I concur with Brodhead in that remark, and that Melville’s use of flagrant masculinity serves as a vehicle in which femininity is brought on board The Pequod; femininity is inseparable from masculinity in Melville’s works, as staunchly masculine as they seem superficially.
Throughout our history there has been an ongoing argument between religion and government. Should religion play a part in the government, schools and other social compasses or should it be separated? Some believe that religion should be a part of the government while others believe that there should be a distinct separation. Some believe that religions should be able to influence the workings of the government and attempt to elect their own politicians. I believe the opposite. I believe that religion should have no influence on the way our government approves laws, elects officials or conducts their business. Throughout this essay I will give reasons and references as to why I agree with the separation of government and religion.
Before affiliating the crew aboard the ship with Moby Dick, there are some comparisons to be made between them and ocean inhabitants in general. While living in the ocean environment the men begin to acquire the same survival techniques as some of the organisms in the ocean. The manner in which the whalers go about slaughtering the whales is much like the way that the sharks react to the whale carcass being held stagnate in the water. "....because such incalculable hosts of sharks gather round the moored carcass, that were he left so for six hours, say, on a stretch, little more that the skeleton would be visible by mornong"(Melville 328). These sharks are savages in the face of sustenance. In most cases the sheer size of the whale prohibits it from being captured and consumed by the sharks. The only chance that they have at these huge beasts is when they are slung along side the whaling ships. Once they have their opening to this plethora of meat it becomes a barbaric feeding frenzy. These actions of the sharks reflect the actions of the whalers when taking part in the slaying of a whale. "Soon ranging up by his flank, Stubb, firmly planting his knee in the clumsy cleat, darted dart after dart into the flying gish.
The amount of involvement in one’s profession is another important theme in the two stories. Ahab takes his job as a whaler quite seriously. He is obsessed by the desire to destroy the whale that shattered his life. In contrast, the narrat...
Hicks Laurel, Thompson George T., Lowman Michael R., Cochran George C.. American Government and Politics in the Christian Perspective. Florida: Beka Book Publications, 1984.
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.
... time on taking these aspects away. Moral decline and persecution of religious practices are evident and growing in our society. When did American culture become so bitter towards the concept our country is based upon? Has the concept of God really led to turmoil and destruction? The answers to these questions may go unanswered, but the facts remain the same: Our society has taken the first amendment and Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association and interpreted it to mean that God has no place in our country’s make up. However, our political system suggests otherwise with examples such as the Pledge of Allegiance, Presidential Speeches, and currency.
Martin Marty, with Jonathan Moore, Politics, Religion, and the Common Good: Advancing a Distinctly American Conversation About Religion's Role in Our Shared Life (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000), 25-26, 10-14, 24.
The potential benefits of school uniforms include decreasing violence and threat. Some instances involving designer clothing and expensive shoes have led to life-threating situations among students. Hannah Boyd says, “Now that kids are getting mugged for their designer clothes and expensive sneakers, school uniforms seem a safer alternative to many.” "It's tragic when young people without a balanced upbringing, without grounded values, without a secure education, wind up believing that it's all right to kill somebody for a pair of sneakers or jewelry or a designer jacket," Mr. Clinton said, citing recent incidents of violence by teen-agers. With school uniforms students won’t be getting mugged for their designer clothes and expensive sneakers because everyone’s wearing the same thing and won’t get jealous of what others have. Uniforms help rid of the bullies that want to beat someone up because they dress a certain way or because they don’t have what other people have. With uniform policies kids can’t get beat up or made fun of because of what they wear and the uniforms help build that confidence that kids who get beat up lack. ...
Mailander, J., & Staff, H. (1996, June 9). UNIFORMS MAKE THE GRADE. The Miami Herald, p. 1B.
School uniforms promote academic achievement to students in many ways. Wearing identical uniforms puts everyone in the same situation, so they are more likely to help each other succeed. This is the reason why players on a sports team wear identical uniforms (Latham). Teenagers are so infatuated with the latest trends and what people are wearing. They are often distracted by observing what other people wear than focusing on schoolwork. According to Betty Mike-Sell Bailey, school-improvement resource teacher at Decatur Middle School, “Children at this age are so impressed with dress that, if we can eliminate that little aspect of their daily lives and get their minds focused on academics, that is half the battle”(Viadero). Studies have also shown the relationship between wearing uniforms and academic success. Virginia Draa, assistant professor at Youngstown state University compared the attendance, graduation, and proficiency pass rates at sixty-four high schools in Ohio. Her study concludes those schools with uniform policies improved in attendance, graduation, and suspension rates (Wilde). Along with all of the academic achievements school uniforms also help diminish school bullying.