Scholarship Report Model: Gianna Loboda

Above: "Abraham's Farewell to Ishmael" (1987) by George Segal.

Bernard, Fred V. “The Question of Race in Moby-Dick.” The Massachusetts Review, vol. 43, no. 3, 2002, pp. 384–404, www.jstor.org/stable/25091870. Accessed 9 Sep. 2021.

Melville, Herman. The Writings of Herman Melville: The Northwestern-Newberry Edition. Edited by Harrison Hayford et al., vol. 6, Northwestern University Press, 1988.

In this article. Fred Bernard examines evidence of race in [Moby-Dick]. His argument is clearly stated that Ishmael, along with Ahab, is a “mulatto” man, or of mixed black and white. First hearing this, one may think it is preposterous and vacuous, as I myself did. Bernard says this is because of the author. As Melville is a white man, one would assume his book is written from the perspective of one. However, Bernard gives sound evidence as to why Ishmael is in fact a mulatto man, and in support Ahab is as well. One compelling reason to Ishmael being a black man is his wages.  Bildad first offers him a seven hundred and seventy-seventh lay, which is extreme for a mulatto man, and even more extreme for a white man. This seems to suggest he does not enjoy the luxury of white pay. “Even his final three hundredth lay reflects the much inferior pay of blacks vs. whites aboard,” (Bernard, 386). Another reason to believe the difference in Ishmael’s race is the type of jobs he worked in the past.  “Unlike educated whites, ‘unlettered Ishmael’ is a drifter, as his diverse jobs suggest- ‘I have been...a great digger of ditches, canals, and wells’” (Melville, 1851, p. 456, as cited in Bernard, 2002). At the time Moby-Dick was written and published, it was customary for black men to take the laborious jobs, as white men felt themselves above such jobs. It would be unlikely that a white man such as Ishmael would be taking such inferior jobs, even if he were lower class.

In this article, it is also argued that Captain Ahab is a black man as well, if not a “mulatto,” or mixed man. Although access to Ahab’s backstory is much more limited, Bernard argues there is still evidence to back his claim. One of his first points lies in how Ishmael refers to Ahab, such as “black terrific Ahab” (Melville, 152) and “dark Ahab” (Melville, 216). These terms suggest Ahab has a darker skin tone, which Ishmael seems to admire, he (possibly) being a mulatto man himself. Moreover, Bernard argues that “since these metaphors can also allude to blood, they make him possibly double-blooded and suggest that he too is mulatto” (Bernard, 387). This could also explain Ishmael’s fascination with Ahab, and his admiration for the man. This point ties in with another Bernard makes, of Ahab’s status on the Pequod. It was uncommon for black men to get promotions anywhere other than whale ships and smaller boats. Being that Ahab was one of the captains, it was possible for him to get the position through promotions. “Ahab’s captaincy of a whaler financed by Quakers makes it possible that he too is a part-African American” (Bernard, 387). Since the Quakers were white, it would make sense for them to pay a black man to go on an unsafe and laborious expedition, in order to bring back goods for themselves.

Overall, I quite enjoyed reading this article. I feel that Fred Bernard presented a fascinating argument with compelling evidence. This completely astounded me when I first read it because I would never have thought that Ishmael and Ahab were of mixed descent, had it not been for my reading of this article. There was so much evidence right in front of my face, and Bernard provided the lens to look through and focus on that evidence. His theory challenges hundreds of scholars and artists to look at Moby-Dick in a different way, because it has always been assumed that the characters were white men. This is important to consider, because if it is true that Melville intended this, the entire narrative of the story is changed forever. I think that this is especially interesting in reading Moby-Dick, because it completely changes the meaning of lines we have already read and discussed together in class. Lines that I myself have analyzed no longer mean what I thought they meant. I think this is also important because we as readers should be challenging common sense notions of literature and making our own theories. In a personal sense, I feel that this article is valuable for my future reading, because it is challenging me to look at Moby-Dick from a different perspective, and deeper analyze the lines I read. In opening that new door, I can feel better informed and enriched with what I read. (738 words)

Editor's note:  For further reading, see

O'Hara, Robert J. "Was Ishmael Black? Facts Behind Herman Melville’s Fiction."
The Journal of African American History, vol. 102, no. 3, 2017, pp: 380-386, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.5323/jafriamerhist.102.3.0380