Upon its publication in 1851, Herman Melville’s ambitious novel Moby-Dick or, the Whale did not receive commercial success (Deblanco, 2003, pp.xi). However, today modern literary critics claim it to be “the greatest English novel” because of the “palatability of [Melville’s] truth” (Deblanco, 2003, pp.xi), as Melville incorporates his life as a seamen into the novel. Throughout the story, a recurring concept from the narrator Ishmael is the defense of commercial whaling and the veracity of the novel, writing that “In behalf of the dignity of whaling, I would fain advance naught but substantiated facts” (Melville, 1851/2003, pp.123). In vying for truth, through connotation, figurative language, allusion and manipulation of form, Moby-Dick or, the Whale illustrates his passion for commercial whaling. Connotation and figurative language provide various perspectives on commercial whaling - scientifically, commercially and poetically - lending an omniscient view on the trade and establishing the narrator’s credibility as a seaman. In the chapter “Cetology,” a branch of zoology that focuses on whales, dolphins and porpoises, Melville arranges the types of whales from largest to smallest and categorizes them with their latin terms - “Folio,” “Octavo,” and “Duodecimo” (Melville, pp.149-157). Although the latin terms are different to modern taxonomy, such as the “physeter macrocephalus” for the sperm whale (Merriam-Webster, n.d., “Sperm Whale”), the latinate usage shows specialized knowledge, since Western scholars used latin to study organisms because of its permanence as a dead language in the Middle Ages (Posner, 2021). However, the “cetological system” is incomplete, and therefore, the narrator humbles himself by citing the enormity of detailing the system: “God keep me from ever completing anything. This whole book is but a draught - nay, but the draught of a draught” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.157). Rather than weakening the reliability of the narrator, this humility appeals to the hostile reader. But there are other moments in the novel where Ishmael establishes his credibility by other means, for example, through commerce. He explains to the reader the value of ambergris, a waxy material that forms in the sperm whale’s intestine (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d., “Sperm Whale”), which is used to produce “perfumery, in pastiles, precious candles, hair-powders, and pomatum” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.447) - common goods for aristocrats. The narrator is also aware that the waxy material appeals to other cultures such as Islam: “The Turks use it in cooking, and also carry it to Mecca, for the same purpose that frankincense is carried to St. Peter’s in Rome” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.447). Frankincense refers to one of the items that the three wise men deliver to Jesus Christ upon his birth (New International Version, 2011, Matthew. 2:11). Comparing ambergris to frankincense suggests that whales produce holy matter - further expounding their value. In addition to a whale’s commercial worth, lastly, Ishmael makes an emotional appeal to the reader through poetic language, specifically through imagery and allusion, calling the head of a sperm whale “sublime” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.379). He compares the whale’s brow to a “golden seal affixed by the German emperor to their decrees” which signifies “God: done this day by my hand” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.379). In addition to the material value through the “golden seal,” the description suggests that sperm whales have consciousness, command of language and raison d’etre like humans. The narrator further measures the shape of the whale head to the playwright “Shakespeare” and the theologian “Melancthon” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.379), suggesting that the mind of a sperm whale contains genius as well as intricate thoughts. Through science, commerce, and poetic language, the various perspectives on commercial whaling evidences Ishamel’s knowledge and passion for commercial whaling. While connotations and figurative language establish authority in the novel, Melville utilizes allusions - mythological and historical - more readily to exaggerate the precarious aspects of commercial whaling and to place the trade on a loftier pedestal. The mammal is compared to several mythical creatures in the novel, but a recurring one is the “leviathan” from the Jewish mythology. Throughout the novel, the narrator calls the sperm whale a “leviathan.” In the chapter “Extract,” Melville alludes to Psalms, Isaiah and Job where leviathans are depicted as destructive supernatural beings. In Psalms the leviathan is a “multi headed sea serpent” (New international Version, 2011, Psalm. 74:14); in Isaiah it is a sea monster that symbolizes the enemies of Israel (New International Version, 2011, Isaiah. 27:1); and in Job the leviathan is “overpowering” and it cannot be “subdued” (New International Version, 2011, Job. 41:9). The biblical allusions suggest that a sperm whale is a destructive force, and since the allusions refer to a holy scripture, they also lend a mythology to the sperm whales as if they are mythical creatures. In addition to mythical allusions, Melville also employs historical allusions to further depict the sperm whale as a perilous animal. The narrator describes the length of a sperm whale submerged under water as “broad enough to shade all Xerxes’ army” (Melville, 1851/2003. p.390). Xerxes was the fourth king of the Achaemenid Empire who won the Battle of Thermopylae with seventy-thousand to three-hundred thousand in 480 BCE (Lohnes & Somerville, 2019). Xerxes’ enormous army adds to the sperm whale’s aforementioned annihilating powers. The historical allusion implies that the whalers are in danger in the Pacific. Another instance where the body of the sperm whale is compared to an army is when the sperm whales flee from the ships “as of Cleopatra’s barges from Actium” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.402). At the battle of Actium, Greece on 2 September 33 BCE, amidst a civil war in the Roman empire, Cleopatra and Roman general Mark Antony surrendered to Caesar Augustus whose fleet destroyed 60 of her barges (History.com, 2010). Although her barges have fallen, the massiveness and strength of the sperm whale are still compared to an army. Mythical and historical allusions operate in the novel to show the hazardous nature of commercial whaling. The whaler’s predicament justifies the nature of commercial whaling, portraying whalers to be legendary figures. As connotations establish authority and allusions exalt whalers, Melville also manipulates the conventions of the novel to further strengthen the story’s authenticity - employing pictograms, footnotes and playwriting. In the chapter “The Chapel,” the narrator depicts in a pictogram the obituary of seafarers who have died from commercial whaling (Figure 1). The obituary states the name in capital letters, how the person died, and who is survived by the person in bolded letters, visually inciting immediate grief from the reader and garnering empathy for the whaler. From the last of the three epitaphs, Captain Ezekiel Hardy, “Who in the bows of his boat was killed by a Sperm Whale in the coast of Japan” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.41), also foreshadows the death of Captain Ahab in his battle with Moby Dick - the climax or the most intense moment in the novel. Foreshadowing the climax of the novel authenticates the precarious nature of commercial whaling since climaxes are rendered in sensorial details. Melville uses pictograms and foreshadowing to render the hardship of commercial whaling. Alongside pictograms and foreshadowing, footnotes also bolster the credibility of the novel. Modern usage of footnotes could be traced back to the seventeenth century “as part of an effort to counter skepticism about the possibility of attaining knowledge about the past” (Grafton, 2019, p.24); Melville used footnotes appropriately at the time when he wrote Moby-Dick or, the Whale in the mid-19th-century. However, although some footnotes contain objective details, such as dates, facts, and eye-witness testimonies, Melville playfully uses stylistic features with subjective details. For example, the narrator argues with the comparison of a whale and an elephant in a footnote by calling the comparison “preposterous” and that “...inasmuch as in that particular the elephant stands in much the same respect to the whale that a dog does to an elephant” (Melville, 1851/2003, p.414). The charged language and hyperbolic example evidence the subjectivity of the footnote. Melville’s manipulation of the footnote criticizes the veracity of information, and in this way, he defends the credibility of the events in the novel - as if fiction and nonfiction are the same genre. Lastly, the usage of the play script renders the other characters’ values while remaining loyal to the narrow first person perspective via Ishamel. In this style, the first person can still provide insight into the other characters’ thoughts. This format is most apparent in chapters 37 to 40 and 173; figure 3 of the appendix are two examples. Melville circumvents the limitations of first-person narration and renders the other characters’ thoughts objectively. Through pictograms, footnotes and manipulation of the format, and their abilities or limitations to express objective details, Melville upholds the veracity and adversities of commercial whaling. It is apparent that Melville’s experience at sea has influenced his literature. In 1839 he worked on a merchant ship bound for Liverpool; he published two autobiographical accounts based on his journey on the whaling ship Acushnet; and his voyages include Australia, Hawaii, Philippines and the Pacific - areas featured in Moby-Dick or, the Whale (Herman Melville, n.d.). Similar to the narrator Ishmael (Melville, 1851/2003, p.41), Melville was also a “merchant seaman.” As apparent as his experience at sea is in the novel, however, in 1851 some critics found that the complexities of the novel on commercial whaling “alienated readers,” leading to Melville’s “fading” literary success (Penguin Classics, p.i). On the other hand, modern critics hailed those same qualities to be Moby-Dick or, the Whale Melville’s most “ambitious work” (2007, p.319). Whether criticism chastises or promotes the adventurous novel, Melville’s employment of literary devices - connotations, figurative language, allusions, and foreshadowing; the manipulation of conventions - portray his passion for commercial whaling through omniscience. - John Tang, 21 November 2021 References
Ann Charters & Sam Charters (Eds). (2006). “Herman Melville.” Literature & Its Writers 4th Ed. (pp.319) Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2019, August 29). sphinx. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sphinx Delbanco, A. (2003). Moby-Dick or, the Whale. (pp.xi) Penguin Classics. Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Sperm whale. Britannica School. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/sperm-whale/69081 Grafton, A. (2009). The Footnote: A Curious History. Harvard University Press. Herman Melville. (n.d.) Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/herman-melville History. (2010, February 10). The Battle of Actium. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-actium Lohnes, K. and Sommerville, Donald (2019, July 5). Battle of Thermopylae. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Thermopylae-Greek-history-480-BC Melville, H. (2003). Moby-Dick or, the Whale. Penguin Classics. (Original work published 1851) Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Sperm whale. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sperm%20whale Posner, R. and Sala, . Marius (2021, July 29). Latin language. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Latin-language
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