Jan 30 2010
It’s hard to not be a racist
“I’ll try a pagan friend,” Ishmael says matter-of-factly on page 49 of Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick. Melville presents Ishmael as an example for his readers in the subject of race. At times Ishmael acts as a race-relations role model, and at others he represents the audience’s faulty ideas about race.
As soon as Ishmael hears that the harpooneer with whom he is to share a bed is dark-complexioned, he becomes suspicious. However, he does not immediately think about race differences, and continues to worry mainly about his bedfellow’s unattractive harpooneer qualities.
When Ishmael lays eyes on Queequeg for the first time, he sees that the dark complexion is not solely a tan, and that Queequeg is in fact of a different race. This realization changes everything and Ishmael becomes frightened. Instead of thinking of his new companion as a “head-peddling harpooneer” (19), Ishmael calls Queequeg a “purple rascal” and an “abominable savage” and concludes that “had not the stranger stood between [him] and the door, [he] would have bolted out of it” (21).
Melville slips in a lesson to his readers at this point. In explaining his terror, Ishmael states: “Ignorance is the parent of fear” (21). Ishmael reflects the audience in that his lack of knowledge about Queequeg causes his fear. Melville’s readers should take away from this passage that they have nothing to fear of other races and should simply learn about them. They will learn that they are not so different.
With one polite act, Queequeg wins Ishmael’s affection. Ishmael concludes that “cannibals,” or “savages” are not so bad after all. Ishmael’s appreciation for Queequeg is a huge step in the right direction, but at the same time opens up a new can of worms.
In describing Queequeg, Ishmael generalizes people like him. He says things like “these savages have an innate sense of delicacy” (27). Ishmael does not think of them as individuals, but decides that since Queequeg can be polite, his whole tribe, or even the entire race, must also be polite. Most likely Queequeg’s race has both polite and rude individuals, just like white people. Ishmael does not think of them as “just like white people,” however, so allows himself to make generalizations.
In the quote with which I opened this post, the line from page 49, Ishmael makes yet another generalization. He has befriended a pagan, a savage, a man who is a different race. Ishmael feels pretty good about himself for that. What a good Christian man he is for befriending a pagan! While Ishmael is in fact ahead of his time, and it was a good thing for him to get along with Queequeg despite their differences, Ishmael is again not thinking of Queequeg as an individual. In that statement, he counts Queequeg as just some pagan he can befriend to feel good about himself.
Ishmael, like Melville’s readers, is imperfect. On page 31 he still judges people by their color. He explains that “in New Bedford, actual cannibals stand chatting at street corners, savages outright.” Ishmael sees them simply standing and chatting, so how can he make a judgment on them, except by the color of their skin? Ishmael has made progress for his time and environment, but there is still work to be done.
Melville uses Ishmael to teach his readers about true acceptance. Ishmael demonstrates that overcoming society’s racial separations is a difficult feat. He has taken the first step in conquering prejudices by accepting Queequeg, but he undoubtedly has more attitude changes to make. Melville presses upon his readers that superficial changes are not enough. They can befriend people of different races, and claim to unprejudiced all they want, but it may not necessarily be so. Melville calls for deeper change, and maybe one day we can all be friends.
Melville, Herman. Moby Dick. New York: Signet Classic, 1998.
One Response to “It’s hard to not be a racist”
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Lane, your reading of Ishmael’s perspectives on Queequeg are great and spot-on: Ishmael IS ahead of his time, somewhat more open-minded than most people, and probably really likes his new pagan friend; but, as you point out, he is still in the hard-to-change mindset of the typical everyman who does not quite stop to think how generalizations are undergirded by racism. The fact that he still sees Queequeg as a pagan shows his ignorance; and the fact that he, on land, differentiates between himself and others (namely, pagans/savages) points to his naivete and instinct for stereotyping. You’re right to say that Melville is threading little lessons on race relations throughout the text — but beware! Melville isn’t such a Pollyanna as you might think, and I don’t think his message is, “We can all get along if we try!” Although Melville does think that Americans should make the effort to break through their racist beliefs, he was not above embracing such racist beliefs himself. What becomes interesting in the novel — and what you should look for as you write these posts — is how Ishmael’s naivete and instinct for stereotyping shift and change once he is on the Pequod and his LIFE depends on the competency of and the faith he has in his fellow whalers, most of whom ARE dark-skinned “savages.” His friendship with Queequeg will deepen — this, too, will affect his thinking, and by extension, Melville’s narrative of Ishmael’s changing perceptions of people will shift from the simplistic idea of “Why can’t we all just get along?” to the more complex varieties of racial understanding.