Questions in Moby Dick
In the novel Moby Dick, Melville poses through his narrator, Ishmael,, many questions that seem to have no answer. Some of these questions are: Can science help man better understand his surroundings? Can art or literature? Is there a God? If God exists, is He merciful or cruel? Unfortunately for Ishmael, and, humans in general, these questions cannot, and, according to the novel, should not be answered. For Ahab, the pursuit of these answers led to destruction and death.One of the central themes of the novel is whether or not science can be used to help man understand the world around him. Ishmael attempts to do this by organizing and compulsively defending the world around him through science. This can most easily be seen in the chapter, 'Cetology'.
So, too, does Ahab, at the end of the novel, when he relinquishes his soul to the sea as he is pulled under water. Trying to impose order and logic on things that are disorderly or illogical, like the ocean, will inevitably lead to destruction and defeat. Ahab's quest for an answer leads to his death. Ishmael notes that man has not yet been able to completely capture the essence of the elusive whale. He gives up in the end, calling his 'draught of a draught' something that he will never be able to fully understand. This suggests that after all of his work, it is something that is not only beyond his grasp, but also beyond what most people can understand. According to the narrative, the best answer is to not know an answer. Ishmael questions whether it is possible to create an object that conveys the reality and the spirit of the whale and its hunters. As far as Barthes' assessment that "literature is the question minus the answer", I can think of no better example than this novel. Many pages of the novel are devoted to the classification and organization of whales according to their genus and species names. Ishmael gives up at the end of the 'Cetology' when he realizes his draft is only a small part of a work that will never end. Whales in these pictures are seen as both mighty and malicious, which suggests that art is also unreliable in helping man answer the question, "Can science or art help man better understand his surroundings?", since so many distinct views about whales exist. This also shows that there is uncertainty in his own interpretation of whales, despite his apparently ample knowledge of whales. It is not known why the crew, save for Ishmael, is killed.
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