Ishmael Queequeg Quotes

In the classic novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville, we are introduced to the main character and the narrator, Ishmael, a sailor on a whaling voyage. A few chapters into the book, we are introduced to Queequeg, a cannibal who becomes close friends with Ishmael. On their whaling voyage, they meet first mate, Starbuck, a calm and responsible man, and Captain Ahab, obsessed with getting vengeance on the white whale Moby Dick aboard the Pequod. When we first meet Ishmael, we learn that he is frequently depressed; he likes to go out to sea. Ishmael goes into great detail to describe his depression. For example, saying, "[W]henever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself

When Ishmael first meets the harpooner, he is frightened by him as he has a shaved head and dark skin covered in tattoos. After Ishmael calms down, he agrees to share a room with the harpooner named Queequeg. Saying "[W]hat's all this fuss I have been making about, thought I to myself—the man's a human being just as I am: he has just as much reason to fear me as I have to be afraid of him. Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian" (pg. 23). Ishmael realizes that Queequeg is just as human as himself, and there is no reason to be afraid of him. Ishmael is different from many people in his period who would have refused to share a room with someone with a different skin color, showing us how flexible and willing Ishmael is to change.

One of the most notable character traits about Queequeg is how resourceful he is. Queequeg doesn't panic when something goes wrong; he still is level-headed and calm. Instead, he acts quickly and doesn't hesitate, "Queequeg now took an instant's glance around him and, seeming to see just how matters were, dived down and disappeared. A few minutes later, he rose again, one arm still striking out and the other dragging a lifeless form. " (pg. 61). When a crew mate falls off the ship, Queequeg shows how resourceful he is and saves

In the first chapter, he's introduced; we see him trying to bribe his crew mates to kill Moby Dick, offering a gold doubloon to whoever kills him. Ahab argues, "Hark ye yet again—the little lower layer. All visible objects, man, are but pasteboard masks. But in each event—in the living act, the undoubted deed—some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask. If man will strike, strike through" (pg. 161). Ahab is convinced the whale has a reason to kill him, that he is justified in his obsession.

Ahab is also vengeful, wanting nothing more than for Moby Dick to die. We see him go out of his way to bribe his crewmate to kill him despite knowing how dangerous it would be. He refuses to listen to Starbucks when he tells him Moby Dick didn't purposely take his leg. "Death to Moby Dick! God hunt us all, if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death!" (pg. 164). He eventually convinces his crewmates to chant death to Moby Dick.

Much like Ahab's obsession with killing Moby Dick, I also tend to become obsessed with things I enjoy. Often when I watch a new show or read a new book, I appreciate it; it can be the only thing I focus on for a while. I constantly talk about it and bring it up whenever I