Summary Ishmael interrupts his narrative to speak as an advocate for the dignity of the whaling industry and whales. He argues that whaling is a clean and upright profession that brings considerable profit to the economy. Whalers have expanded our understanding of the globe through exploration. The whale is important […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 24-25Summary and Analysis Chapters 21-23
Summary The Pequod is scheduled to sail on Christmas Day. In the gray pre-dawn mist, Queequeg and Ishmael approach the ship and think they see some figures boarding ahead of them. Elijah suddenly appears close behind and asks whether they have seen anyone going aboard. Ishmael says he thinks he […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 21-23Summary and Analysis Chapters 17-20
Summary That evening, Ishmael waits until after dark to return to the room because Queequeg is fasting (a form of Ramadan) until sunset. The door is bolted from within. The landlady and Ishmael are concerned, and Ishmael breaks open the lock. Queequeg is fine but in a religious trance, which […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 17-20Summary and Analysis Chapter 16
Summary On Tuesday morning, Queequeg has a surprise for Ishmael. The harpooner says that his little black idol, Yojo, has informed him that Ishmael is to choose the whaling ship on which they will sail. After considering several vessels, the narrator selects the Pequod and negotiates with two of its […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 16Summary and Analysis Chapters 13-15
Summary On Monday morning, the two friends check out of the Spouter-Inn and tote their belongings in a wheelbarrow to the Moss, a small schooner that will take them to Nantucket where they hope to sign on with a whaler. Queequeg recalls two anecdotes revealing cultural differences. Aboard the schooner, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 13-15Summary and Analysis Chapters 10-12
Summary When Ishmael returns to his room after chapel, he finds Queequeg already there, carving on the nose of his small black idol, Yojo. After some friendly conversation, they bond by sharing a pipe of Queequeg’s tobacco. Ishmael even joins the pagan in a burnt offering to Yojo. The narrator […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 10-12Summary and Analysis Chapters 8-9
Summary Father Mapple, an elderly but vigorous man of God, ascends to the pulpit by climbing a rope ladder like one used to mount a ship from a boat at sea. He was a harpooner in his youth, and he alludes to the imagery of seamen frequently in his sermon, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 8-9Summary and Analysis Chapters 4-7
Summary Ishmael awakens first on Sunday morning and has time to observe the various tattoos on Queequeg’s huge arm and face. The narrator wonders what sort of pagan he has for a bunkmate. When the harpooner finally stirs, however, he is thoughtful and kind, dressing first and leaving the room […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 4-7Summary and Analysis Chapter 3
Summary Upon entering the inn, Ishmael is fascinated by a large, obscure oil painting. Eventually he decides that the subject is a ship foundering in a hurricane as a leaping whale is about to impale itself on the craft’s three mastheads. After supper, finding no private beds available, Ishmael chooses […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 3Summary and Analysis Chapters 1-2
Summary As the novel opens, the narrator, a young man called Ishmael, expresses a yearning to lift his spirits with a sea voyage. Carrying only a change or two of clothing, he leaves his home in Manhattan and arrives in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on a cold Saturday night in December. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 1-2