Ishmael Experiencing the Sublime
In the novel Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, a mysterious unknown, such as the whale oil painting displayed in the decrepit Spouter Inn and the crucial characters of Queequeg and Captain Ahab, troubles Ishmael throughout his journey. The abnormality experienced throughout the duration of each situation evokes an intense sensation of anxiety and fear.
Feeling a “damp, drizzly November in [his] soul” (Melville, 18) and craving a change, Ishmael, the narrator, embarks on a journey to re-discover himself. With inadequate guidance, a scarce money supply, and no apparent reason for boarding a whaling vessel, Ishmael decides it’s necessary to experience the world. Despite his centrality to the ...
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looking just like any other ordinary painting to a stranger, caught his attention immediately. He finds himself face-to-face with an image which he describes as “a boggy, soggy, squitchy picture truly, enough to drive a nervous man distracted” (Melville, 26). He tries to find different interpretations of the image: “there was a sort of indefinite, half-attained, unimaginable sublimity about it that fairly froze you to it, till you involuntarily took an oath with yourself to find out what that marvelous painting meant” (Melville, 26). The blue mass of something hovering in the center literally caught Ishmael in a trance. The curiosity in determining the meaning of this painting evokes a sense of fear due to a lack of knowledge instilled in Ishmael. This painting, a mere picture on the wall, stimulated him like never before. After some speculation, Ishmael finally imparts his theory that the painting is depicting a threatening scene of nature, “a Cape-Horner in a great hurricane; ...
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strongly agrees with the negative connotation of the unknown. As explained above, Ishmael cannot exactly define the whale oil painting, not because he is unintelligent, but because of man’s ignorance. Yet, this ignorance or unknown cannot be pinned on Ishmael. According to Nechas, “(Ishmael’s) use of the affix becomes the banner of his refusal to assume anything definite about the universe and divine presence within it; nothing can be known from the evidence provided by the unfathomable surface of the universe, and this information is all that is available to man” (Nechas, 201). This affix, the –un in unknown, strongly defines the reason for Ishmael’s lack of knowledge: there are certain ...
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"Ishmael Experiencing the Sublime." Essayworld.com. March 29, 2011. Accessed December 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Ishmael-Experiencing-the-Sublime/97029.
"Ishmael Experiencing the Sublime." Essayworld.com. March 29, 2011. Accessed December 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Ishmael-Experiencing-the-Sublime/97029.
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