The Role of Pagans and Pagan Gods in Moby Dick - With Special Reference to Ishmael and Ahab -

Melville presents various pagan characters and pagan gods in his sixth novel Moby Dick. Though a good Christian brought up in the Presbyterian Church of New England, Ishmael shows special sympathy with Queequeg, a pagan worshipper of the idol, and consequently he turns idolater. The friendship thus formed suggests that Ishmael's final survival from the fatal encounter with Moby Dick is symbolic of the survival of his own paganism. Captain Ahab also reveals special kinship with the pagans, especially with the three harpooners, Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo, and forms a sort of pact in nomine diaboli. His diabolical nature, however, is seen most symbolically in his relation to Fedallah, a Parsee. Though neither of them actually worships fire in the narrative, their particular veneration of the sun proves that they are fire worshippers after all. Ishmael's motive for escape from the Christian land is a romantic one. He identifies his going to sea with Narcissus' romantic dive into the water, and as a romantic young Platonist he finds in Moby Dick the embodiment of various pagan gods. Ahab's view of Moby Dick is a little different from Ishmael's. He regards it as a mask of something which must be struck through, and in his vengeful chase he plays variously the roles of Satan, Adam, and even of the Greek mythological hero Prometheus. Melville's remarks in his criticism and letter suggest that the wicked attitude of Ishmael and Ahab is also Melville's. In this sense Moby Dick is a mouthpiece of its author