Chapter 55: Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales
Ishmael considers well-known graphic depictions of whales.
To a whaleman who has actually seen whales, most historical, mythological,
and scientific sources are blatantly inaccurate. As a result, says Ishmael,
“you must needs conclude that the great Leviathan is that one creature
in the world which must remain unpainted to the last.” The only
solution that Ishmael sees for one who seeks to know what a whale
looks like is an actual encounter with the creature. In the ocean,
only portions of a whale are visible at any one time, the majority
of the animal being underwater. Only dead whales are visible in
their near-entirety, and those are to the living animal what a wrecked
ship is to one afloat. He warns the reader not to “be too fastidious
in your curiosity” about the whale, since such curiosity is unlikely
to be satisfied.
Chapter 56: Of the Less Erroneous Pictures of Whales,
and the True Pictures of Whaling Scenes
Ishmael then tries to find some acceptable depictions
of whales. To his mind, the only pictures that come close are two
large French engravings that show the sperm and right whales in
action. He wonders why the French have been best able to capture
whales and whaling in art, because France is not a whaling nation.
Chapter 57: Of Whales in Paint; In Teeth; In Wood; In
Sheet-Iron; In Stone; In Mountains; In Stars
Ishmael considers versions of whales crafted by whalers,
including specimens carved in ivory, wood, and metal. Those with
an interest in the creature can see whales everywhere, including
in geological forms and in the starry sky.
Chapter 58: Brit
Brit is a minute yellow substance upon which the right
whale feeds. Ishmael moves from a discussion of feeding whales to
a generalized comparison between the land and the sea. In the sea,
there are hidden horrors and continuous danger, while on land, all
is visible and therefore manageable. He applies this assessment
to the human soul, which he believes contains a small island of
“peace and joy” surrounded by an ocean of horrors.
Chapter 59: Squid
As the Pequod sails toward Java, Daggoo
thinks that he sights Moby Dick. The boats are lowered and the animal
pursued. It is a false alarm, however, as it is only a giant squid,
which is taken as a bad omen. Ishmael notes that the squid is conjectured
to be the sperm whale’s food, but that the sperm whale feeds and
lives largely out of sight beneath the sea’s surface.
Chapter 60: The Line
In preparation for a later scene, says Ishmael, he will
describe the whale-line. Made of hemp, this rope is connected to
the harpoon at one end and dangles free at the other so that it
can be tied to other boats’ lines. Because it is laid out throughout
the boat and whizzes out when a whale is darted, it is dangerous
for the men of the harpoon crews. All men, according to Ishmael,
live with metaphorical whale-lines around their necks, and it is
only when a catastrophe occurs that they realize the constant perils
of life.
Chapter 61: Stubb Kills a Whale
Queequeg views the squid as a good omen, indicating the
presence of a sperm whale nearby. The crew soon sights a spouting
sperm whale, which Stubb and Tashtego succeed in killing.
Chapter 62: The Dart
Ishmael gives a quick account of the harpooning of a whale.
He argues that the system presently in use is inefficient, as the
harpooner is forced to row strenuously before harpooning the whale and
is thus breathing too hard to aim properly.
Chapter 63: The Crotch
The crotch is a wooden support for a harpoon. Ishmael
quickly digresses from describing the crotch to consider the loose
harpoons that pose a threat to the boats. Each line has two harpoons
attached to it. Ideally, both would be thrown and stuck into the
whale. More commonly, however, the whale dives after the first strike
and the second harpoon must be thrown overboard to prevent injury
to those in the boat. Dangling loose in the water, the second harpoon
still poses a great danger to the boats.
Chapter 64: Stubb’s Supper
Most whalemen do not enjoy whale meat; Stubb, however,
wants to dine on a steak from his whale. While he devours his steak,
sharks dine on the carcass of the whale, which has been tied fast
to the ship. Stubb calls on the black cook, Fleece, to make his
supper; he also demands that the cook order the sharks to stop eating
the whale flesh. The cook delivers a sermon to the sharks, telling
them that they ought to be more civilized. Stubb then proceeds to
torment the cook, who likens Stubb to a shark.
Chapter 65: The Whale as a Dish
Ishmael offers a culinary history of the whale. He remarks
that no one except for Stubb and the Eskimos still eat it. Deterrents
include the exceedingly rich quality of the meat and its prodigious
quantities. Furthermore, it seems wrong to eat whale because, though hunting
the whale makes the meat a “noble dish,” one has to eat the meat
by the light of a lamp that burns the whale’s oil. But, Ishmael ponders,
perhaps this adding of insult to injury isn’t so rare: his readers
probably eat beef with a knife made from the bone of oxen and pick
their teeth after eating goose with a goose feather.
Analysis: Chapters 55–65
The chapters that survey visual depictions of whales demonstrate the
cultural ubiquity of whales while simultaneously questioning the
accuracy of pictures, and perhaps all representations, in general. Ishmael
questions whether it is possible to create an object that conveys
the reality and the spirit of the whale and its hunters. In doing so,
he may implicitly suggest that his own picture of the whale—his narrative—will
be inadequate. Alternatively, he may mean to imply the superiority
of a picture in words to a graphic representation. The few engravings
and paintings that Ishmael praises seem to be effective because
they offer dramatic but not necessarily realistic scenes and convey
some of the terror involved in a close encounter with a whale, which
can also be said of Ishmael’s narrative.
The sea, which offers only its surface for interpretation
while hiding unknown events in its depths, is a perfect model of
human perception. As Ishmael notes in Chapter 58 with
his metaphor for the human soul, even when we examine ourselves,
we see only surfaces and quick glimpses of hidden truths. Ishmael
finds this limitation to human perception strangely liberating.
Unaware of what lies beneath these surfaces, he is free to interpret
the world as he sees fit. His narration in these chapters tends
to begin with a discussion of something concrete like brit or the
giant squid before veering into philosophical speculation about
concepts like the human soul and the mysteries of the ocean.
Ishmael also offers the first of many digressions about
whaling equipment and technique in these chapters. After describing
the successful hunt of a whale, Ishmael goes back to talk about
the crotch where a whale dart rests. His explanations about equipment
and history give the novel a realistic and precise feel. This use
of detail acts as a bulwark against the perceptual and philosophical
uncertainty that threatens Ishmael’s narrative. As a result, the
novel at times reads more like a documentary than a work of fiction.
These chapters also include comic relief, in the person
of the cook Fleece (whose name likely reflects the nineteenth-century
American description of black people’s hair as “woolly”). The cook’s
sermon to the sharks contrasts with Father Mapple’s sermon in Chapter 9. Whereas
Mapple delivers a lofty theological sermon full of metaphor and
high ideals, Fleece addresses the sharks as “fellow-critters” and
makes a series of startling points about equality, social justice,
and the importance of distributing resources equally. Though it
is supposed to be funny, his sermon resonates with Ishmael’s mention
of sharks following slave ships for a taste of their human cargo
and with Stubb’s mistreatment of the black Fleece. Fleece instances
the undercurrent of racism and abuse within the supposedly meritocratic
order aboard the Pequod.
