I obsessed with Queequeq, so this chapter had me a little emotional, for real, I thought we lost our man. Now to my claim and what I see, Melville is pushing us really to view class and structure in America, or even overall, the boat is all over the world, the ocean touches all the continents and the 7 seas blend together, yet we still like to have those hard lines to define what is what, who is who.

“Now, there is the noteworthy difference between savage and civilized; that while a sick, civilized man may be six months convalescing, generally speaking, a sick savage is almost half-well again in a day.” (524 Melville). Melville is telling us to note this, look at this passage, and take the meaning of the comparison of social class and class structure. What is to be civil and what it means to be a savage, what is even a savage. A savage has more willpower and strength than a civilized man; a civilized man takes 6 months to bounce back, but a savage needs a day. A savage is used to the germs and dirt, as a civil man does not touch dirt. It’s important to note that what society calls a savage is strong, but the ones who call clean men are weak. The idea that the man and savage need to blend, become equal