Discussion Questions Round III: Chapters 91-96

Question 1
Chapter 93, The Castaway, focuses on the young Negro, Pip, who is left out at sea on a whale hunt because he does not stay in the boat.  While it is assumed by Ishmael that Stubb did not really intend to abandon Pip to drown, Stubb himself says, "We can't afford to lose whales by the likes of you; a whale would sell for thirty times what you would, Pip, in Alabama" (321).  In stating this, Stubb essentially claims that Pip's life is worth less than that of a Leviathan, a beast.  How does this connect with the racial allegory that many people suppose underscores the drama of Moby-Dick?  Would Melville agree or disagree with Stubb in measuring the value of life based on the sale price at an auction?  What does this say about rising capitalist ideals in the Industrial era, that the product is worth more than its unskilled producers?  Does Melville confuse any binaries by creating a hierarchy of value amongst both people and animals?

Question 2
Though many of Melville's anatomically relevant chapters (The Fountain, The Tail, Cetology, etc.) have revealed some deeper philosophical insight about whales, the whale industry, or just about writing, Chapter 95, The Cassock, does not seem to accomplish those goals.  Why, then, would Melville include a chapter about that particular part of the whale, except in the interest of being thorough, though he has already "promised nothing complete"? (116).  However, he does compare the mincer's appearance clothed in "the cassock" to that of an archbishop, so he could be playing with the idea of religious rituals, claiming that whaling itself is a religion, or simply satirizing religion in general.

Question 3
Chapter 96, The Try-Works, illustrates the burning of the whale's corpse, run, of course, by the "pagan harpooneers" (327).  These fires help make the Pequod seem like it is "plunging into that blackness of darkness" and "the material counterpart of her monomaniac commander's soul" (327).  Even though Ishmael is supposed to be steering the helm, he is intrigued and captivated by these fires, so much so that he loses his sense of direction.  Could this hypnotic confusion of place also be a confusion of his own identity?  Does Ishmael feel his control over himself melting away and being replaced by the mob-mentality on the Pequod?  What does the association of these fires with darkness and with Ahab do to muddle the line between light and dark that has been explored other locations with respect to skin color?  Does Ishmael have any residual feelings of prejudice towards his "pagan" companions?