Feb 21 2010
Hearts’ honeymoon
Even early in the book, the relationships between the men on the boat are very important to the story and the dynamics emerging in the relationships have a lot symbolism and metaphorical messages within them. We see at the end of chapter 10, the relationship and dynamic beginning to form between Ishmael and Queequeg…
“How it is I know not; but there is no place like a bed for confidential disclosures between friends. Man and wife, they say, there open the very bottom of their souls to each other; and some old couples often lie and chat over old times till nearly morning. Thus, then, in our hearts’ honeymoon, lay I and Queequeg- a cozy loving pair.”
I found this whole chapter very interesting, following Ishmael’s internal battle over sharing a bed with the harpooner he has yet to meet- a situation that most would probably find awkward and be wary of. Though in the end, Ishmael decides to go ahead with it and Queequeg and he stay up most of the night smoking and chatting. Be see the early stages of a profound bond being formed between these two men. Once on the ship, the men will be heavily dependent on each other, and trust will most definitely be an important factor. During this part of the book, Ishmael mentions that he is impressed by Queequeg’s dignity and kindness; two characteristics that are good to have in someone on whom you will be depending. It struck me at this point that it is qualities like these that will determine status in the world upon the Pequod, not wealth or race. It is also clear from the way that Ishmael describes himself and Queequeg as “a cozy loving pair” in their “hearts’ honeymoon” that Ishmael feels a connection with Queequeg and is open to new experiences with his new friend and in general about the whaling ship.
One Response to “Hearts’ honeymoon”
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A good start, Jennie — one thing to remember (not just for posting, but for starting ANY paper in the humanities or social sciences) is that you never want to start a post with a generalized statement like, “the relationships between the men on the boat are very important to the story and the dynamics emerging in the relationships have a lot symbolism and metaphorical messages within them.” You’re sort of stating what’s pretty obvious here — that the relationships between men are loaded with symbolism. If that is the case, then focus on ONE symbol that this dynamic stands for, and give us examples. For instance, let’s say you think that the image of Queequeg and Ishmael in bed is a foreshadowing of the important nature of fellowship between men that will come to be central to the survival of the sailors on the Pequod — as you say in your post, it is the nature of a man and not his skin that becomes important in the society of the Pequod. In that case, you might want to open your post by saying, “The relationships between men in the novel are symbolic of the ways in which physical characteristics — from racial markings to masculine strength — cease to be as important as the inner characteristics of fortitude and friendship. This dynamic is most clearly realized in the hearts’ honeymoon between Queequeg and Ishmael.” Such a statement is much more pointed than the opening statement here, and will help you focus your blog posts.