Herman Dolville Death

Herman Melville references mortality and the horrific conditions on leading to death many times throughout the novel. He is able to reference death through his characters and the living conditions on the Pequod ship. He ponders the idea that many people come very close to death multiple times in their lives. However, they are lucky enough to get a second chance. Being a whaler is dangerous enough and Melville shows just how life threatening their job is throughout the entirety of the novel. Some might argue that Melville’s death scenes are philosophically disturbing and others argue that he presents death so abruptly to make things seem more realistic. He wants to show reader the mortally intolerable truth that many people tend to ignore.

Death is represented throughout the …show more content…
Queequeg is another skilled whaler on the ship who is covered in tattoos. There is a lot of speculation regarding the meaning of his tattoos. When Ishmael is first introduced to Queequeg he initially assumes that he is a cannibal. Queequeg’s physical appearance represents someone who is harmful to others although that is not truly the person he is on the inside. Queequeg starts to feel sick and he feels as though death might be knocking at his door soon. Previously in the novel Queequeg is afraid of death and tries to ignore it. Queequeg becomes courageous and eventually decides to face death head on, “I felt a melting in me. No more my splintered heart and maddened hand were turned against the wolfish world. This soothing savage had redeemed it” (Melville 53). He is preparing his coffin and inscribing his tattoos on the outside of it. Melville uses the coffin as a reference to death and the end of someone’s life. Later in the novel, the coffin appears again in order to help the men. Ironically, something that is used to symbolize death is ultimately what saves the life of a fellow shipmate in the