For my costume on Thursday, I elected to dress as Ishmael wrapped in the counterpane. This chapter, while early in the novel, was so immensely important for Ishmael’s development and even for his ability to board the Pequod at all. This marked the true beginning of Queequeg and Ishmael’s relationship – at whatever capacity that you see it in – and it is the catalyst for his embarkment on the Pequod. Without Ishmael, Queequeg would have struggled to board the ship. Without Queequeg, Ishmael would have likely boarded a different vessel altogether.

For the costume itself, I had an ivory colored cotton shirt with ties, a laced up brown suede vest, simple black pants, and black laced boots. I took care to avoid straps and buttons, as Ishmael was no “bumpkin dandy” (37)! He knew “how bitterly those straps would burst in the first howling gale, when thou art driven, straps, buttons, and all, down the throat of the tempest” (37). I elected to leave off his monkey jacket, partially due to the weather and partially because he would not have had his outer clothes fully on when in bed with Queequeg. My earrings I had mostly left in tact, though I did wear a hoop laden with three chains to represent the ties that would come to bind Ishmael – the ocean, Queequeg, and Ahab.

While I do not have a picture, I do think it was a happy coincidence that Rayne and I were standing side by side in the front of the classroom – as Rayne had dressed as Queequeg in his Beaver Hat. Had I thought more on it, I should have switched the shoulder my counterpane was on so that it was the shoulder closest to Rayne, but I missed out.

Edit: I kidnapped this image from the slides for Lesson 19!