Moby Dick

In the first chapter of Moby Dick (“Loomings”), Ishmael discusses his decision to go to sea. He claims that he has a desire to sail around the world whenever he feels depressed or gloomy, because sailing helps him feel happier and more content (1). However, Ishmael does not think that this desire rests solely with him, but rather “almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings toward the ocean” (1). Ishmael describes thousands of men who stand by the ocean in a dreamlike state (1). Water appears to have a profound effect on them (and people in general). The ocean is like a great frontier and there seems to be something magical about its properties:

Say, you are in the country; in some high land of lakes. Take almost any path you please, and ten to one it carries you down in a dale, and leaves you there by a pool in the stream. There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded of men be plunged in his deepest reveries–stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region. Should you ever be athirst in the great American desert, try this experiment, if your caravan happen to be supplied with a metaphysical professor. Yes, as everyone knows, meditation and water are wedded for ever (2).

Throughout the previous description it is difficult to discern if it is Melville or Ishmael speaking. I would argue that it is likely both, since I imagine that Melville’s and Ishmael’s views align here. The ocean is set up as a wide open expanse on which to wonder and marvel at the earth. It is also an occasion to ponder and question one’s fate or destiny (and whether one has one, and, if so, what it might be). It seems that Melville is describing the ocean much like America was often viewed: an open frontier filled with nature and a place still largely untouched by man and his industrializing influences. It seems likely that later in the novel, the ocean (much like the wild west) will itself be wild and dangerous. However, Melville and Ishmael clearly believe that there is something that guides a person toward it (whether in spite of or because of its danger).

Melville seems to suggest that there is an innate or natural desire to be near water, something that draws people close to it. The ocean (and water generally) does seem to inspire reflection and meditation. From the sounds of waves crashing on the beach, to the trickle of a stream, and even the fact that our own reflections can be seen in water (leading to an interesting double meaning), water has a naturally comforting nature, which in turn makes it more likely to find oneself thinking about life. The fact that Melville links philosophy with water (in the quoted passage above) seems quite profound. Should the reader begin wondering about larger significances of what the ocean stands for or what it means? It seems likely that, just like Ishmael and the crew of the Pequod, we too should be on the lookout for signs, things that would indicate something larger than just a simple concept or thing. But in this case, what should we think? Is the water indeed like a great frontier? Is it representative of nature itself? Does sailing on a voyage become a metaphor for living life? Perhaps we should continue to look for more signs to attempt to find out.

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