Mobey Dick Essays -- essays research papers

Herman Melville's Moby Dick is a book which can be read as a general metaphor for the battle between the evil powers of the Devil versus the divine powers of God and Jesus, both try to obtain the souls of mankind in order to assist in each other's destruction. In this metaphor, the Devil is shown through the person of Captain Ahab, God becomes nature, Jesus is seen as the White Whale, and the representation of mankind is the crew. The voyage of the Pequod, therefore, is a representation of a similar voyage of mankind on earth, until the death of Jesus, during the whole thing the influences of these three â€Å"supernatural forces† are connected. Thus, the basis of this idea is that in the plot of Melville's book, there are also peeks of the "plot" of the Bible. "As they narrated to each other their unholy adventures, their tales of terror told in words of mirth; as their uncivilized laughter forked upwards out of them, like the flames from the furnace; as to and from, in their front, the harpooners wildly gesticulated with their huge pronged forks and dippers; as the wind howled on, and the sea leaped, and the ship groaned and dived, and yet steadfastly shot her red hell further and further into the blackness of the sea and the night, and scornfully champed the white bone in her mouth, and viciously spat round her on all sides; then the rushing Pequod, freighted with savages, and laden with fire, and burning a corpse, and plunging into that blackness of darkness, seemed the material counterpart of her monomaniac commander's soul." (p.463) Based on the developed metaphor, the quote above can be seen as showing the role of Ahab as the sign of the Devil, within Moby Dick. The entire passage shows the effects of his manipulation with the crew. The words such as, "flames," "blackness," "howled," and of course, "huge pronged forks" turn the Pequod into a satanic representation of hell itself. Thus, the influence of the hellish commander can easily be seen upon the innocent men, whose only mistake was failing to see the true warning behind mad Ahab's mission. This notion of 'savageness' suggests not only a lack of religious morality, but also a dislike of it. Thus, the men are fully "unholy" as they stand on board a ship that is "la... ...Jesus. This manipulation is obvious in Ahab's spirited speeches, detailed mappings, and eagerness, all of which are methods to rush the detrimental encounter. The craziness of Ahab's mission of revenge can be compared to the same type of craziness in the Devil seeking out the death of the Son of God. The metaphor is also strengthened with the final battle of the Pequod and Moby Dick, which last for three days from the moment the â€Å"White Whale† is first harpooned. These facts repeat the crucifixion of Christ, where Christ died and went to hell for three days in order to defeat Satan before rising into heaven in glory. Because of this accomplishment, the few who are faithful to the Lord are saved into eternal life, while all those who are unfaithful, are damned. Therefore, the entire crew goes down with Ahab except for Ishmael, who was theoretically faithful. Thus proving the metaphor of the battle between the evil powers of the Devil versus the divine powers of God and Jesus, both try to obtain the souls of mankind in order to assist in each other's destruction. The Relationship between Moby Dick and The Bible, and the Symbolism Behind it 6404 GHE II Hour 3 11/30/00