June 15, 2019 - Chapter Twenty-seven and Twenty-eight

The second chapter entitled “Knights and Squires” (Chapter 27) is Ishmael’s formal introduction to Stubb and Flask, as well as the harpooners who supplement Queequeb – Tashtego and Daggoo, who are, respectively, a Native America and a black African. Ishmael’s description of the latter, in particular, evokes the notion of the noble savage. Ishmael refers to him twice as being like Ahaseurus, the king in the biblical Book of Esther. Last but not least is Pip, the cabin boy, an African American from Alabama. A curious reference made by Ishmael in the chapter is to Anacharsis Clootz, a Prussian figure from the French Revolution – here seemingly a reference to the diplomacy emblematized by the ethnic diversity of the crew of the Pequod.

In Chapter 28, we finally see Ahab. The initial encounter, though wordless, since Ishmael only sees Ahab and does not speak to him, has quite an effect on Ishmael. The one thing I noted here for the first time as curious – probably because there was no Harry Potter when I read this novel the last time – was that Ahab, like J.K. Rowling’s protagonist, bears a mark on his body in the shape of a lightning bolt. However, this is a scar from Moby Dick in Ahab’s case and not a birthmark, as in the case of Potter. I wonder whether Rowling based her characters disfigurement on Ahab.