Essay about The Whiteness of the Whale

Moby Dick, a book about the voyages and pursuance of a white whale, was imagined by an incredible man. Herman Melville was a talented writer who wrote many fantasies and adventures, including Moby Dick. He’s most infamous for his work about the tale of the white whale and known less for his works of Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life and Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas. (“Herman

The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.

The color white is associated with purity and innocence. Gatsby and Nick, the main male characters in the story, can be affiliated with this

This book really grabbed me right from the beginning of the story. The story begins with the birth of fraternal twins, with the grandfather patiently awaiting the birth of the son. Right away I felt sadness when the mother and one of the twins die. The boy dies and the girl survives. The grandpa seems to not care about the girl who survived . He was longing for his grandson because he is from the Maori tribe and the tribe is waiting for the sign of a new chief to be born . The chief would lead the village and its community to greatness. Many elders have been born but none with the strength to be the next chief. The little girl was named Pai. The grandma of Pai took her home to raise her along with the grandfather. The grandfather showed

Throughout his novel, Moby Dick, Herman Melville will often devote entire chapters to the thoughts and actions of specific characters. Two specific examples of this type of chapter are Chapter 36, The Quarter-Deck, and Chapter 42, The Whiteness of the Whale. The first of these chapters depicts Ahab addressing his crew for the first time in order to convince them to hunt down Moby Dick. The second offers insight to the fear that is brought upon by the mere mention of Moby Dick The significance and effectiveness of each of these chapters are enhanced by Melville’s use of rhetoric and style respectively.

Analysis: Returning to his theme of respecting, even revering whales, Melville gives an image of opulence when he references creamy milk and marble in connection with the white whale. The trunk was made of marble, not flesh or any less expensive stone. The imagery here is purposefully placed to make the reader see Moby Dick as more then just a whale or a monster. He wants to show the white whale as something great and almost beautiful. Ishmael’s image of the whale, in all of its glory, is shared with his audience. This helps readers to understand the greatness this whale in particular commands.

The color white is oftentimes unanimously associated with purity, hope, and innocence. However, in the Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the color has the deeper meaning of false purity over goodness. With the taboo characteristics that Fitzgerald's white carries, the reader is led to a false sense of security throughout the course of the novel; just how far was this rebel of a writer willing to go to break down borders? It is later found out that the symbol of white very much plays into the ironic theme of illusion versus reality. The characters in the novel are not the only ones dumbfounded at the confusion of life; things are not in the norm anymore, and Fitzgerald's new use of the color white

For years the killer whale, also known as Orcinus orca, has been drawing the attention of the public through the entertainment industry. These marine mammals have been bringing in billions of dollars to amusement parks such as Sea World, but at what cost? An idea that these killer whales can live happily and content while in captivity may be going through the minds of the public, but this cannot be further away from the truth. To have such complex creatures in captivity is not morally correct and there are many points against it, such as their level of emotional competence, violence between the killer whales, violence of killer of whales towards trainers, shorter lifespans, physical harm, and their level of intelligence. After taking a look at how these creatures function and the conditions they are put in while in captivity, there is no question about whether or not these mammals should be kept in captivity; an experience such as this affects these marine mammals just about the same as it would affect a human because of their high highly developed emotions and complexity. Since these industries do not have a natural authority over these creatures no matter the cause, the best thing they could do for these killer whales is to stop capturing them and return those who are capable back to the wild.

Motif: In Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde uses motifs in the novel to hint to readers what he finds important to look for. One of the many repetitive motifs used in the novel is the color white and the various forms that white takes. The color white is also synonymous to “faint,” “pale,” “subtle,” “dim,” “shallow,” “blank,” “flaccid,” “faded” and “dusty” in the novel. The color white in many novels represents innocence and purity in one’s early life. For example, Basil remembers his first time when he meets Mr. Gray and recalls his face “growing pale” (8). This signifies the translucency of Dorian Gray’s innocence almost as if he has an influence on everyone he meets and vice versa. We see that here when Lord Henry reveals Dorian Gray’s soul as he “turned to his white girl and bowed in worship before her” (59). Here we see that not only does Dorian Gray have an affect on other characters, but other characters like Sibyl Vane have an affect on him in which her innocence of youth showed Dorian the innocence of true love. However, as the various shades of white are brought up in the novel, we see the shades of white represent the transition of Dorian Gray as

As he weaves a mat on a warp with Queequeg, Ishmael creates a metaphor between the weaving of the mat and the forces behind the concepts of determinism and free will. Immediately afterwards, a sperm whale is sighted nearby and the proceeding description of events serves to further demonstrate the metaphor as it manifests itself in the chapter. The sighting of the whale, the three boats, and Ahab’s special crew are symbols for fate, free will, and chance, respectively.

While Black is known as the absence of color, white is simply all colors blended together. Light is often described as white, yet if you hold a prism up to the sunbeams, a rainbow forms. Likewise, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, it is illustrated that sometimes outward appearances can be deceiving . The use of “whiteness” in “The Great Gatsby” portrays the soiled morality of the East eggers, by illustrating Daisy’s personal falseness within the shallowness and leisure of the upper class.

The whiteness that coats the whale represents to Ishmael all that is unnatural and frightening. It conveys meaning on the extremes. Either the whiteness conveys a lack of any meaning, or people are unable to comprehend its excess meaning. The whiteness of Moby Dick represents for different people different things. To Ahab, the lack of color on the whale represents his evil nature. To Ishmael, it represents an unnatural being. Ishmael failed to ever bring about scientifically the nature of the whale, so it is to him,

Can a whaling adventure provide insight into the shadows of fate and human nature? The white whale in Herman Melville’s, Moby Dick, is a dominant mark of human nature. The symbolism Moby Dick procures provides insight to the enigmatic decisions of Captain Ahab and his crew. Ahab’s pigeon-holes himself into believing his purpose for existence is a suicide mission to kill the whale; he is insistent that the whale represents everything wrong in the world. Melville’s reasoning for Ahab’s obsession with the whale is an analogy for seeking the meaning of existence. The motivations behind human behavior aren’t directly stated, however, Melville crafts the white whale as an allegory for vengeance, uncontrollable fate and perception of the natural world open to literal and figurative interpretation.

The symbolism of colors across the novel plays a major role for many of the characters’ and their relationships, but they hold one of the

His most famous book, Moby Dick, features the observant narrator, Ishmael, aboard the Pequot, a ship captained by the menacing one-legged Captain Ahab. Having lost his limb in a previous voyage to an enormous sperm whale named Moby Dick, Ahab scans the seven seas in manic search of revenge against the giant. Queequeg, Ishmael’s menacing best friend, and the rest of the crew are subjected to extreme jeopardy and later death due to Ahab’s monomaniacal disregard for bad omens and danger. The whale slices the boat clean in half and none survive to tells of its greatness except Ishmael.