This part of the novel has so many moments that made me question exactly who is in charge of the narrative and how it functions for plot and character development. Specifically, how the description of characters, actions, and scenes works as a plot device to paint the happenings of the Pequod as a much larger thing. One of the first moments and most impactful moments came on page 162 in a description of Flask. Melville writes:

“But the third Emir, now seeing himself all alone on the quarter-deck, seems to feel relieved from some curious restraint; for, tipping all sorts of knowing winks in all sorts of directions, and kicking off his shoes, he strikes into a sharp but noiseless squall of a hornpipe right over the Grand Turk’s head; and then, by a dexterous sleight, pitching his cap into the mizen-top for a shelf, he goes down rollicking, so far at least as he remain visible from the deck, reversing all other processions, by bringing up the rear with music. But ere stepping onto the cabin doorway below, he pauses, ships a new face altogether, and then, independent, hilarious little Flask enters King Ahab’s presence, in the character of Abjectus…” (162).

Flask, after hearing that dinner is ready, seems to go into a dramatic and hilarious performance that involves all sorts of theatrics. This level of performance touches on the recurring themes of theater and Shakespeare throughout Moby Dick, thus far. Instead of describing Flask getting up, grabbing his hornpipe, playing a song, and pulling himself together before joining Ahab, the narrator deliberately describes his actions step-by-step, giving them a level of performance that belongs on the stage of a grand theater. This level of description paints Flask as a character in a much larger production with the Pequod as the stage. In this scenario, Ismael plays the role of the audience, taking in information and having no significant role in the plot (so far) while describing the peculiarities of the ship and her inhabitants. The level of detail given to Flask and his actions is reminiscent of Ismael’s observance of Queequeg in earlier chapters. As we touched on in class, Ismael spends most of his narrative focus simply staring at other characters, collecting and cataloging small details that would otherwise go unnoticed. In this way, in our course discussions on who he is and how reliable Ismael is as a narrator, maybe we’ve got it wrong. Instead of looking at Ismael as the narrator, we might benefit more from looking at him as the audience in a production much bigger than he is.

Ahab, in all his mysterious glory, is the central protagonist who stirs, quite literally, the central plot. In the chapters where Ismael is not directly retelling the happenings of the ship, such as “The Pipe,” there is a noticeable absence of detailed explanations because Ismael is not physically present on stage. Instead of getting the dramatic, theatrical paintings of a scene from Ismael, we, as the readers and audience of this production, are watching it ourselves.