Moby Dick Group

Question:

kalajsfinest
kalajsfinest
Student
College - Freshman

what symbolic meaning does the whale have? Ahab said is that wall..sometimes I think there's a naught behind? What do the ship and crew symbolize

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Posted by kalajsfinest on Tuesday November 4, 2008 at 2:57 PM and tagged with moby dick, symbolism, symbols.

Answers:

  1. dkeo1515
    dkeo1515 Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    Moby Dick is full of symbolism.  Moby Dick is an impersonal force that can represent God or Ahab's futile quest for vengeance.  Since we cannot read its thoughts and feelings, Moby Dick is inscrutable.  Ahab is unable to defeat the great white whale, and it consistently thwarts Ahab's quest.  This ties in as a symbol of God.  God's will is inscrutable.  There is also physical manifestation of this inscrutability.  For most of the novel, we are unable to see the whole whale, most of it is hidden in the depts of the ocean.  This inability to really see the whale or to really understand the whale can be seen as humanity's relationship with God.

    The crew are an interesting lot.  Ishmael, the narrator, is the only member of the crew with an education.  The rest of the crew are working-class men with little to no education.  Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask are also symbolic.  Starbuck is a religious man.  He prays to God for guidance and relies on his faith to make sense of his world.  Stubb keeps a cool head in a crisis.  He has been working and surviving on a whaling ship for so long that the danger of death has little meaning for him.  He is a fatalist.  Flask enjoys the thrill of the hunt.  He does not live an examined life.  All three characters emphasize Ahab's character traits.  Ahab's actions are the opposite of each of these three characters.

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    Posted by dkeo1515 on Tuesday November 4, 2008 at 10:38 PM

  2. imwithgod
    imwithgod Student
    College - Junior

    in relation with dkeo1515 she said that the whale symbolizes God...then is it a nature of God to fight back when He's been attack by these whale hunters?? there's a conflict between the whale and ahab. and yeah, i can't figure it out. it's man vs nature right. if moby dick represent MYSTERY then what ahab symbolizes?need help

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    Posted by imwithgod on Tuesday March 17, 2009 at 4:38 PM