Queequeg's Innocence
First I want to apologize for joining the party late and not having a lot of deep thoughts to contribute to this point. I'm finally making a bit of progress (just finished chapter 16, The Ship). But my primary style of reading is just to absorb something for what it is on a first encounter and only go back later, after having the perspective of the whole to consider, to really analyze and/or philosophize, so right now I'm just kind of taking it in. Plus the language is just different enough and the narrative dense enough that it takes all my focus just to keep up when I'm listening to it. It's been interesting having seen everyone else's reactions to parts of the story and then reading them after. I haven't been able to comment until after the fact.
One thing I'm wondering about is that a number of you have said you love Queequeg for his "innocence." Even though he has many other excellent qualities, I'm not sure innocence is a word I would use to describe him. Granted, Ishmael describes him with that word, but he is another character with a specific perspective to take into account. For all of his good qualities, it's important to consider his role as narrator, both in his immediate view that Queequeg is a dangerous savage and his 180 degree turn to the perspective that he's a wonderful fellow. He's still shaped by his Western, Christian, ethnocentrism, and he makes a lot of assumptions about Queequeg both ways. I see Queequeg as someone who must be/have been desperately lonely. He left behind everything he knew and loved--and not necessarily on the best of terms--and has since been a strange man in strange lands. He's probably been feared and ridiculed, sometimes respected, but rarely, if ever, befriended. If his immediate generosity toward and attachment to Ishmael seem extreme, it's probably because no one else has offered friendship in such a way. He's obviously a proud, brave, hard-working, and generous individual (but he does have a temper, as evidenced by his throwing the guy on the docks who was mocking him). But I still don't know about innocent, so I'm curious to know what in the book makes you think that about him (and remember, you can only reference the first 16 chapters :-).
Technorati: Moby-Dick06
One thing I'm wondering about is that a number of you have said you love Queequeg for his "innocence." Even though he has many other excellent qualities, I'm not sure innocence is a word I would use to describe him. Granted, Ishmael describes him with that word, but he is another character with a specific perspective to take into account. For all of his good qualities, it's important to consider his role as narrator, both in his immediate view that Queequeg is a dangerous savage and his 180 degree turn to the perspective that he's a wonderful fellow. He's still shaped by his Western, Christian, ethnocentrism, and he makes a lot of assumptions about Queequeg both ways. I see Queequeg as someone who must be/have been desperately lonely. He left behind everything he knew and loved--and not necessarily on the best of terms--and has since been a strange man in strange lands. He's probably been feared and ridiculed, sometimes respected, but rarely, if ever, befriended. If his immediate generosity toward and attachment to Ishmael seem extreme, it's probably because no one else has offered friendship in such a way. He's obviously a proud, brave, hard-working, and generous individual (but he does have a temper, as evidenced by his throwing the guy on the docks who was mocking him). But I still don't know about innocent, so I'm curious to know what in the book makes you think that about him (and remember, you can only reference the first 16 chapters :-).
Technorati: Moby-Dick06
posted by Degolar at 7:03 PM
1 Comments:
I don't think Queequeg is innocent (I would never name my blog after someone who was innocent ;), and I agree that it's important to differentiate between Melville's thoughts and the thoughts that he gives Ishmael. Ishmael's a good guy, but he says a lot of dumb/awkard things--as most of us do when we're faced with people/situations that make us uncomfortable or that pull us out of our comfort zones.
I've never thought about why Ishmael and Queequeg become so close so quickly. I think in the past, I just chalked it up to a type of friendship at first sight--so many of my best friends started out as people who walked into a room whom I instantly liked, and I assume that's how it works for most people. But, I like your analysis...
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