Tag Archives: Chapters 4-12

Why include the gravestones?

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From the intimate relationships developments to the religious context of Jonah and the Whale, what stood out like a sore thumb was the mention of the chapel’s cemetery, “…there these silent islands of men and women sat steadfastly eyeing several marble tablets, with black borders, masoned into the wall on either side the pulpit.” (pp. 40-41) I wondered why Ishmael even read the content engraved on the stones. This early in the story and it’s already foreshadowing one of the worst possible fates… and so far we only have two characters. It’s not difficult to wonder what their future holds, but there’s always a tinge of hope that they wouldn’t. The narrator even included, “Yes, Ishmael, the same fate may be thine,” (page 42) which doesn’t help with the “hope” part.

Overall, I can see Ishmael, Queepeg, or both dying in some way, shape, or form, just because of the mention of the graves and Ishmael’s morbid curiosity. It would be a surprise if neither of them died, though I’d expect some shipmates’ deaths.

Moby Dick : Chapters 4 – 12

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As I am starting to read these chapters, what has really been apparent to me is the way in which Herman Melville uses Ishmael’s observations of Queequeg to demonstrate both inherent bias and shifting perspectives.

The quote “Thinks I, Queequeg, under the circumstances, this is a very civilized overture, but, the truth is, these savages have n innate sense of delicacy, say what you will; it is marvelous how essentially polite they are. I pay this particular compliment to Queequeg, because he treated me with so much civility and consideration, while I was guilty of great rudeness…” (Melville 10) is, to me, a perfect example of what Melville is using the observations of Ishmael to convey. Within this quote, we are able to see the way in which Ishmael feels about Queequeg have shifted from the first three chapters of the book. Initially he is frightened of Queequeg because of his appearance and the internal bias he has against those both of a different race and those of a different way of living. I think this quote shows just how much Ishmael has started to shift his opinion on Queequeg and is understanding that he does have these biases. In this quote, he talks about Queequeg in a kind manner, saying that ‘savages’ are actually very polite when just the chapter before he was petrified to even be in the same room as someone he sees as a savage or a cannibal. He also acknowledges how his own biases led him to be rather rude and unfair to Queequg initially and how in response, Queequeg was kind to him rather than being rude back to him.

I think this quote and these first few chapters in general really do a great job emphasizing how much Ishmael is experiencing a change of perspective and a shift from what he already thought he knew. I am very curious to see how this open-mindedness continues to be utilized throughout the story as he continues to meet people who are completely different than him and ahve goals that may not align with his.

Christian kindness has proved but hollow courtesy

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Melville presents the readers with an aversion to Christianity, presented frequently throughout the text by the relationship between Queequeg and Ishmael. Starting all the way back in Chapter 3 with the line, “Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian” (26), he spends much of the chapters proceeding it focusing on the kind of man that Queequeg is and the way that he treats Ishmael as well as others surrounding them. Despite having three chapters focused on the importance of religion and practices, they are still dotted with the presence of Queequeg and internal dialogue such as “but Faith, like the jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even these dead doubts she gathers her most vital hope,” (42). 

Christianity is painted as opportunistic, almost parasitic in the way that it prays on the fears, doubts, and hopes of the sailors and their families in New Bedford. “…few are the moody fisherman, shortly bound for the Indian Ocean or Pacific, who fail to make a Sunday visit to the (Whaleman’s Chapel). I am sure that I did not” (39). Each person is compelled to attend the weekly sermon, one way or another, and not even Ishmael is able to avoid it. Yet later, when he is observing Queequeg, he makes another startling statement: “I’ll try a pagan friend, thought I, since Christian kindness has proved but hollow courtesy” (57). 

Perhaps there will be a time when we understand Ishmael’s continued heretical talk against the religion that he claims he was born into (58), but as of now Queequeg is painted as an innocent, sweet man who is alien to the culture he lives amongst yet willing still to respect and attempt to understand it – which is more than can be said of Christians in relation to religions outside of their own.