Discussion Questions for Chapters 91-96

One

Ishmael highlights the irony of ambergris when he exclaims, “Who would think, then, that such fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale! Yet so it is. By some ambergris is supposed to be the cause, and by others the effect, of the dyspepsia in the whale” (317). So is this luxury item, this symbol of elegance and high-fashion, the producer or the product of degradation and sickness? Is it the existence of materials items that amplifies greed, or is it the existence of greed that increases the rate of industrialization and leads to more material items? Or is materialism simply a vicious cycle with no beginning or end?

Two

To what extent does Ishmael use Pip to break down racial constructs over the course of a chapter that, on the surface, seemingly highlights the boy’s inferiority? Ishmael describes how “Pip turned his crisp, curling, black head to the sun, another lonely castaway” (321). By putting Pip in the same category as the sun, is Ishmael hinting at the boy’s underlying nature? He seems to disagree with the crew’s opinion of Pip: “from that hour the little negro went about the deck an idiot; such, at least, they said he was (321). How is Ishmael able to distance himself from the rest of the crew? Why is Ishmael, in particular, suited to break down racial constructs? What makes him such a keen observer of the underlying nature of his surroundings?

Three

In chapter 58, Ishmael discusses the terrors of the sea; he then describes, “As this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horror of the half-known world” (224). Is Ishmael hinting at the importance of exploration and risk-taking? Is he implying that a dangerous, scary, unsettling life—full of unanswered questions—is better than a placid, safe, simple life—full of questions never asked? At the end of chapter 96, is he making a similar claim? He says the following:

There is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar. (328)

Could the eagle be an allegory for the person who flies wildly, who is unsure of a precise destination, who may experience the “blackest gorges” of suffering or the “sunny spaces” of joy—but who will always be better-off than the bird that only barely takes off from the ground, than the seaman who never quite ventures away from the shore, than the human who never fully embraces a risk?