“I myself am a savage, owning no
allegiance but to the King of the Cannibals; and ready at any moment
to rebel against him.” These words are declared by Ishmael on the
top of page 222. Not only does it allude to the fact that he's ready
to commit mutiny at the drop of a hat, but also that he is a
cannibal. Cannibals eat their own kind, so if he's a cannibal, who is
he eating?
I think this refers to the whales. On
page 275, he says, “you will be struck by [the whale's skull's]
resemblance to the human skull.” Underneath all of their skin and
fat, and underneath all of our scalp lies a similar bone structure.
The bones in the whale's fin also
resemble that of a hand. They must surface for air just like any
other mammal. They sing and communicate like people.
It's also no coincidence that the book
contains numerous biblical references. In Christianity, Jesus is a
living, human God. In Moby-Dick, the whale serves as a sort of
eternal judge; it dishes out punishment for those who are judged to
be bad.
So in a way, Moby Dick is an
anthropomorphic god and they are out to kill and possibly eat the
cursed whale.
I always enjoy your posts. I wrote mine about the biblical references Melville makes in his book. I also wonder why would Ishmael scream those words. I think he has already lost his mind so much time at sea. I still can't believe though that he hadn't cried mutiny before seriously. How much more did he need from Captain Ahab to just get out? The moment I was in Ishmael's spot, seen Captain Ahab and heard his crazy speech about going for Moby Dick I would have jump overboard. Or at least sneaked out at night and take one of the boats. Well we shall see what Ishmael does next. I have great hopes that he will go live with the whales.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea about killing and eating their god, Jeffrey. Remember the last few chapters? "The Weaver-God, he weaves," says Ishmael.
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