Ismael in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick: Character Analysis

Abstract

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is deservedly recognized as one of the brilliant masterpieces of world literature. For almost two hundred years it has been giving the greatest pleasure to lovers of literature, it captures reader’s mind with unforgettable strong emotional impressions and drags them on a winding journey across the vast ocean. One of the main characters of the novel is a young, inexperienced boy Ismael who narrates the story. Seeker of his destiny and well-being, Ismael “invades” the reader’s mind from the very first sentence: “Call me Ismael.” Wondering the mysterious, dark coast of Nantuken, Ismael has no idea what surprises the future has in store for him. Staying at the hotel “Souter inn”, he experiences  the feelings of fear and uncertainty for the first time when he meets Polynesian harpooner Quebec. Strangely started communication will grow into exemplary friendship. Moreover, the coffin prepared in advance for Quebec is the only way to save Ismael’s life in the epilogue of the novel. Such ending gives much more significance to Ismael than a simple character and storyteller. He becomes symbol of a new chance, new life. He represents an American of new era who must build a new future by reassessing the mistakes made by his ancestors.

           Ishmael, as well as Ahab, are Biblical names. According to the Old Testament, Ishmael is the son of Abraham and Hagar who is Abraham's wife’s, Sarah's maid. Abraham left him and his mother in the wild nature alone. Hunting for whales also reminds the Christian and Jewish readers of the story of the Biblical Jonah. The first epigraph of the novel is an allusion to “Genesis”: “And God created great whales” and then it continues: “Now the Lord has prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah”. That Jonah who was thrown from the ship by the sailors because they believed he had  an evil eye and would bring only troubles. According to the Bible, Jonah was swallowed by a big fish, then God took pity on him and released him.

     Unlike the vast majority of storytellers, Ishmael does not just tell us a story, he is also the coauthor of the novel whom Melville never leaves alone. As the story progresses, the reader loses interest in him as an individual and perceives him as an apathetic character, a sailor who internally opposes the aspirations of his captain and, unlike him, sees salvation in returning to land. However, his kind heart and mind sympathize with the deranged Ahab, and he is unwittingly drawn into a game he is doomed to lose. Ishmael exhibits strong moral principles at crucial moments, to stop the destructive tendencies in his mind, to be independent of revenge and greed, he cannot be proud of his experiences, although he is mature enough to understand the dangers.       Ismail, as a character, with his personality and life was “produced” by the situation in the middle of the 19^th century - the era when the fresh country tried with great zeal to create its own unique culture. A new type of young hero was needed in the difficult, laborious work of building a new cultural identity and finding out one's own "I", admittedly with little life experience, but good-natured towards new things and challenges. Herman Melville, after long travels and several successful attempts to establish his own name in literature, in Moby-Dick, recognized as the crown of his writings, offers the character of Ishmael as a way and a key to recovery and a new life.