6B. Moby-Dick (1851) , Chs. 15-18

 

Illustration by Mark Summers from Moby-Dick (Barnes & Noble Books)

From Moby-Dick (1851) by Herman Melville

Click here for the full text.

Multiculturalism, Cosmopolitanism, Cultural Imperialism, and Cultural Preservationism

1. I thought that these chapters were very entertaining; from Ishmael and Queequeg disagreeing about the directions to the Try Pots like a married couple, to Ishmael frantically breaking the door down after thinking Queequeq killed himself, and then to Ishmael insisting that Queequeg is a member of the first Congregational Church to get him aboard the Pequod. Although, something that was kind of interesting to me was the way that Ishmael tries to talk Queequeg out of his Pagan ways. On page 74, Ishmael says “I say, we good Presbyterian Christians should be charitable in these things, and not fancy ourselves so vastly superior to other mortals, pagans and whatnot, because of their half-crazy conceits on these subjects" (Melville 74), he also says that Queequeg should be left in his contentment within his pagan beliefs, saying “all our arguing with him would not avail; let him be, I say: in heaven have mercy on us all--Presbyterians and Pagans alike--for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending" (Melville 74). However, he seems to take back all of his words after the scene in which he believes Queequeg has killed himself, but he was actually in a position of worship (I am not sure that it was worship, but still honoring Yojo) unmoving all day. After Queewueg was done with his Ramadan, Ishmael narrates “…when it is a positive torment to him; and, and fine, makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable inn to lodge in; then I think it high time to take that individual aside and argue the point with him" (Mellville 77), directly going against what he had just said only three pages before. This is the type of hypocrisy that Ishmael calls out coming from Christians throughout the whole novel[;] however, he seems to inadvertently become such a Christian hypocrite. (319)

Consider: Kwame Appiah on "Cosmopolitianism" vs. "Multiculturalism"

2. Melville utilizes a tone of conviviality and kinship between Queequeg and Ishmael in establishing a scene where the men are feasting upon a clam chowder—this creates a light-hearted atmosphere while also characterizing the men as those who enjoy indulgence, Melville writes, “Queequeg seeing his favorite fishing food before him, and the chowder being surpassingly excellent, we dispatched it with great expedition.” In using words like “expedition” and “dispatched,” the act of eating is made to be a conquest by these two characters who are implicitly able to task themselves with anything, and thus, anything is a task. Melville characterizes the boat of which Ishmael and Queequeg desire to sail upon as, “A cannibal of a craft, tricking herself forth in the chased bones of her enemies. All round, her unpanelled, open bulwarks were garnished like one continuous jaw, with the long sharp teeth of the sperm whale, inserted there for pins, to fasten her old hempen thews and tendons to,” by personifying the ship, describing it in a way that makes it seem as if it is a live, threatening creature, Melville provides an insight into the mind of Ishmael, who is observing the vessel, and projecting certain qualities onto it in relation to his whaling; this perhaps offers an idea as to what Ishmael thinks of the act of whaling, of what it is to him, to be at sea, in pursuit of the whale.

3. In chapters 15-18 of Moby-Dick, Ishmael finds a ship for him and Queequeg to sail out on while Queequeg participates in his religious Ramadan. These chapters include many religious discussions and further develop the social scene. Ishmael has a reasonably progressive mindset, saying, "Now, as I before hinted, I have no objection to any person's religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does not kill or insult any other person because that other person don't believe it also." However, Ishamel proves to be limited in his acceptance of other beliefs in light of Queequeg's Ramadan when he says, "But when a man's religion becomes really frantic; when it is a positive torment to him…then I think it high time to take that individual aside and argue the point with him." Ishmael is much more understanding and accepting than others, like Captain Peleg and Captain Bildad, who, upon seeing Queequeg, immediately question his religious affiliation as Ishmael reports, "Captain Peleg in his gruff voice loudly hailed us from his wigwam, saying he had not suspected my friend was a cannibal, and furthermore announcing that he let no cannibals on board that craft unless they previously produced their papers." By papers, they ask for Queequeg's proof that he has converted from pagan worship to the Christian faith. Although Ishmael worries about Queequeg[']s practices, he defends Queequeg to the captains by saying that Queequeg is a member of the First Congregational Chruch and further explains,

"I mean, sir, the same ancient Catholic Church to which you and I, and Captain Peleg there, and Queequeg here, and all of us, and every mother's son and soul of us belong; the great and everlasting First Congregation of this whole worshipping world; we all belong to that; only some of us cherish some queer crotchets no ways touching the grand belief; in that we all join hands."

Even though Ishmael struggles to fully understand Queequeg's religious practices, it does not stop him from having a close bond with Queequeg. With today's identity politics, religious politics, and class politics, Ishmael's philosophy on religion is something I feel more people should try to understand.

4. Chapters 15-18 of Moby-Dick, to me, seem to be on the “funny” side – especially chapter 18. Peleg constantly gets Queequeg’s name wrong, saying things like “Hedgehog” and “Quohog” instead. This is funny to me, because although Queequeg is an unusual name, nobody has seemed to question it. It is simply just his name. However, once you get to chapter 18, Peleg cannot seem to get his name right. For example, it is written, “‘We  must have Hedgehog there, I mean Quohog, in one of our boats’” (Melville). This was likely meant to add comedic relief to the story, meaning to entertain the readers of the time.

Question: To what extent can a humorous element, intended to amuse, also convey an important message?

5. I . . . found Mrs. Hussey’s insensitivity to Queequeg’s presumed death strange. When she thought Queequeg had killed himself in the inn, Mrs. Hussey said, “Betty, get Snarles the Painter, and tell him to paint me a sign, with ‘no suicides permitted here, and no smoking in the parlor’;--might as well kill both birds at once” (78). Mrs. Hussey saw this time as an opportunity to complete her own personal goal rather than lament the loss of Queequeg . . . or comfort those who would be grieving.

6. Melville continues the theme of unity in friendship rather than religion. … After the Ramadan, Queequeg comforts Ishmael by pressing their foreheads against each other. This interaction shows the close bond that the two have for one another despite their differences in religion. Another instance of unity outside of religion is when Peleg mentions that religion does not matter when the ship is at the mercy of the ocean: “Think of Death and Judgement then? No! no time to think about Death then” (83). This, along with Queequeg’s harpoon skills, convinces Bildad that Queequeg should be allowed on the ship regardless of his beliefs.

7. Chapter seventeen of Moby-Dick had me at a complete [loss] with this statement; “This is the reason why most dyspeptic religionists cherish such melancholy notions about their hereafters. In one word, Queequeg, said I, rather digressively; hell is an idea first born on an undigested apple-dumpling; and since then perpetuated through the hereditary dyspepsias nurtured by Ramadans.” (Melville) What is Ishmael referring to with the undigested apple-dumpling? This just doesn’t make much sense to me.

The significance of the quotation is conveyed in the sentences that precede it, in which Ishmael criticizes religious practices (such as dietary practices) that cause physical harm to their practitioners:  "...fasting makes the body cave in; hence the spirit caves in; and all thoughts born of a fast must necessarily be half-starved."  In other words, religious descriptions of the horrors of "hell," for eample, may have been produced by people of faith who have fasted and have an upset stomach when they try to digest solid food (such as an apple dumpling) again. Their "dyspepsias" (gastrointestinal problems) may, over time, become heriditary.