July 28, 2019 - Chapter Eighty-six


In this short chapter, there is an overview of the tail or flukes of the whale. An allusion to the Bible appears near the end: “Thou shalt see my back parts, my tail, he seems to say, but my face shall not be seen.” The reference is to Exodus 33:23, in which God warns Moses, about to lead the Exodus, to avert his eyes before he (God) passes because to see the face of God would be too dangerous and would kill him. Thus does Melville (or Ishmael or the narrator or whoever) liken the sperm whale to Jehovah himself.

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