Melville: Moby Dick
Good and Evil in a Morally Indifferent Universe in Moby Dick
The moral ambiguity of the universe is prevalent throughout Melville's Moby
Dick. None of the characters represent pure evil or pure goodness. Even
Melville's description of Ahab, whom he repeatedly refers to "monomaniacal,"
suggesting an amorality or psychosis, is given a chance to be seen as a
frail, sympathetic character. When Ahab's "monomaniac" fate is juxtaposed
with that of Ishmael, that moral ambiguity deepens, leaving the reader with
an ultimate unclarity of principle.
The final moments of Moby Dick bring the novel to a terse, abrupt climax.
The mutual destruction of the Pequod and the White Whale, followed by
Ishmael's epilogue occupies approximately half a dozen pages. Despite
Melville's previous tendency to methodically detail every aspect of whaling
life, he assumes a concise, almost journalistic approach in the climax.
Note that in these few pages, he makes little attempt to......
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Approximate Word Count: 1368
Approximate Pages: 6 (250 words per double-spaced page)
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