One quote from the beginning of this week’s reading has stuck with me throughout the duration of my reading. From Chapter 48, “The First Lowering”, reads the quote, “The jets of vapor no longer blended, but tilted everywhere to right and left; the whales seemed separating their wakes. The boats were pulled more apart” (pp. 244). The reason this quote stuck out to me was that, after our group discussion in class on Thursday regarding the search for an understanding of whiteness and the “one drop rule” applied to identifying and categorizing black individuals versus whites, there seemed to be a bit more development on the topic through this quote. As we know, Melville is using Moby Dick to critique the circumstances of the United States in the late 19th century, building on the idea that, without understanding what whiteness is and what exactly makes it superior to other colors, one will lose their identity and their mind (as seen through Ahab). The idea as a whole is quite absurd.

From this quote, we can dissect and categorize two key components of this work of literature: the whales (white superiority/colonialism/the right to Westward Expansion/etc.) and the ships (nation-states). Through the desire to obtain this idea of “whiteness” and all the havoc it creates, the turmoils with which those searching for it succumb to, can create a nation-wide divison, whether between two or more countries, or the two races within one. This quote indirectly lays claim to the fact that the idea of segregation and superiority simply based on the rule of “whiteness” will divide the people of our nation now, and for long after in the future.