From A Caricature To A Character

In his novel Moby Dick, Herman Melville does not hesitate to weave complex webs of characters’ personalities, and his portrayal of characters is fascinating. Characters are often introduced in a way portraying them as wild caricatures, but as the narrator and the reader gets to learn more about these characters, we gradually see more to them than just the initial superficial poster image. When the character Queequeg is first introduced, he is portrayed as a primitive, savage man, and Ishmael is scared of him, “In fact, I was so afraid of him that I was not game enough just then to address him, and demand a satisfactory answer concerning what seemed inexplicable in him” (Melville 30). We see in this quote that upon meeting Queequeg, Ishmael doesn’t look past his initial appearance and doesn’t try to see what more there is to him, which only emphasizes the complexity of Queequeg’s character once we get to know him. Despite such a bizarre first encounter with him, Ishmael ends up being very close friends with Queequeg.

In this book, Melville also does an excellent job of using descriptive imagery. His word choice when describing something is the core of this book’s world-building; without it, the reader wouldn’t be able to fully grasp the events of the book. His use of descriptive imagery draws the reader in, and brings the world in which Ishmael is in to life. It makes it easier to follow along through Ishmael’s rambling, or to get lose in the world building of the enchantingly bizarre journey that Ishmael is embarking on in his quest to find fulfillment at sea. 

2 thoughts on “From A Caricature To A Character

  1. It seems you’ve really noticed the character portrayal and development of the book, especially of Queequeg. You could probably go into a lot of depth looking into Melville’s reasoning behind layering the characters and not revealing their full personalities/life right away. Maybe you could tie that in with his use of imagery, and how all of the details relay back to characterizing Ishmael and Queequeg. I hope you enjoy the book and find more captivating imagery!

  2. Thank you for sharing, Ishika. It sounds as if you are enjoying your book so far! Are there any examples of descriptive imagery you find particularly fascinating or memorable?

    What do you think about the friendship between Queequeg and the narrator, Ishmael? The friendship itself could be a statement about something in society, hint .. hint.

    I’ll be excited to see what else you come up with as you continue to read.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *