All is Vanity

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Similar to when Ishmael experiences his first lowering on the mast and dissociates, he also is presented dissociating during his shift to operate the try-works. While he thinks about the ghastly sights of the shadows the fire makes with the harpooners, his mind subconsciously resorts to almost wanting to harm himself; and in seeing how liberating that feels to get away from whaling and his duties. He then feels instant regret, but is still harmed by religious psychosis such as these that creates abnormal functioning to how he should view freewill: ” All is Vanity”… and “the man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain”(Melville 465). Here, it reads as religious psychosis, creating internal shame on himself for having these wild thoughts of self-harm, hence, reflecting on the chants from memory almost as if to warn himself– not soothe him. While these verses do avoid him from inflicting self-harm in imagining it, it instead creates a stumblingblock into navigating free will. Putting a label that “all is vain” while slaving himself away to the whaling industry instigates now more of a social reframe in order to preserve human labor while killing the dreams, passions and aspirations of people.

Week 11: Pip’s Soft Death

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One part of the reading I found particularly interesting this week was Chapter 93, which covered Pip’s death. Instead of being violent or scary, I felt this chapter wrote Pip’s death off as something natural, a regular casualty of the whaling industry, and a celestial commentary on the feelings of death. The deaths’ of animals in this novel comes off as graphic and horrifying, filled with resistance and gore, yet Pip seems to just fade away into the horizon, as if he is nothing more than a leaf floating down the river.

Melville writes: “The sea had jeeringly kept his finite body up, but drowned the infinite of his soul… So man’s insanity is heaven’s sense; and wandering from all mortal reason, man comes at last to that celestial thought, which, to reason, is absurd and frantic; and weal or woe, feelings then uncompromised, indifferent as his God” (p.453). What a way to describe death. First off, the sea seems to be taunting, as it keeps Pip’s mortal body afloat, similar to those of the floating whales after their perishing. I also found the second half of this sentence interesting. Melville calls the soul infinite, yet it has been drowned. Drowning implies death, yet infinite implies forever, and these two contrasting descriptors could imply the place after death (presumably Heaven with the religious undertones we already see in this novel). These two contrasts mediums (solid body and infinite soul) are also important to note in a historical context; where examination of these two ideas were less scientific and more theoretical, not that we have much stronger of a grasp on these concepts nowadays. 

Melville continues on, talking about how man’s final thought would be absurd and frantic, and almost brushes over this idea. When the whales die, it is frantic. Yet this slight acknowledgement of the same concept in human’s death is barely seen, as Melville works to romanticize and sweeten Pip’s death with soft words and celestial language. He finishes it off with “indifferent as his God,” which implies God would not care of this death, or perhaps any human’s death. 

An Epigraph

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Chapter 91 begins with an epigraph, reading:

“‘In vain it was to rake for Ambergriese in the paunch of this Leviathan, insufferable fetor denying that inquiry.‘ Sir T. Browne, V. E.” (440)

To me, this really stuck out in the novel, mainly because we, as readers, are not accustomed to epigraphs by Melville. Additionally, it just seemed out of place, so I looked it up. Browne was an English polymath, or someone exceptionally well-versed in a wide variety of subjects, and an author whom Melville frequently turned to for examples and information. Sir Thomas Browne wrote extensively on the whale, specifically the Sperm Whale, in his novel Pseudodoxia Epidemica, known largely as Vulgar Errors. It’s from his writing and meticulous dissection of both the whale and the scientific notions around spermaceti that Melville draws inspiration. Ambergriese, now spelled ambergris, is a waxy, oily substance commonly created in the boiling digestive tract of Sperm Whales.

It’s important to note the meaning of this quote. While yes, the ambergriese is hugely sought after and valuable, the effort behind its extraction is not. In fact, the effort is “insufferable.” It’s interesting that the action of extracting this oil, valuable as it is, is considered “insufferable” and to do so would be “in vain.” Yet, the years-long pursuit of the live whale is not only tolerated but also sought after. Here they are, approaching a target who is still valuable to them and their markets, but is dead and smells, rotting away in the foaming rocking of the ocean, and the Pequod turns away. It suggests that part of the process of whaling is the hunt – the chase through the unknown of the sea. When happening upon an already dead whale, which still may carry riches “in the paunch,” they turn away, deeming it unnecessary and not worth the time and effort. It’s ironic, considering how easy it would be compared to tracking, harpooning, and actually maintaining a live hunt of another whale.

Week 11: A bright Black

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Written at a time where American slavery is at its heyday, it should be no surprise that we continue to see themes of race in Chapter 93 of Moby-Dick. In the third paragraph of the chapter, we see Melville compare Pip and Dough-Boy to black and white ponies “of equal developments” respectively, but he continues to extend the metaphor onto Pip but not Dough-Boy. Why is that?

“Pip, though over tender-hearted, was at bottom very bright, with that pleasant, genial, jolly brightness peculiar to his tribe … I write that this little black was brilliant, for even blackness has its brilliancy; behold yon lustrous ebony, panelled in king’s cabinets. But Pip loved life, and all life’s peaceable securities; so that the panic-striking business in which he had somehow unaccountably become entrapped, had most sadly blurred his brightness…” (Melville 450-451)

Melville continues to bring special attention to the Black figure in this passage, speaking of their “brilliancy” and “lustrous ebony” as a reminder that Black people are human beings. They are subject to the hardships of capitalism as white people, but since this is the 1850s, they suffer a disproportionate amount with white people being a contributing factor to their suffering. Not even free Black people were safe, since they were not considered citizens of the United States at the time and therefore were not given constitutional protections or rights, even more so in capitalism.

Melville also highlights the unhappiness of Black workers after they are assimilated into a capitalist society. Pip comes from a tribe whose culture gives him a “pleasant, genial, jolly brightness,” but the “panic-striking business” in which he was “entrapped” had blurred that “brightness.” Melville’s repetition of “brightness” here demonstrates how assimilating into a new culture and letting go of old ways can actually lead to one being worse off. Ironically, despite Pip living a happy life in his tribe, with “finer, freer relish than any other race,” he sought off work in the United States because he thought he would be happier if he had more. In a Fast-Fish/Loose-Fish society, where the only way to be successful is by “having more” of something, does it really make you happy in the end? Or does it snuff out the “brightness” you once had and lead you onto a path of darkness?

incorruption found within the heart of decay

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There were a number of parts from this most recent reading that struck me – I wondered if, perhaps, Pippin from Lord of the Rings was partially named for Pippin in Moby Dick. Both are known to be young, somewhat fearful, and thrust into a dangerous voyage that they may not have necessarily signed on for. They are also particularly clumsy, eliciting anger and frustration from their superiors.

Yet the part that interested me from an academic standpoint was Chapter 92, Ambergris. “Now that the incorruption of this most fragrant ambergris should be found in the heart of such decay; is this nothing?” (448) This passage, while referencing the thick, waxy stuff found within decaying whales, can apply too to the story of Moby Dick and the characters within it. The procurement of the Ambergris was duplicitous, the urgency from Ahab to continue forward on their journey despite the valuable find was further proof of his abandonment of their financial goals for this trip. Despite the harrowing nature of the journey, despite the questionable nature of Ahab and the cruelty expressed by crewmen such as Stubb, Ishmael and Queequeg are the ambergris of the ship – the incorruptible pieces found within the heart of decay.

As another aside, I have been listening to this https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=aNpA6yRene0&si=q_8oCmRmJK9RLytG while reading the novel and have found it to properly put me into the mindset of being on the Pequod. I wanted to share it for the others that may need to listen to something while they read.

Week 11 : Chapters 91 – 108

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As I am starting to get into the chunk of reading for this week, something stuck out to me pretty early on in the section. On the first page of chapter 92, Ambergris, Melville through the voice of Ishmael says “Who would think, then, that such fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale! Yet so it is.”

What I think really stuck out about this quote to me is how representative of the entire novel it is. So often, Melville and Ishmael remind the readers about how common whaling is at the time and how essential it was to the economy. Everything ran on whale power and this quote just emphasizes truly how common goods from the whales were in daily lives. The reminder of how, while whaling may seem unethical and gross to us now, that wasn’t always the case. People like us reading this novel were some of the main consumers of these goods that the whaling boats brought back and Melville really does try to bring to the forefront just how much of a commonality this was.

I think this also ties so much into the historical period in which this was written and how we look back upon it. We know that Melville is using the whale as a symbol and I think this quote and this constant reminder of how common something can be at one point and then be completely looked down upon could also represent the culture around slavery. We now of course know truly how awful slavery was even as an idea, but back then it was such a common thing. It can sometimes be hard to imagine these historical figures being proponents of these awful actions, but in reality this was what was common and known at the time. Just like how it’s hard for us to imagine people consuming products from whales. I think Melville does a brilliant job bringing the reader back to reality when reading this book, both through the historical aspect of it, but also through direct speech to the reader. Sometimes reading this book makes you feel like you are in a completely fictionalized world because of how outlandish it may seem to us now, but it is important for us to remember how truly real these situations were, both historical symbolism and true whaling descriptions alike.

What a trip (literally) – Chapter 93

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This chapter is where I’m starting to get a bit more juice into focusing on the novel again. But also, poor Pip man. He’s really struggling to pull his weight in this chapter, but it also becomes clear that the racial dynamics on the ship are painfully obvious. As a young Black man who has trouble pulling his weight around, it is very easy to be accosted, as is described in the chapter after the first time he jumps off of the boat. We eventually get a scenario in which he jumps off again, and Stubb strands him (not purposefully) thinking the other whale boats would get Pip. That doesn’t end up being the case, and we get this bit of introspection as Ishmael describes Pip’s experience on the open sea.

“The sea had jeeringly kept his finite body up, but drowned the infinite of his soul. Not drowned entirely, though. Rather carried down alive to wondrous depths, where strange shapes of unwarped primal world glided to and fro and before his passive eyes; and the miser-merman, Wisdom, revealed his hoarded heaps…Pip saw the multitudinous, God-omnipresent, coral insects, that out of the firmament of waters heaved the colossal orbs.” (453)

This line specifically speaks about how jarring the ocean itself is. It’s this powerhouse of feeling that stirs both the ship and the souls aboard it, but ultimately Pip experiences it first hand in the midst of being stranded. “Multitudinous,” “God-omnipresent,” “Wondrous,” “Strange,” the sea itself is a vast thing that is describe by many words, both good and bad respectively, but Pip has a bit of a revelation here to the world below, one relatively unexplored by humans thanks to the confines of the 1800s. Melville makes a point to compared the ocean itself to something God-like because of this unknowingness. At least at the time, we can’t fully speak it like God’s name, and we can’t fully fathom what lurks below either. Pip’s soul actively drowning shows the draining quality of sea-life aboard the Pequod (and other ships given this perspective), yet the drowning also reveals that both the soul and the ocean itself is infinite. Infinitely unexplored, infinitely untapped, carried to “wondrous depths” that ultimately serve to show that human nature is limited in the eyes of God.

Stubb and the Rosebud – Chapter 91

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This week while reading, the following quote on page 444 stood out to me. “”Why,” said Stubb . . . “you may as well begin by telling him that he looks a sort of babyish to me””, which was quickly followed by the translator’s translation, ” that only yesterday his ship spoke a vessel, whose captain and chief-mate, with six sailors, had all died of a fever caught from a blasted whale they had brought alongside.”

This quote stood out to me because it is an example of less crude comedy in the book. Through this scene Melville characterizes both Stubb and the translator, while also giving readers a chuckle. In fact, we don’t even know if the translator speaks English – he might just be using this as an opportunity to get rid of the massive carcass hanging off of the boat – one that has caused a stench, to say the least.

In this exchange, Melville showcases how miscommunication can serve both as a form of comedy and a commentary on the outside world. Whether the translator is misunderstanding, or more likely intentionally misrepresenting Stubb’s words, the result is the same, truth becomes distorted, and humor arises from said confusion. This mirrors one of the larger themes of the book – that human perception is unreliable (as seen in the opening line of the narrative), and that, filtered through bias, misunderstanding, and irony.

Stubb’s flippant and rude attitude contrasts sharply with the reality the translator has been stuck with – living with the stench of the carcass day after day, yet both perspectives reveal a kind of survival instinct. Laughter and denial are used as shields against the ever-present specter of death found on the whaling ships.

Mr. Melville? More like Mr. Funny pants (91-92)

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I was conducting (choo-choo) research and was familiar with the word ambergris, but I couldn’t recall where I had heard it before. Seems like Futurama makes another appearance in Moby Dick, which I remember someone else writing about at the beginning of the semester. In Chapter 91, we see Stubb pull the wool (or whale) over the eyes of the French, who, in this time in history, are so easy to make fun of, it’s a wonder how they were able to conquer anything. This chapter is a stand-up comedy routine of the royalty of France and the need for anti-capitalism, where the underdog ultimately wins.


After reading chapter 92 on the importance of ambergris and racking my brain on its use before being edged until chapter 92 on what it really is. We now know that it’s a precious ingredient found in the digestive tract of the sperm whale, which is used in fine perfumes. France, even to this day, leads the perfume industry light-years ahead of its competitors. This is where the comedic genius lies, as well as the separation of classes between the worker (the educated and hands-on person) and the captain (the distributor and profiteer) of a product. You have this captain who is just hanging out in his “cabin,” not ingesting this horrendous stench, while his underpaid laborers are enduring the long journey nose-first at this point. “The stranger mate expressed his detestation of his Captain as a conceited ignoramus, who had brought them all into so unsavory and unprofitable a pickle.” (p.444) If you don’t know what work actually goes into creating something, it is easy to over- or under-value it. Thus, it is easier to fracture groups of those who would otherwise stand in solidarity with one another, to demand better conditions, and easier to extract profit from those gullible fools who can only pay what you ask. He, the captain, is outmatched and outwitted by those with more knowledge and experience, and we, as the audience, love to see it. It goes back into the societal notion of the whaling industry, in how it is a job that carries a bad reputation and is considered a low-class job. Still, without these whalers, the high society wouldn’t be so societal without these brave, knowledgeable, and possibly suicidal blue-collar men just trying to navigate the hard hand that life has dealt them. 

A blog from chapter (91) page (440) for week (11)

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“I was a week or two after the last whaling scene recounted, and when we were slowly sailing over a seepy, vapory, mid-day sea, that the many nose on the Pequod’s deck proved more vigilant discoverers than the three pairs of eyes aloft, A peculiar and not very pleasant smell was smelt in the sea”(Moby-Dick).

The Roth Beneath the Sea, In this scene from Moby-Dick Chapter 91, “The Pequod Meets the Rose-Bid,” Melville introduces the nauseating odor of decaying whales drifting near the Pequod. The quote from Sir Thomas Browne about searching “in vain” for ambergris-the valuable substance found in a whale’s body-sets the tone for a futile and grotesque pursuit of profit amid death and decay. Melville uses sensory imagery, especially the “peculiar and not very pleasant smell,” to contrast the sailors’ physical revulsion with their economic desire. The men’s willingness to seek wealth even in rotting flesh reflects how greed overrides natural human disgust. Stub’s casual remark about “drugged whales” turns death into an everyday business transaction, exposing the moral numbness that whaling culture breeds. This passage reveals Melville’s critique of capitalist obsession and moral corruption. The quest for ambergris symbolizes the human drive to extract value from even the most repulsive and lifeless remnants of nature. Through this grotesque yet vivid moment, Moby-Dick warns how the pursuit of profit can dull both the senses and the soul, leaving humanity adrift in moral decay.