In Chapter 55, Ishmael introduces
the idea of mimesis, meaning that no art can accurately depict a tangible
object. Specifically, he elaborates on the long history of the world’s futile
attempts to portray the mighty, mythical whale. He narrates that the artistic
portrayals “are about as correct as a drawing of a wrecked ship, with broken
back, would correctly represent the noble animal itself in all its undashed
pride of hull and spars.” The only way to understand the true strength of the
creature would be to witness it.
This idea of a discord between
appearance and reality can be drawn out and applied to many other parts of the
novel. Much like the whale, Queequeg’s true identity would never be encompassed
by a pictorial representation. While he outwardly appears as someone who has
“been in a fight, got in a dreadful cut, and…just come from the surgeon,” the
reader is able to see past his rough exterior to a benevolent friend. Ishmael
goes as far as to describe him as “the precious image of each of us men in the
whaling world.” If Ishmael had never overcome his fears of sharing the bed with
this fellow, he could never have discovered this truth. Again, we see that the
only way to understanding is through first hand experience.
I agree that the discrepancy between the experience of seeing a whale in real life and the depiction of whales in art is an important motif in the novel. However, I believe that the underlying theme behind Ishmael’s critique of whale paintings is not appearance vs. reality, but the enigma of nature. Ishmael mentions the majesty and mystery of the whale throughout the book, and we discussed in class that his purpose in including the excerpts from various authors’ descriptions of whales could be to tell the reader how little we know about whales, and how poor our attempts are to describe them.
ReplyDeleteMy previous blog post was about elements of romanticism in the novel. The theme of mimesis in the novel is consistent with the other romantic aspects of the book. In a way, Ishmael, by saying that mankind’s descriptions of whales are inadequate, has effectively critiqued the notion that everything in nature can be easily categorized and emulated in art. This notion is common throughout other novels in romantic literature. In other words, Ishmael’s criticism of paintings of whales is his way of expressing his admiration of the majesty of nature.