The Voiceless Whale

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In Chapter 85 ‘The Fountain’, the whale becomes voiceless, deemed as such through the human lens of Ishamel. In this claim, Ishamel asserts the importance of the voice “Seldom have I known any profound being that had anything to say to this world, unless forced to stammer out something by way of getting a living.” Those without a voice are unable to function within a society that aims to exploit, and the whale exemplifies what happens to those who cannot be  translated into such a society, people whose voices go ignored or misunderstood. The whale exists outside of words, a ‘profound being’ that Ishamel himself struggles to understand through words. Yet, a voice is situational in both Melville’s and the modern world we live in, those with the right privileges and history are heard, their voice and language is the norm. Melville uses the whale, a being who cannot communicate in the way humans do, to be representative of the masses all over the world with voices unheard, ignored or like the whale, untranslatable to the capitalist perspective of the whaler. 

The whale cannot be ‘forced to stammer’ its defense in living, and as consequence its body becomes a product, killed and sold to those who can speak, reflecting the scenes of U.S. history. The body as a product becomes systemically true with slavery, and there was no chance of defense if already deemed voiceless, like the whale is. The body as a product is also significant in a modern society, Ishmael notes this himself as the defense that the whale fails to make is for the purpose of ‘getting a living.’ These last few words serve a double purpose, in the case of the whale ‘getting a living’ can mean being allowed to live, but this is also translated on land with the working class as their bodies are used to make a living, a living that is unfair and does not value their lives in the same way as those demanding them to speak. ‘Getting a living’ does not mean much for Melville, for even those who speak their defense are half heard and not given much. 

Heroic Virtue – The Heads in Chapter 75

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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.

“Seigfried” by Frank Ocean 1:53:00-1:59:00

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Chapter 89 of Moby-Dick, “What are the Rights of Man and the Liberties of the World but Loose-Fish?” is Melville going full philosopher mode. He’s saying everything in the world including freedom, religion, ideas, even you, is up for grabs. Nothing is truly owned; it’s just held until someone stronger, louder, or luckier comes along to snatch it. It’s a little grim, but also, he’s not wrong.

The “Rights of Man,” “Liberties of the World,” religion, philosophy, he calls all of them “Loose-Fish.” Basically, he’s saying all the big things humans pretend are sacred or permanent are really just things floating around for whoever can grab them first. It’s the law of the jungle, but in 19th-century sailor talk.

And the last line, “what are you, reader, but a Loose-Fish and a Fast-Fish, too?” is the punchline. We’re all caught in someone’s net while trying to catch others ourselves. We think our own opinions, time, and life are ours? They’re not. We’re tangled up in politics, money, and social systems: all while trying to hold on to whatever we like is “ours.”

Melville’s not being moral or preachy here, he’s just calling it like it is. The world runs on whoever can grab and hold on the longest. It’s messy, unfair, and a little depressing, but also pretty honest. We’re all Fast-Fish, we’re all Loose-Fish, and the sea never stops churning.

How I Annotate! Extra Credit

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I started annotating my copy of Moby Dick as soon as I got it, using it as a notebook for our class discussions. Even before we started reading the actual text, I used the blank, or mostly blank, pages at the beginning of the edition to take notes on the historical context and Melville’s background. I’m reminded at every turn of a page that this novel is, in many ways, a preservation of existence, thought, and experience. It’s because of this that my edition is marked up in every way, from highlighter to pen to various color-coded tabs.

My favorite part of my copy is its evolution. In the beginning, my annotations were underlines, hearts, and different variations of “oh my god” or “wow.” Now, it’s a complete analysis, connections to other chapters, or thought-out stream of consciousness spouts. I have three different colored tabs: sage green, light blue/green, and light (almost pea soup) green. The sage green tabs are always located at the top of the page and mark the beginning or end of an assigned reading segment. While reading, these make it easy to distinguish how far I have to go. The light blue/green (It’s important to note here that I am, embarrassingly enough, colorblind, so these colors might be inaccurate) marks quotes that I really liked and will probably quote at various social settings. Finally, the almost pea-soup green mark my all-time favorite passages or quotes that I plan to focus on in future discussions or papers. There are only three of these so far, which makes them easy to find.

Chapter 76: The Inevitable Perils in the Search for Truth: (Moby Dick)

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In the end chapter 76, The Battering Ram, Melville references Friedrich Von Schiller’s poem “The Veiled Image at Sais”:

“But clear Truth is a thing for salamander giants only to encounter; but how small the chances for the provincials then? What befel the weakling youth lifting the dread goddess’s veil at Sais?”

What Melville is saying here, is that humans, in the search of truth are naive and blind to the power of the natural world. When they try to know uncover its secrets, their fate always ends in death. “Lifting the veil of Isis” is an expression to uncover something for you to see it with your own eyes. However, to conquer and own this truth for ourselves is where humans dig their own grave. Melville says that natural forces are so strong that humans would be crushed and it would take some giant salamander to bear them. Salamanders were considered to be borne out of fire, so by Melville, they are the only ones able to withstand the clear and burning truth. With this chapter, Melville basically gives us the ending of the book.

Here is an excerpt from Von Schiller’s poem:

“But what he saw, or what did there befall, his lips disclosed not.

Ever from his heart

Was fled the sweet serenity of life, and the deep anguish dug the early grave…”

The Anatomy of Understanding

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In Chapter 77, “The Great Heidelburgh Tun,” as Ishmael meticulously describes the anatomy of the sperm whale, he pauses for a moment to reflect and observe, “But to comprehend it aright, you must know something of the curious internal structure of the thing operated upon.” (Melville 371) On the surface, this line refers to the practical work of cutting into a whale’s body, but it also captures something larger about Moby-Dick itself. Melville constantly reminds his readers that understanding, whether of the whale, the ship, or just life at sea, requires looking beneath the surface, especially for us “landsmen.” Ishmael’s words turn the act of whaling into an act of reading: the body of the whale becomes a text, and true comprehension demands attention to all of its inner workings.

This idea aligns with the recurring chapters that anatomize the whale and ship in almost scientific detail, such as “The Sphynx,” “The Blanket,” “The Line,” and “The Monkey-rope.” In each, Ishmael insists on showing the interior, from the bones and the blubber to the lines and ropes, because for him, meaning resides in the hidden systems that actually sustain life and labor. Just as a ship can’t be understood by its sails alone, the whale’s mystery cannot be captured by its surface or exterior. Melville’s fascination with “internal structure” becomes a metaphor for how the novel itself operates: each detailed dissection of the whale’s body or the ship’s machinery draws us closer to the unknowable essence of existence and knowledge, even as it reminds us how incomplete that comprehension will always be.

By linking comprehension to dissection, Melville transforms the very physical and almost brutal act of cutting into an intellectual one. To “know something of the curious internal structure” is to recognize the layered complexity of every object and idea that is presented to the reader in the novel. The whale, the Pequod, and even Ishmael’s narrative share the same architecture. They are massive, mysterious, and full of unseen parts that demand exploration and much deeper thought. Through this, Moby-Dick becomes a kind of living anatomy, a work that invites readers to participate in its own operation, continually digging deeper for a truth that resists full capture.

Death by Spermaceti

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One part of the reading for this week that I took interest with was the end of Cistern and Buckets. This whole chapter was action packed, detailed, a jump from the lull of Melville’s technical and historical chapters. Although Tashtego is saved by Queequeg (in a midwifery way), Melville still fantasizes about an alternate reality where this rebirth did not occur. “Now, had Tashtego perished in that head, it has been a very precious perishing; smothered in the very whitest and daintiest of fragrant spermaceti; coffined, hearsed, and tombed in the secret inner chamber and sanctum sanctorum of the whale. Only one sweeter end can be readily recalled” (p.377). This feels like a romanticization of death, one that contrasts strongly with the death of the whales in subsequent chapters. These deaths are violent, painful, pitiful, and blood baths, covered in red. Tashtego’s death, comparatively, would have been covered in white–the color of purity, honor, fear, existentialism. And maybe that is exactly what being smothered in this white would represent, the honor of dying in the whaling industry, of dying in a masculine way, yet also the fear and existentialism that comes with death, of the unknown of what follows when the biological functions cease. 

The language used in this passage is light for such a heavy topic. “Precious”, “daintiest”, “sweeter”, romanticize this death as if it is something to be desired. This romanticization is only possible because Ishmael (and other crew) would not have witnessed this death, would not have witnessed Tashtego’ fright and slow drowning in the spermaceti. When spared the details of seeing what happens, it is easy to romanticize the results–as Melville often argues about the landsmen who reap the rewards of the whaling industry with none of the suffering. 

This idea of Tashtego’s death is calm, slow, peaceful, unlike the thrashing the whales undergo. We can draw metaphors here to how we think about nature and animals in a hierarchical fashion, underneath us and allowed to suffer in death. Or we can draw a metaphor for slavery, for how the whales are allowed to die as slaves are, while the humans will die these white, painless, precious deaths. 

Fast-Fish, Loose-Fish

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“I. A Fast-Fish belongs to the party fast to it. II. A Loose-Fish is fair game for anybody who can soonest catch it” (433).

In the chaotic business of whaling, it’s necessary to have the code of Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish to avoid disputes over who deserves the claim of killing whichever whale. Melville applies this whaling code of Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish to “the fundamentals of all human jurisprudence” to show us how weak our justifications of possession are. Melville starts with: “What are the sinews and souls of Russian serfs and Republican slaves but Fast-Fish, whereof possession is the whole of the law?” (434-35). He is directly arguing against the claim that “possession is half of the law” by giving multiple examples that contradict it, the first being the serfs and slaves that are literally bound to their masters, serving as their property. The Loose-Fish doctrine is even more applicable as the chapter ends presenting more abstract ideas as Loose-Fish:

“What are the Rights of Man and the Liberties of the World but Loose-Fish? What are all men’s minds and opinions but Loose-Fish? What is the principle of religious belief in them but a Loose-Fish? What to the ostentatious smuggling verbalists are the thoughts of thinkers but Loose-Fish? What is the great globe itself but a Loose-Fish? And what are you, reader, but a Loose-Fish and a Fast-Fish?” (435).

With all of these being Loose-Fish, fair game for whoever can soonest catch it, it raises questions about their legitimacy. If the Rights of Man and Liberties of the World were just up for grabs, we need to know who caught them and whether they had some bias in crafting them. If our minds, opinions, and beliefs are Loose-Fish, we need to be aware of whoever laid claim first, because they can often shape our entire thoughts and belief systems. Melville calls out the “ostentatious smuggling verbalists” as they seize “the thoughts of thinkers” to manipulate for their own purposes as though they were Loose-Fish. The globe itself has repeatedly, throughout history, been viewed as a Loose-Fish for colonial powers and empires to claim for themselves behind their Loose-Fish justifications of divine right or Manifest Destiny. Then we have Melville directly asking us readers to view ourselves as both Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish, fastened to the systems we are born and raised in, yet fair game to whatever outside influence we let catch us. If we should be both, then we should also be weary of the distinctions of Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish applied to others, realizing how absurd it is to blindly follow the claims to land, property, thoughts, and people.

Extra Credit – Moby Dick Costume

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For class on Thursday, October 30th, I dressed up as Queequeg at the beginning of Moby Dick. He is presented to us, in his and Ishmael’s first endeavors outside the Spouter-Inn, in a long coat, slacks, and a Beaver skin top hat. While I could only assume the attire he wore underneath (most sailors portrayed in media are placed in plain white button-up dress shirts), I decided to include a rope to my costume, ties around my belt loops, to incorporate the passage on Ishmael and Queeuqeg’s wedding by the anchoring of the rope they share on the Pequod while Queequeg assists in skinning the whale. While not very noticeable (since I wear these rings quite often to class), I assigned specific passages/meanings to the designs of each of my rings. 1) A coffin, symbolizing the crew’s imminent and constant threat of death, and the foreshadowing of the shipwreck of the Pequod at the end of the novel, 2) a skull, referencing chapter 80 – The Nut, and Ishmael’s rant about the phrenology and craniology of the Sperm Whale, 3) a sun, made of bronze, gold, and silver, referencing the numerous times Melville uses terrestrial language and points out the use of light in representation of the feature of the whale and whiteness, and 4) a ring I received from my eldest brother’s grandmother containing different parts of an Abalone shell. Another piece of jewelry I used to reference the book was my cross earing (I know, I wear it all the time and hardly switch it for something different), which I used to represent Queequeg’s desire to learn from Christians for the betterment of his people and himself, and later his repulsion of the behavior of so called Christians, and rebuttal for them to learn from cannibals instead.

Chapter 75: The Right Whale’s Head—Contrasted View

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Throughout the chapter, there is one passage that particularly caught my attention. It is chapter 75, where Ishmael is doing a deep dive-in on the Right Whale’s Head. The passage states, “But if this whale be a king, he is a very sulky looking fellow to grace a diadem. Look at that hanging lower lip! What a huge sulk and pout is there! A sulk and pout, by carpenter’s measurements, about twenty-feet long and five-feet deep; a sulk and pout that will yield you some 500 gallons of oil and more.” (Melville 365). This passage is very interesting to me because it reminds me of an Anthropology class where I was learning about sustainability, where fishermen have their own alternative way  to hunt fish without exploiting its species till the point of extinction. The reason why fishes have been on the verge of extinction in today’s society is because humans have been exploiting the ocean for years. We hunt for food, for fish oil, and other vitamins that benefit us, and we exploit them by exceeding the limits every single day. When I look at this passage, I believe the same concept applies to whales. They produced a huge amount of oil equivalent to just one whale, to be exact it’s at least 500 gallons of oil and more. I believe Melville is trying to tell readers how the sulking/pouting whale represents all of the fishes that went extinct in today’s society. Back then, fishes were insanely large, but in today’s society, their sizes reduced significantly. This tells us that humans have purposefully hunted fishes over the limits, and now there are no large fish left to produce. I believe whales are in the same situation because the whale offers oil as an opportunity for humans to exploit. With that being said, the fishes (including the whales) are on the verge of extinction, and the ocean is extremely unsustainable since humans keep exploiting it. As a result, we won’t have anything left to hunt, and all of the species will go extinct. Melville brought in a really good point of how this novel is not just about whales, but about sustainability/ unsustainability to all the fish species.