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Moby Dick Whale Meaning

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Everyone has a specific reason for every action they take. In Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, one man’s quest for revenge leads him on an intense and fatal journey. Ishmael, a crew member of the Pequod, follows his captain, Ahab, on a journey to defeat the infamous white whale, Moby Dick. After Ahab loses his leg, to the mighty grips of Moby Dick, he becomes infatuated with the pursuit of finding the whale. In chapter 42, Ishmael ponders the symbolic meaning of the white whale, as he is unsure of what the whale truly means to himself. Swimming its way through the three oceans of the world is the mighty Moby Dick. Legends surrounding the whale have caused it to be feared around the sea. Throughout the story the whale is deemed a threat to the men at sea for its brutal and fatal attacks. Moby Dick is often mentioned as “the white whale”, as it is a white sperm whale.
On page 159, Ishmael states, “What the white whale was to Ahab, has been hinted; what, at times, he was to me, as yet remains unsaid”. Moby Dick has been more than simply a whale to many of the characters in the novel. One man on the Pequod, Starbuck, simply sees the whale in the most literal way, as a whale. Furthermore, Captain Boomer, of the Samuel Enderby, views Moby Dick as a …show more content…

He believes that the lack of color causes people to panic, even if they aren’t fully aware of why they have this sense of worry. For example, on page 161, he talks about how Albino people, individuals that lack pigmentation in their skin, are often feared. People with this condition aren’t necessarily frightening, but the shock the whiteness of their skin has on people, can cause a terror. Furthermore, Ishmael also uncovers how seamen actually fear the whiteness of the water, whereas it might seem that they are terrified of sinking their ships. The whiteness of the water causes the seamen to feel

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