In Chapter 35 on page 366, the following quote stood out to me. “Look your last, now, on these venerable hooded heads, while they yet lie together; for one will soon sink, unrecorded, in the sea; the other will not be very long in following”.
In particular I would like to draw attention to the word “venerable”, which according to Google means “accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character.” I looked it up and apparently it is used by the Catholic Church as a title given to a deceased person who has been declared to have lived a life of “heroic virtue” – meaning, that by using this word Ishmael is essentially declaring the head of this whale, and by proxy the whales themselves hero. There “sacrifice” alows for light being provided to the landsmen, as well as countless other commodities like we have talked about in class.
Not only that, but one of religious or spiritual importance specifically because of it’s religious connotations – there’s something almost spiritual happening in the passage. Melville is framing these whales like martyrs whose sacrifice fuels humanities progress. The fact that one of them will “sink, unrecorded, in the sea” only adds to the tragedy of their deaths. Their contributions are huge, yet their deaths barely acknowledged. Using such religious language lets Melville argue that the natural world, especially these massive and intelligent creatures, holds a sort of sacred dignity that humans ignore far too easily.
I think your analysis really does drive the point home on the fact that these whales fuel human progress. There’s always a need for progress in some capacity, and whaling as one of the first great American trades essentially becomes something that is required of humans to do. The kind of religious fanaticism in the passage you talk about puts into the idea that these whales are vast symbols of all different kinds of things. God’s power, religion, nature, unknowingness, vastness, the whale is all of these things, but depending on the chapter, it will fit a specific sort of character to drive a point home. Chapter 75 has these whales be a sacrifice, as you have put, in order to also become such a sad yet simple commodity that most people (other than fisherman or whalers) do not think about. Thanks for bringing that up into the conversation.