Moby Dick Enigma - 804 Words

Mr. Greer American Lit. Jim Hatton Topic #2 11/6/2012 Moby Dick is an enigma. Some whalers, like many aboard the Pequod, believe he is an immortal being with god-like qualities. Other whalers believe he is a tangible albino sperm whale. Moby Dick is the source of all that is evil for Ahab, and an impediment of a whaling voyage to those like Starbuck. There is vast variability of character perceptions, and particular beliefs or lack thereof that imbue Moby Dick with his power, which make him tremendously inscrutable. Many Whalers encountered in Moby Dick have differing opinions on the whale. Some whalers, as Ishmael describes, observe Moby Dick as perpetual. â€Å"It cannot be much of a matter of surprise that some†¦show more content†¦However, Ishmael truly believes that Moby Dick is almost impossible to understand. â€Å"If then, Sir William Jones, who read in thirty languages, could not read the simplest peasant’s face in its profounder and more subtle meanings, how may unlettered Ishmael hope to read the awful Chaldee of the Sperm Whale’s brow? I put that brow before you.† (p.275) He understands the great inscrutability of Moby Dick. Ishmael only sees the whale in for brief moments in three chapters, therefore making it hard to comprehend a full understanding of the whale. Moby Dick is unfathomable. Although a tangible whale, he turns into a god, a legend, a reward, a blockade and the idea of evil. Many different characters have different understandings of the whale, however Ishmael understands the most: that Moby Dick is inShow MoreRelatedEssay about Classification Of Restaurant Tippers924 Words   |  4 Pagestend to bridge the gap between a server and their table, so to speak. They know drinks will be followed with straws and food orders will be taken as soon as hands are free. THE NON-MONITARY TIPPERS. The roller coaster of customers. The profit enigma. These tables tend to build up a server’s self-esteem, only to inadvertently knock it down upon receipt of payment. Non-monetary tippers generally are always smiling, polite and complimentary. In short, they are usually very pleasant individualsRead MoreIgnorance Is Not An Excuse For Not Learning Essay1337 Words   |  6 Pagescharacter Bartleby s, subconscious struggle with mental illness and the inability of the people around him to understand and interact with him. When Melville wrote this story he had experienced a great loss from the poor reception of his book Moby Dick. Naturally he would have been depressed and some have said that his sense of loss parallels with the dead letters office. In addition, it is important to remember that during the time in which he lived psychology was not as advanced as it is nowRead MoreInterpretation of the Text13649 Words   |  55 Pageseliciting a certain response from the reader, for example, creating a mood, increasing tension and suspense, etc. 10 An enigma is an important factor in story-telling, when the narrator withholds some information from the reader and keeps him guessing, imagining the probable outcome of the events described, motives of characters’ actions, etc. Some stories contain a whole series of enigmas. Withholding information until a certain point in the development of the plot is called retardation, which is a widelyRead MoreVictorian Novel9605 Words   |  39 Pagesmind’. Slave emancipation, the Irish Fenians and Russian imperialism were themes to be traced in the narrative, which served as a source of many more themes in works of other authors. For example, in Dickens’ *Great Expectations, in Melville’s Moby Dick and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. It became a foundation text for an emerging sub-genre of *‘scientific romance’. Pierce Egan â€Å"Sr’s Life in London† was written as a series of urban sketches, recording the travels of a countryman, Jerry Hawthorne,