Why is ishmael on the pequod

The Pequod is named after a celebrated tribe of Massachusetts Indians. The Pequod is a ship of the old school, rather small and with an old fashioned claw-footed look.

The Captain was once Peleg, now retired after many years. Ishmael introduces himself to Peleg, who is suspicious because Ishmael has no whaling experience. Peleg tells Ishmael that Ahab is now captain of the ship, and he has only one leg, for the other was lost by a whale.

Peleg and Bildad, both Quakers, are owners of the boat, and are "fighting Quakers. Bildad is the "queerest old Quaker" he ever saw. A reference to the biblical Ahab 1 Kings , who "did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him," foreshadows a serious spiritual or cosmic struggle for it was that Ahab who denounced Jehovah God for the false god, Baal.

All this is developed as the novel progresses. Previous Chapters Next Chapters Removing book from your Reading List will also remove any bookmarked pages associated with this title. Are you sure you want to remove bookConfirmation and any corresponding bookmarks? My Preferences My Reading List. Moby-Dick Herman Melville. According to tradition, Ishmael is the forefather of the Arab peoples, and Isaac is the forefather of the Jewish tribes.

So basically the Biblical Ishmael is a figure in the wilderness, fated for banishment and separation from his earthly father. For more details on which perspectives the novel uses and their significance, see the section on "Narrator Point of View. The details of the story pass through him, and he is the shaping influence behind most of the information we get as readers. I do not know where I can find a better place than just here, to make mention of one or two other things, which to me seem important, as in printed form establishing in all respects the reasonableness of the whole story of the White Whale, more especially the catastrophe.

For this is one of those disheartening instances where truth requires full as much bolstering as error. Over and over again in this novel, Ishmael takes breaks from the plot to explain in detail lengthy, loving detail aspects of whale biology or sailing ships that may seem incredible to his readers.

But, wait! Does the line "methinks the lady doth protest too much" fit here? The person who appears to need convincing that the story is fact and not fantasy is Ishmael himself. Speaking of fact versus fantasy, this brings us to some thoughts about what Ishmael creates. Seriously, what is going on with these crazy kids?

Are they lovers? Are they friends? Are they something in between? The affection they feel for one another is made even more complicated as Queequeg becomes a mentor to Ishmael due to his greater experience with whaling.