Throughout the course of this week’s reading, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the similarities to the way they describe Queequeg to important abstract qualities of ocean fair, and to the whale itself.
We’re first introduced to Queequeg in chapter three in a very comical way. His personality is very purposefully outlandish, and as our main character continues to develop a relationship with him, he’s able to learn more about Queequeg’s other character qualities.
Queequeg is not like other characters. He does not look the same, he worships his own deities instead of Christianity, and he acts in a way that’s very outside of the mainstream culture norms—even in small, seemingly unimportant ways, as Ishmeal observes.
“At that time in the morning, any Christain would have washed his face; but Queequeg, to my amazement, contented himself with restricting his ablution to his chest, arms and hands” (31).
This characterization of Queequeg is very reminiscent of the Carnivalesque, which can be seen as a break away from traditional ideals and can be used to challenge the current system of power. Queequeg is set up to be seen as an outsider in this town, but making Queequeg a likeable character that Ishmeal is drawn to, indirectly symbolizes Ishmael’s urge to pull away from society by ways of going out to the sea. Queequeg is therefore used to represent the aspects of life at sea that are or can be desirable.
Queequeg is also used to represent the whale itself, and that couldn’t be any more evident in how he goes about being on the ocean.
“When a ship was gliding by, like a flash, he darted out; gained her side; with one backward dash of his food capsized and sank his cameo; climbed up the chains; and throwing himself at full length upon the deck” (61).
Without proper context, this excerpt could easily be describing a ship attack involving a whale. The story purposely portrays Queequeg in this way to both demonstrate the animalistic qualities of man and as a means of humanizing the whale. By relating its qualities to a likeable human character, it creates a more intimate connection between man and beast through demonstrating our stark similarities.
Queequeg has been my favorite character so far, and I’m excited to dive deeper into these aspects of his characterization as we continue our readings.
There is a lot of great stuff in this post, and I will be eager to see you develop these insights into larger interpretations as we continue reading the novel. For example, the comical and likeable affects– super important. And, as you write, “The story purposely portrays Queequeg in this way to both demonstrate the animalistic qualities of man and as a means of humanizing the whale.” Either of these points could serve as the anchor (pardon the pun) for your midterm essay. Eager to hear more from you!
I hadn’t thought of Queequeg being something akin to the whale, but now seeing him in that context, it makes both him and the whale seem even more noble. Queequeg is a great representative of both man and whale because he has those, what we would deem, more animalistic tendencies, yet he maintains his sincere nature and attitude towards others. I was having trouble trying to understand why Ishmael spends so much time admiring the whale and positioning it as this model we should strive to be, but seeing how Queequeg takes after the whale, knowingly or not, it makes more sense to see his borderline worship of the whale, and Queequeg, as they embody both Leviathan and benign qualities; Ishmael does not let their appearance, titles, or attributes (given by Ahab and others) define who they are and what they mean to him.