May 30, 2019 - Chapter Three (pp. 15-24)

The chapter ends with Queequeg making his appearance. As I said earlier, we'd get to the racism in the novel soon enough, and with Queequeg's depiction, we get it in full. We also get the first hints of homosexuality in the novel, which will continue in several chapters as well. I'm reminded of an episode of The Sopranos on HBO, in which Meadow -- at that time, an undergraduate at Columbia -- tells her mother Carmela that Billy Budd is a veiled story about homosexuality. Carmela takes great issue with this interpretation, but Meadow defends it well enough and, indeed, it is a standard interpretation today. With Moby Dick, the issue is both more direct but more veiled. On the one hand, Queequeg and Ishmael do not engage in gay sex in the chapter. On the other hand, the chapter does end with two men sharing a bed, with Ishmael noting, "I turned in, and never slept better in my life" -- perhaps the sleep of a consummated relationship?

At any rate, here's a good graphical depiction of the events of the chapter and a peek at what Queequeg probably looked like.


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