Moby Dick

In Chapter 83, Jonah Historically Regarded, Ishmael interestingly contemplates religion and science. This is not the first time Jonah is mention in the book, nor is it surprising, with the overt mention of the whale in the story. However, I think this chapter adds an interesting dimension to Ishmael’s character.

Ishmaels has shown himself, in certain moments, to lean more towards the logical and scientific than the religious (such as when he criticizes Queequeg’s Ramadan as being silly and bad for the body). In this chapter, he also reveals himself to be religious. Through the character of Sag Harbor, he draws attention to  some of the discrepancies in the story, and his attempts to explain them seem halfhearted. After reading his meticulously detailed descriptions of whaling, one expects him to dissect the story of Jonah in the same way: paying attention to the details. However, he doesn’t. When he addresses the fact that a whale could not swallow a whole man, Ishmael says: “Possibly, too, Jonah might have ensconced himself in a hollow tooth; but, on second thoughts, the Right Whale is toothless.” He leaves the paragraph at that. So, why would Ishmael bring up a possibility, promptly reject it, and then give no other explanations?

I think he purposely doesn’t try to give readers any convincing scientific or logical explanation for the discrepancies because he wants the reader to recognize that there are some things for which one just has to put logic aside and believe. Ishmael finally ends the chapter by telling us: “all these foolish arguments of old Sag-Harbor only evinced his foolish pride of reason […] Besides, to this day, the highly enlightened Turks devoutly believe in the historical story of Jonah” (355). Don’t reason it too much, just believe it, Ishmael seems to tell us. His repetition of the word “foolish” in his description of Sag Harbor is especially striking—Ishmael, to this point, has hardly struck me as a character who would find logic foolish. His use of the word foolish here to describe Sag Harbor’s pride, once again, reminds men to not be too arrogant (something that comes up again and again in this book). In this chapter, he checks man’s pride, telling them not to try and use reason to justify religion, because religion is bigger, and beyond the reach of logic.   This shows his religious side, the side of him inclined to believe in this story and in God even though the facts don’t add up.

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