What Lies Beneath
"Moby-Dick" is the Great American Novel, a term used to distinguish works that capture the American experience perceived to be unique during its time. Herman Melville is in good company, with John Steinbeck, Margaret Mitchell, and F. Scott Fitzgerald being recognized (for “The Grapes of Wrath”, “Gone with the Wind”, and “The Great Gatsby” respectively).
The opening was a long list of quotes in whaling literature, which Melville drew from his knowledge of whales. It also included sightings by James Cook and the other early explorers. Whether the description is scientific or religious in nature, the marine mammal represents the unfathomable.
What we know (and what we don't know)
"Call me Ishmael."
The novel's first line is one of literature's most famous quotes. It's a mere introduction by the narrator, one of the passengers of the Pequod helmed by Captain Ahab. He is relentless in navigating the hostile sea, searching for an albino whale out of zeal (or madness). Melville was a lad when he first heard the story of the Essex, a whaleship attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. He was captivated by their grandeur and the audacity of whalers. This was the motivation behind his book. During a trip to Nantucket in July of 1852, he met George Pollard Jr., who captained the Essex.
“To the islanders he was a nobody,” Melville wrote, “to me, the most impressive man, tho’ wholly unassuming, even humble - that I ever encountered.”
The novel is a reflection of man's knowledge of the sea. In this regard, the opening line, along with the quotes, is an attempt to understand what lies beneath the surface. Alas, it's a futile exercise. It's not about the lack of communication between humans and non-humans. Ishmael tried to learn the reasons behind Ahab's search, but what he got seemed misleading. White, a color that symbolizes purity, may denote otherwise. Then again, was Ahab overwhelmed by the ocean? Readers can spot the lines that have both literal and figurative sides to it. They can only surmise the latter ("It is not down in any map; true places never are.").
The novel's other themes are camaraderie and whaling. But the New Yorker didn't point out the virtues of friendship. He also didn't pen a book for animal rights activists to use. It's all about the sea, which everyone aboard Pequod can only see, hear, and taste.
Great minds
There's another story behind this novel, which was published on October 18, 1851.
Nathaniel Hawthorne encouraged Melville to change his first draft of the novel, a detailed account of whaling, into an allegorical novel. The New Yorker valued his feedback, which was why he dedicated the book to him. There was mutual respect between the two, a profound friendship that lasted until Hawthorne left New England. “Moby-Dick” wasn't a bestseller when it first came out. In fact, Melville wrote short fiction for magazines after “Pierre: or, The Ambiguities”, his seventh book, didn't do well. It was long after his death when “Moby-Dick” was lauded. The sea may allude to America, which was coming on its own during the nineteenth century.
But you must fix your gaze.
