How Does Ishmael's Attitude Change Throughout The Novel

Aiden Broughton
Dr. Lavin
4/4/23
American Literature
Character’s Attitudes Toward the World and How They Change With Experience

In Moby-Dick, each character has their own attitude toward the crew and the Pequod’s voyage. The characters each have their own pasts and experiences that affect the way they act. Some of these characters have been on the ship for some time, building a relationship with others and some are just joining. The crewmates' actions, especially towards newcomers on the ship, show that our attitudes towards the world and others are affected by our own past experiences in life. Ishmael has shown his curiosity of whales throughout the whole book. In Chapter 1, Ishmael describes his desire to "see the world" and "learn

He still goes out on voyages after the Pequod experience and he still admires whales and considers whaling to be his “pistol and ball” (Melville *-*). Ishmael’s excitement is seen and heavily expressed, such as in chapter 94. When Ishmael is squeezing the spermaceti, he describes it as one of the more enjoyable tasks to do on the ship. After Ishmael's experience he sees the harsh realities of the sea. His first look was at the church looking at the wall of men who lost their life while whaling. Ishmael also sees multiple other ships throughout the book such as when he sees the Virgin and the toll that catching no whales has on a crew. In the end, Ishmael is shown the true destruction that whaling has when the Pequod is destroyed by Moby Dick. When Pip is on the ship, he serves as a young cabin boy and is pretty normal. When Pip jumps off the ship into the sea, he is left there and begins to go mad throughout the time he’s there. Everyone seems to see Pip differently once he gets picked up and brought back to the ship, not because he’s gone mad but because his skin used to have a different meaning to it. It was originally “pleasant, genial, jolly brightness” but after Pip’s time in the water he’s seen with a “Blackness that symbolizes sadness and depression” (Flory 4). Pip’s attitude towards everything changed, he started to think of things with a philosophical reasoning but also made no sense when he