Response Journal Week 1 - Kalil

The most immediately remarkable part of the beginning of Moby Dick is Melville’s humor. The writing was shockingly funny, especially for such an antiquated piece of literature (the mark of a classic?). He accomplishes this both through scenes which are simply comical (such as when Ishmael is confused about selling heads, pg. 31), but also through his style of writing. The majority of the writing, and Ishmael’s dialogue appears extremely educated and almost formal at times, yet he also includes popular idioms and colloquialisms.
Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the juxtaposition of these two styles highlights the differences between Ishmael and the people he interacts with. This brings up the question of Ishmael’s past, and education. The first few chapters tell us almost nothing about his background, save that he was poor, and enjoyed going out to sea. While this is clearly me stereotyping, I never expected a sailor to be the most cultured character in the novel. This speaks to another recurring theme: prejudice.
From the first chapter, Melville makes a point of eschewing prejudice (22, 31). This is to some extent comparable with the draw of the unknown (the sea), as it requires a certain open mindedness and lack of presuppositions. Once Queequeg is introduced, Melville’s focus on prejudice becomes important, as racial and cultural tensions appear. Here, everything falls apart. Ishmael has some redeeming moments, such as on page 36, when he acknowledges that Queequeg is likely equally terrified. However, even this is the same justification that people often give when talking about animals. Queequeg embodies the perfect noble savage; “he wouldn’t harm a hair of your head” and incessantly polite, yet he is uncivilized and foreign (36, 38). The fascination with the unknown does extend to Ishmael’s treatment of Queequeg, but in a wholly different manner. Ishmael plays the role of the voyeur, watching and studying everything that he does, as a scientist would an animal.
To be fair, this is only Ishmael’s initial treatment of Queequeg, and I cannot truly fault him for being terrified (a strange tattooed man crawling into bed with you holding a tomahawk is always a little bit scary). However, this does go against his attempt to be open minded. Regardless, keeping the time period in mind, I am to some extent impressed with the way that Ishmael learns to accept Queequeg’s form of worship. Even so, the relationship is still that of a scientist examining a specimen, though it becomes more friendly.