Whale Symbol Essay -- Literary Analysis, Moby Dick

There are many views on the symbolism of the white giant star in Melvilles book, Moby Dick. Melville regarded the symbol as, what William Gleim describes, a means of both revelation and concealment(402). The symbol of the white heavyweight lends itself easily to this concept. To Ahab, the behemoth represents the wickedness of nature. To Starbuck, it is a product. To Ishmael, however, it is portentous and mysterious(Melville, 6). It rouses his curiosity, but he recognizes it as a thing secluded. It is an overwhelming idea(Melville, 6) an idea which is larger than his consciousness. Its suggestions surpass his conscious understanding and get along him to feel significance even if he cant know it.Moby Dick is literally an albino sperm whale. In his categorization of all whales, Melville regards the sperm whale as the primate He is, without a doubt, the largest inhabitant of the globe the most formidable of all whales to encounter and lastly, by far the most valuable in commerce(Melv ille, 133). The whiteness of the whale enhances this communication in that it has regal associations, a certain royal pre-eminence in this hue(Melville, 184). The white whale, therefore, stands, primarily, as, what Gleim states, the ideal representation of his species(406). He is a sign of excellence to the order of nature. To Ishmael, however, the whiteness of the whale has not only dignified associations, but also terrible ones. The whiteness signifies a inborn beauty, but it also signifies, by its indefiniteness(Melville, 192), the immensity of the universe. For all aboard the Pequod, their trip is one of search for the ultimate truth of experience. What begins as a voyage in search of the product of whale oil, ends with the discovery of th... ...The white whale represents not only the excellence of creation but also the mystery of creation. William Sedgwick states, He is significant of the massive inertia in things, and of the blind beauty and violence of nature--all that ign ore or twists or betrays or otherwise does outrage to mans purpose(98). As a significant form in nature, then, the shape of the white whale is the mask of dumb blankness(Melville, 192). It contains the heartless voids (Melville, 192). of the universe and conceals this abyss. Its mystery is its perplexing nature its unemotionality to kindly associations and joint stock(Melville, 185) theories. Nature, however, is indifferent, and Moby Dick is the symbol of this indifference. Man can force perceptions of beauty upon nature and extract commodity from it, but the white whale represents the absolute negation of these efforts.