Chapter 10: A Bosom Friend
Thus, then, in our hearts’ honeymoon,
lay I and Queequeg—a cosy, loving pair.
See Important Quotations Explained
Contemplating Queequeg’s serene comportment, Ishmael develops a
great respect for his new friend, noting that “[y]ou cannot hide
the soul” under tattoos and appearances. Although Ishmael still
thinks of Queequeg as a savage, the latter becomes, in Ishmael’s
mind, “George Washington cannibalistically developed.” Ishmael makes some
small gestures of friendship toward Queequeg, and the two become
friendly. He admires Queequeg’s sincerity and lack of Christian
“hollow courtesies.” According to the customs of Queequeg’s home,
he and Queequeg are “married” after a social smoke out of the tomahawk
pipe. Queequeg gives Ishmael half his belongings, and the two continue
to share a bed, having many long chats. Ishmael even consents to
join in Queequeg’s idol worship, explaining to his Christian readers
that he is only obeying the Golden Rule, as he would hope the “savage”
to join in Christian worship with him.
Chapter 11: Nightgown
Queequeg and Ishmael awaken in the middle of the night.
It is cold and the warmth of the bed and of their companionship
is pleasant. They share a smoke, and Queequeg begins to recount
his life story.
Chapter 12: Biographical
Queequeg is a native of a South Pacific island called
Kokovoko, which is “not down on any map; true places never are.”
The king’s son, he desired to leave the island to see the world
and, he claims, to learn about Christianity. When a whaling ship
stopped at Kokovoko, he sought passage but was denied a job. He
stowed away on the departing ship and, through sheer persistence,
was finally taken on as a whaler. He has since become a skilled
harpooner. Although his father is probably dead by now, meaning
that Queequeg would be king, he can never go back, because his interaction
with Christianity has made him unfit to ascend his homeland’s “pure
and undefiled throne.” For Queequeg, Ishmael notes, “that barbed
iron [Queequeg’s harpoon] was in lieu of a scepter now.” The two
plan to go to Nantucket to find a berth aboard a whaler.
Chapter 13: Wheelbarrow
Together, Ishmael and Queequeg set off for Nantucket with
a wheelbarrow full of their things. The people of New Bedford stare
at this white man and “savage” behaving so friendly with each other.
Queequeg tells Ishmael stories about the first time that he used
a wheelbarrow (he picked it up instead of wheeling it) and about
a white captain who attended a wedding feast on Kokovoko and made
a fool of himself. On the ferry to Nantucket, a bumpkin mimics Queequeg.
Queequeg flips the man around in the air to rebuke him and is subsequently
scolded by the captain. A moment later, a rope in the ferry’s rigging
breaks, and the bumpkin is swept overboard as the ferry goes out
of control. Queequeg takes charge of the ropes to secure the ferry
and then dives into the water to save the man who has gone overboard,
which wins everyone’s respect.
Chapter 14: Nantucket
Ishmael digresses from the story to discuss the island
of Nantucket. He details some of the legends about its founding
and some of the tall tales that are told about life on the island.
He notes that a Nantucketer “owns” the seas and that this “empire,”
covering two-thirds of the globe, is larger than that of any country.
Chapter 15: Chowder
Ishmael and Queequeg settle at the Try-Pots for the night,
an inn owned by the cousin of the Spouter-Inn’s owner. Ishmael is
disturbed by an old topmast above the inn that looks ominously like
a gallows. Everything on Nantucket is touched by the sea: the milk tastes
of fish, and the innkeeper’s wife wears a necklace of fish vertebrae.
The two friends have a supper of hearty chowder.
