Veneration of the Whale

From his lengthy descriptions and his genuine excitement over the intricacies of whaling, it is evident to the reader that Ishmael is indeed a scholar. However, he is not a scholar of math or science but of whaling and the ocean. Interestingly, however, Ishmael does not reserve his veneration for whalers like Ahab or Starbuck or even Queequeq, but instead puts on a pedestal the very species that he hunts: the whale. Throughout the novel, Ishmael venerates Moby Dick , and whales in general, the same way a scholar venerates the expert in their field.

For example, on page 379, he comments that like great men such as Shakespeare, the whale has a large forehead where their genius is almost visible like “antlered thoughts descending there to drink.” And, as with all of his descriptions of the whale, this effect is magnified by the leviathan’s size leading to the impression that such a large species combined with such a dignified appearance creates a “deity”(379) like figure which man fears. Later on, Ishmael continues to build the parallel between the whale and great men by contesting that the vapor that appears from a whales spout is similar to the “vapor” appearing from the minds of great men, “while in the act of thinking deep thoughts”(409). Ishmael’s fascination with the whale contributes to the theme of the power of nature vs. man.