Tag Archives: chapter 91

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. 

Chapter Ninety-One

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In Chapter 91, “The Pequod Meets The Rose-Bud”, Melville presents a scene filled with irony, satire, and moral commentary that exposes the ignorance and exploitation inherent in capitalist systems. The Pequod encounters a French whaling ship, which is ironically named Bouton-de-Rose (Rose-Bud), which reeks of decay from two rotting whales tied to its side. The name “Rose-Bud”, which evokes beauty and freshness, stands in stark contrast to the foul stench that accompanies the ship. The ironic contradiction between the name and reality symbolizes how wealth and refinement often conceal decay and corruption. This irony deepens through the presence of ambergris, a substance found in diseased whales, which is used to create luxury perfumes. Through this grotesque transformation of waste into beauty, Melville critiques how capitalist societies turn death, exploitation, and decay into symbols of elegance and value.  Melville highlights this critique through Stubb’s manipulation of the French sailors. The narrator notes, “Sounding him carefully, Stubb further perceived that the Guernsey-man had not the slightest suspicion concerning the ambergris. He therefore held his peace on that head. Otherwise, he was quite frank and confidential with him, so that the two quickly concocted a little plan for both circumventing and satirizing the Captain, without his at all dreaming of distrusting their sincerity.” (Melville 444) Stubb’s selective honesty, his decision to “hold his peace” while pretending to be “frank and confidential”, reveals the hypocrisy and deceit underlying capitalist exchange. His manipulation of the ignorant French captain mirrors a larger pattern of exploitation in which those with knowledge and power profit from those who don’t. Using the words “circumventing” and “satirizing” implies cunning and mockery, showing how Stubb treats exploitation as a game, a form of entertainment instead of a moral wrongdoing. This moment becomes an insight into how profit depends on secrecy and deceit, the same mechanisms that sustain colonial and capitalist hierarchies. The Rose-Bud becomes an emblem of society’s contradictions, a world that celebrates beauty while ignoring the gruesomeness that makes it possible.