Tag Archives: Christianity

Essay 2: Forged in Blood

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In Chapter 113, “The Forge”, Ahab uses the blood of the harpooners to forge his harpoon, claiming that he is baptising the weapon in the name of the devil. He creates this harpoon specifically for Moby Dick, intent on killing the whale with it. Through the bloody baptism of the harpoon by Ahab, a binary model of religion is created, bringing into question how religion is used to create ideas of good and evil. 

The blacksmith creates Ahab’s harpoon, and then tells Ahab to grab the water to temper the barbs, but Ahab refuses, insisting on using blood as the temper liquid. From everyone on the ship, Ahab chooses to use the blood of the three harpooners, whom he calls the pagans: “‘No, no–no water for that; I want it of the true death temper… Tashtego, Queequeg, Daggoo! What say ye, pagans! Will ye give me as much blood as will cover this barb?’… a cluster of dark nods replied, Yes” (p.532). In this passage, Ahab calls out the harpooners, who do not conform to the Christian religion and have their own beliefs, to become part of his religion of Moby Dick. Ahab continues on to say: “‘Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli’” (p.532), which means ‘I do not baptize you in the name of the father, but in the name of the devil’. With this verse, Ahab makes the harpooners the sacred liquid of his religion, as they are the ones who take the first strikes at the whales. Since they are the initial point of contact, they are the most important in Ahab’s hunt for Moby Dick. By choosing the harpooners, who are considered to be on the lower part of the hierarchy of the ship, Ahab creates a group of saints in his religion from the lower rank pagans. 

Another way that this binary model is created is through the use of blood in a baptism. Baptism is usually a sacred ritual in the Christian faith used to signify entry of a person into the religion. In addition, water is used for baptism, not blood. Ahab clearly states his intention to baptize the harpoon intended for Moby Dick in blood, as he cries his verse in Latin, followed by: “Deliriously howled Ahab, as the malignant iron scorchingly devoured the baptismal blood” (p.532). In this scene, Ahab takes the blood of the harpooners to forge his weapon, and the language used creates an uneasy, evil feeling. Ahab and the weapon transform into different entities—as Ahab howls he becomes animal-like, monstrous, and the harpoon becomes anthropomorphized as it scorchingly devours the blood offered by Ahab. In this scene, Ahab is submitting to the weapon in a baptismal worship, surrounded by malevolent connotations, such as ‘malignant’ and ‘devoured’. This tone implies an evil nature around Ahab’s ritual, and creates a bootleg version of Christianity. 

In addition, the choice to use blood separates Ahab’s religion from the natural world, providing further implication of evil. We are born in water, we are made of water, and this boat is, quite literally, surrounded by water. However, instead of making use of this natural element, Ahab restricts his ritual to humans, sealing himself and his practice away from nature. 

By using the structure of Christianity to create his harpoon, Ahab fabricates an evil religion, but it is only one that seems this way because of the binary model it fits into opposed to Christianity. Had there not been replications of Christianity and malevolent connotations, this scene would not have held such defiance toward the Christian faith and ideals. 

The use of Latin in this scene further draws a direct parallel to Christianity. Latin holds historical importance in the Christian faith, and by using Latin, Ahab creates a mockery of the religion. Not only is he using a holy language, but he is also using it to worship the Devil, a symbol of evil in Christianity. Ahab chooses to use the Devil as his instrument of worship because he perceives what he is doing as evil and chooses to defile Christianity. This further shows the ability of religion to be used in a binary sense of good and evil, as certain words can evoke feelings of evil or wrongdoing, like ‘the Devil’. 

This scene draws attention to the structures that religion, especially Christianity, builds. In this passage, Ahab’s religion is contrasted to Christianity, and becomes the evil half because of the binary nature created in their similarities. With the use of pagan saints, blood baptism, and Latin, Ahab assumes multiple dimensions of Christianity and purposefully bends the faith to fit his own goals. This creates a dualistic nature with Christianity being good and Ahab’s religion being malevolent. This is important because Ahab’s religion only appears in this negative light because of the contrast with Christianity. Without this original structure, this scene would not seem religious, or perhaps not necessarily evil, but driven by other intentions. 

Forged in Blood: Week 12

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When reading chapter 113, “The Forge” I came across the part in Latin and was confused. After some investigation online, I found out that “Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaobli” means “I do not baptize you in the name of the father, but in the name of the devil”. I found this part of the plot to be quite interesting. There has been quite a strong focus on religion, specifically Christianity, and this seems to be sending the boat, led by Ahab, in quite a dark place in a Christian context. Just before this part, Stubb even says “What’s that bunch of lucifers dodging about there for?”. He says this while the weapon is being forged, and it does make me think of the implications of fire and that which burns–associated with hell. Is the Pequod having its fall from Heaven? Was it even there in the first place? 

Another very important part of this passage is that Ahab uses Tashtego, Queequeg, and Daggoo to put out the weapon after its been forged. Usually, its cooled using water, but Ahab literally brands the three men instead, and then says the verse in Latin. Water is used in baptism when one is dunked beneath it, symbolizing spiritual cleansing and new life in Christ, and instead the blood of three men not in power is being used by a man in power. They are in a position where they can’t say no, and the hierarchy of this ship is being violently reinforced, as it was in previous chapters as well. To me, baptizing a weapon in the name of the Devil seems to be an ill omen filled with ill intent, especially when it comes at the price of harming another. It also shows how out of touch from reality Ahab is becoming in his power and obsession.

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.

Marley Arreola

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Moby Dick

Ch.17: Ramadan

An Awakening that Precedes Ishmael’s Christianity

“Heaven have mercy on us all–Presbyterians and Pagans alike–for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending” (pg. 90).

The above passage in Ch.17, titled “The Ramadan” displays a specific moment in time where Ishmael’ religious beliefs are slowly being questioned. From the moment he meets and becomes close to Queequeg, we see a gradual development in Ishmael’s character. For Ishmael, he grapples with his faith, and Queequeg as a character is a reference point for us to better define Ishmael. 

Ishmael, as a Christian, grew up thinking that his religion is superior. However, in this passage, there is no show of arrogant superiority. Instead, there is a display of the Christian “love thy neighbour”: “Heaven have mercy on us all–Presbyterians and Pagans alike…”. This is a shocking but still nice surprise to us, as Ishmael, having been with Queequeg for some time now, sees his Pagan counterpart as the caring, affectionate, and patient man that he is. He then goes on to say that “we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending.” The rest of this line is a clear and humble acknowledgement of both his and other people’s stubbornness and pride in their beliefs. This heady thought might come off as endearing, but there is still an underlying tone of the Christian man who was born a sinner and must work for the Lord’s forgiveness. 

This passage at the beginning of the chapter presents to us Ishmael’s honest effort to be open-minded to another’s religion, as we all gravitate towards different beliefs and ideologies. It is admirable for one man to be strong in his faith, but he will go crazy trying to persuade someone who doesn’t want to follow the same religion. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. The last half of the passage tells us that we all need some kind of help. Some kind of outward belief to make us better. This mustn’t be confused with strictly Christian faith as the only healer, but instead we must search for our own beliefs to find our own mending within them. 

It is crazy to think that a Christian is sharing a bed with a Pagan, but this worldly experience for Ishmael helps to gradually open his eyes beyond the Christian outlook, and in turn, we get some beautiful, introspective passages that clearly depict a development in our protagonist’s character. Queequeg is the mirror for Ishmael, and something inside of him begins to germinate (metaphorically and physically) as he interacts with Queequeg. The above passage is a result of spending time with Queequeg’s oxymoronic character: a tattooed, scruffy, Pagan cannibal. Beyond these labels, he is such a sweet person to Ishmael. Like it was mentioned above, Queequeg’s kind nature allows Ishmael to have these epiphanies about his religion, his feelings, and ultimately, a pure awakening of the soul. This is what it means to be human.

Essay 1

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In Moby Dick by Herman Melville, there is a contrast between the civilized human beings such as Ishmael and the uncivilized human beings such as Queequeg. Through the book, it is noted that  Moby Dick interacts with the two different groups in settings that can demonstrate the kind of people they are regardless of their culture.   Specifically in chapter 13 of Moby Dick, Melville utilizes Queequeg as a representation of the morality of the uncivilized vs the civilized group on the boat who demonstrate the judgement and presumptions of society. 

Throughout chapter 13, Queequeg is described with terms such as a cannibal, devil, and savage—all terms with a negative connotiation. To describe someone this way is to presume that said person lacks the moral compass and will act in poor judgement and potentially cause harm to another human being. Interestingly enough, Queequeg finds himself being the pit of a joke by a young man who was mimicking him behind his back, not very kind to say the least. In result, the young man is grabbed and tossed up by the devil himself, the captain continues by yelling at Queequeg,  “Look you, I’ll kill-e you, you cannibal, if you try any more of your tricks aboard here; so mind eye.”(67) Melville uses irony in the captains’ statement by his threat to kill Queequeg, a cannibal, who kills and eats humans. While the captain might not be eating a human he is threatening to kill one so if Queequeg is the uncivilized character here, what does that say about the civilized captain? The captain is someone who is supposed to be leading their crew and making decisions that would not jeopardize the boat or themselves in order for everyone to return home safely. The appointed person should not be acting erratically by threatening the uncivilized cannibal  because it could have jeopardized the safety of not only him but the rest of the crew and the boat. 

Right after this altercation, the boom on the boat began to move side to side sweeping a part of the deck including the young man who was making fun of Queequeg. The only person who was able to return the boat back to normal and save the young man was the savage himself. After all his doing, “All hands voted Queequeg a noble trump; the captain begged his pardon.”(68) Disregarding the threat and the name calling he just faced a few minutes before this, Queequeg was now declared a hero by the same people. Melville uses this quick turn around to prove the judgment in character that the people on the boat had against Queequeg. He was most likely the least suspected person to jump in to save the young man, not just because of the altercation he had with him but because he was someone who they viewed as uncivilized. He is described as a wild man—lacking in politeness and good behavior, but yet he was the only one to jump in to save the young man. The measurement of a good person does not only come from the words of a person but also the actions which we can see here in this part of the story. 

Queequeg had no personal gain to save the young man and he definitely did not do it to heighten his ego, he did it as a person who wanted someone out of harm’s way considering, “He did not seem to think that he at all deserved a medal from the Humane and Magnanimous Societies. He only asked for water—fresh water—something to wipe the brine off; he put on dry clothes”(68) What he had done was worth recognition but for Queequeg the favor he had done was nothing more than that. Melville’s repetition of water, particularly fresh water, diverts the presumption of his savage-like description considering savages are  dirty and wild. Queequeg just wanted to be clean and dry, for this state of cleanliness is a reward in itself. 

In a state of reflection after what just occurred, Queequeg says “It’s a mutual, joint stock world, in all meridians. We cannibals must help these Christians.”(68) Using “joint stock world” to describe the kind of world they live in, a joint of different cultures that are interconnected. Pointing out the separation of cannibals and Christian’s, the uncivilized and civilized group, Queequeg believes they are there to help one another, making his morals align with the god obeying men. In reality the mayor separating between the two groups is the kind of culture they are in and what they follow but that does not mean that group that is frowned upon does not have good people as well. 

Considering Moby Dick is narrated by Ishamel who is a Christian, it is important for the readers to gain insight into the type of person Queequeg is beside from his usual description of savage and cannibal because it shows the kind of personalities that will be shared on the boat. It also helps deconstruct the belief that the uncivilized are perhaps bad people who lack the moral compass to help others as the civilized people in the story. Queequeg is used as an example of this as he demonstrates his belief in doing a righteous act for someone regardless of what he could gain, just for the pure fact that he wants to help someone because he is able to. This speaks volume of the kind of person he is and should not be looked over just because he is labeled as a savage. 

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.