Moby Dick

Posts from this group will focus on the tricky concept of narration — at times, Ishmael seems to be in full control of the narrative (he IS the narrator). At other times, he seems to disappear behind an all-seeing, omniscient form of narration that seems out of place with the first-person narrative. Focus on passages or aspects of the novel where the narration is important, either because it calls attention to itself loudly (for example, there are moments in the novel where the narration resembles a play or telescript), or where the narrator seems biased, unreliable, etc. Notice what you can about disparities between what Ishmael-the-narrator might be thinking and what Melville-the-author may have intended or meant to hide behind Ishmael’s narration.