Biblical allusions in moby dick Luke Fahmy and Leonardo Morella Biblical allusions in moby dick

Overview Herman Melville sought to create the great American novel This novel would have to consist of a variety of literary devices and references to popular American themes One technique of his to bring this about was to relate many of the characters/events to the Bible

The Right Whale as Christ

The Whale as Christ The previous slide shows the old right whale from the chapter called “The Pequod Meets the Virgin” This whale is interpreted as a symbol of Christ because he was stabbed with three harpoons, attached to three pieces of wooden board, and dragged behind a ship without resisting The name “The Virgin” might also represent Christ’s mother, Mary

“Call Me Ishmael”

“Call Me Ishmael” This is the first line of the book and is discusses often Other than the fact that the character’s name is Ishmael (from the Bible,) it is striking that he says, “Call me.” This is a very informal and welcoming greeting, but could also indicate that “Ishmael” is just a nickname or what the character desires to call himself

Moby Dick

Moby Dick The great white whale has little Biblical significance, but some He represents the unknown because of his many periods of prolonged silence and the mysteriousness of his actions This is similar to the altar of the unknown god in Acts 17:23 There, Paul claims that the unknown god is the True God whom they worship Similarly, Melville may be indicating that the crew of the Pequod (especially Captain Ahab,) worship Moby Dick

Jonah

Jonah Many characters in the book have their Jonah-like moments This may be from actually being inside of a whale or from some sort of rebirth that they experienced (like Jonah) Queequeg, Tashtego, Ahab, and Ishmael were all actually inside of a whale Ahab, Ishmael, and Pip experienced some sort of rebirth