Moby Dick Characters - Summary Moby-Dick, Or, The Whale PDF

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Moby-Dick, Or, The Whale...

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Moby-Dick Characters Analysis Ishmael. The narrator of the novel, and its protagonist, Ishmael is a relatively poor young man in New York City at the beginning of the narrative. On a whim, Ishmael decides to take up a job on a whaling vessel, because he craves “freedom” and adventure. Ishmael meets and befriends Queequeg, a harpooneer, and the two set off on the Pequod, meeting Ahab, the ship’s crew, and the terrible Moby Dick. Ishmael documents much of the action on the ship, and also informs the reader of the philosophically, scientific, and religious aspects of sailing and whaling. Ishmael is the only character in the novel to survive the wreck of the Pequod. It is worth noting that while Ishmael tells the reader to “Call him Ishmael,” in the famous first line of the novel, there is no certainty that Ishmael is in fact his given name, a fact that both hints at the limits of knowledge that is a theme of the book and highlights the name’s Biblical origin, as the Biblical Ishmael was an orphan of sorts, abandoned along with his mother Hagar by his father (and his mother’s master) Abraham.

Queequeg. A harpooneer from the Pacific island of Kokovoko, Queequeg left his home and royal position on his Island at a young age to try his luck on whale-ships in the United States. Queequeg is a loyal friend to Ishmael, and the two have an intimate bond that transcends their differences and spans their entire time on the Pequod. Although Queequeg saves a number of characters in the novel from drowning, and almost dies of a fever, he survives until the wreck of the Pequod, in which he drowns.

Ahab. The “monomaniacal” captain of the Pequod, Ahab is a brooding, proud, solitary figure, deathly angry that the monster Moby Dick has eaten his leg. Ahab vows revenge on the animal, even though others, like Starbuck, warn him that no “revenge” is possible against a “dumb animal.” Ahab admits that he is not just hunting Moby Dick, but “whatever lies behind” the whale, and his quest becomes a kind of metaphor for the human condition, battling for meaning and life in a world and against forces that are at once incomprehensible and unconquerable. Ahab is eventually killed by his own harpoon-line, in an attempt to harpoon Moby Dick before the whale smashes into the Pequod.

Moby Dick. The novel’s antagonist, Moby Dick is a white whale, wild and lethal, hunted by many and killed by none. No one in the novel, not even Ahab, succeeds in catching the whale, and Moby Dick eventually destroys the Pequod and nearly all its crew. Moby Dick is seen by the characters as both a monstrous whale and as a symbol, or stand-in, for fate, divine power, or God himself.

Starbuck. Ahab’s first mate, Starbuck is loyal, practical, ethical, and cautious, perhaps overly so. He does not want Ahab to attack Moby Dick, and recognized both the physical and moral danger of Ahab’s obsession, but he also lacks the passion and conviction to stand up to Ahab. Starbuck notably passes up a chance to kill Ahab, deciding that to do so would be wrong, even if it were to save the rest of the crew.

Fedallah.Snuck aboard the Pequod by Ahab, Fedallah, or “the Parsee,” is a man of indeterminate Asian origin, who serves as Ahab’s harpooneer. Fedallah is believed by some on the ship, including Stubb and Flask, to be the “devil incarnate.” Fedallah is killed during the second day of the chase, when he is caught in the line and dragged down into the water by Moby Dick.

Steelkilt. A gifted sailor from the area of the United States around Lake Erie, Steelkilt leads a mutiny on the ship the Town-Ho that nearly succeeds, until it is interrupted by the presence of Moby Dick. Steelkilt later escapes the ship and sails back to Europe, without being punished for his treason.

Pip. An African American boy, Pip has small jobs on the Pequod, mostly cleaning the decks, but goes mad after falling out of Stubb’s whale-boat (he had been called into rowing duty after another sailor fell ill) and being left alone for some time in the sea before being rescued. Pip, in his madness, becomes attached to the also mad Ahab at the end of the novel.

Gardiner. Captain of the Rachel, Gardiner begs Ahab to help him find his son, who was lost in a whale-boat during the hunt for Moby Dick. But Ahab refuses to help Gardiner, saying he has no time to spare in his search for Moby Dick. Gardiner, still searching for his lost son, finds Ishmael after everyone else on the Pequod has been killed by Moby Dick.

Bulkington. The Pequod’s pilot, or steering-man, as it leaves the docks in Nantucket, Bulkington is praised by Ishmael at the beginning of the novel and then forgotten. To Ishmael, Bulkington is a symbol of the many good men whose stories are not told, and who are made to die with the “more famous” or more notable men, like Ahab and Queequeg, who form the basis of the novel....