Moby Dick

I could not help but find a particular statement in Ishmael’s commentary of labor very controversial and slightly disturbing. In chapter 45, The Affidavit, Ishmael says “For God’s sake, be economical with your lamps and candles! not a gallon you burn, but at least one drop of man’s blood was spilled for it” (Melville 184). This line reminded me of the blood diamond conflict in Africa. There are also many connections in Ishmael’s earlier remark “Who ain’t a slave?”

In class we spoke a lot about Melville’s commentary on labor and the melancholy. Melancholy was defined as extreme sadness, and even a psychological condition, as Freud says. However, the setting of the melancholy remained on the whaling ship, and nowhere else. In fact, nearly the entire book takes place exclusively on the whaling ship. Ishmael’s remark about spilt blood draws the readers attention to the effect of whaling voyages; the afterwards. In this way I believe Melville is appealing to the audience that has never seen the horrors of whaling. He points out that, although there are hardships in every form of labor, the hardships are directly transported (in this case in the form of lamps and candles) to the kitchen tables of his readers.

This notion is very reminiscent of the blood diamond conflict because the blood of many men is spilt over a luxury item. In Angola, Zimbabwe, Côte D’Ivoir, Liberia, and the Republic of Congo, diamonds became an item of extreme importance, similar to the Gold Rush in America, and in this case, whale oil. Both are very important resources that Americans are willing to buy for high prices. Our dependence on oil can be compared with our dependence on luxury and beauty. In these African nations, diamonds were hoarded and used for many purposes, including funding government wars. All nations with sufficient diamond mines fell to turmoil and civil war, making the diamonds more stained with human blood than the whale oil.

The United States got word of the atrocities in the diamond mining business and cut off business with Sierra Leone and other guilty countries. The amount of blood spilt over such a superficial item boggles my mind. Although whale oil does not hold the same materialistic qualities, Ishmael is pointing out the same conflict. Diamonds that cost many human lives were transported directly to the fingers, necks, and ear lobes of millions of ignorant men and women, just like whale oil was made into lamps and candles for people who had no idea how much suffering was involved.

In regards to Ishmael’s earlier comment “Who ain’t a slave?” I believe there are exceptions. The consumers are not always slaves. The buyers of whale oil and diamonds who never lift a finger are not slaves. In class we discussed the possibility of Melville being a social commentator. I did not invest in this claim until reading this line, for it is so directly confronting the audience about their ignorance. I do not think Melville is indignant about the situation, but I do think he aimed to make people aware of what hardships are involved in every type of labor, and that, as consumers of almost every good, we should be more grateful of what is put on our table.

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