Moby Dick
Ch.17: Ramadan
An Awakening that Precedes Ishmael’s Christianity
“Heaven have mercy on us all–Presbyterians and Pagans alike–for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending” (pg. 90).
The above passage in Ch.17, titled “The Ramadan” displays a specific moment in time where Ishmael’ religious beliefs are slowly being questioned. From the moment he meets and becomes close to Queequeg, we see a gradual development in Ishmael’s character. For Ishmael, he grapples with his faith, and Queequeg as a character is a reference point for us to better define Ishmael.
Ishmael, as a Christian, grew up thinking that his religion is superior. However, in this passage, there is no show of arrogant superiority. Instead, there is a display of the Christian “love thy neighbour”: “Heaven have mercy on us all–Presbyterians and Pagans alike…”. This is a shocking but still nice surprise to us, as Ishmael, having been with Queequeg for some time now, sees his Pagan counterpart as the caring, affectionate, and patient man that he is. He then goes on to say that “we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending.” The rest of this line is a clear and humble acknowledgement of both his and other people’s stubbornness and pride in their beliefs. This heady thought might come off as endearing, but there is still an underlying tone of the Christian man who was born a sinner and must work for the Lord’s forgiveness.
This passage at the beginning of the chapter presents to us Ishmael’s honest effort to be open-minded to another’s religion, as we all gravitate towards different beliefs and ideologies. It is admirable for one man to be strong in his faith, but he will go crazy trying to persuade someone who doesn’t want to follow the same religion. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. The last half of the passage tells us that we all need some kind of help. Some kind of outward belief to make us better. This mustn’t be confused with strictly Christian faith as the only healer, but instead we must search for our own beliefs to find our own mending within them.
It is crazy to think that a Christian is sharing a bed with a Pagan, but this worldly experience for Ishmael helps to gradually open his eyes beyond the Christian outlook, and in turn, we get some beautiful, introspective passages that clearly depict a development in our protagonist’s character. Queequeg is the mirror for Ishmael, and something inside of him begins to germinate (metaphorically and physically) as he interacts with Queequeg. The above passage is a result of spending time with Queequeg’s oxymoronic character: a tattooed, scruffy, Pagan cannibal. Beyond these labels, he is such a sweet person to Ishmael. Like it was mentioned above, Queequeg’s kind nature allows Ishmael to have these epiphanies about his religion, his feelings, and ultimately, a pure awakening of the soul. This is what it means to be human.