Rachel L. Markey
Professor Moffler-Daykin
ENGL 320
05 May 2016
Research Proposal:
Herman Melville’s view on religion translated in Moby Dick
The first line of the novel suggests that the narrator wants to be called another name. It suggests that he was once known by a different name, but for the purpose of the story, there is another name that is presented to the reader. In a way Ahab can be referenced as a God. He always tests his crew’s loyalty to him and the ship. That being said, Ahab actually underwent something like a trial of Jonah or a Christ like death or burial. Elijah speaks of "that thing that happened to him off Cape horn, long ago, when he lay like dead for three days and nights" (87). But if this resulted in a rebirth, it …show more content…
Father Mapple presents a sermon on the biblical passage about Jonah and the whale. Of course, there is an obvious parallel in the story of Jonah and the story crafted by Melville. However, a deeper analysis of Father Mapple’s sermon in “Moby Dick” may yield some other interpretations as well. Re-read the sermon of Father Mapple and mine its deeper meaning. Then, write an analytical essay on “Moby Dick” in which you offer your own interpretation of the sermon and determine its significance in relationship to the …show more content…
However, these references are almost dark and about death. There are many allusions to the Bible in this novel. Most notably, the story of Jonah and the whale come to mind. Moby Dick is set in the "primitive, pre-Christian universe of Job." Melville is not writing a Christian allegory, so the picture of salvation is more physical, worldlier, like the restoration of Job or Jonah or the sparing of Noah in the Old Testament. With a good personal knowledge of the Bible, Melville in his own way wants to bring forth a revelation. Nevertheless, he is writing in and for a Christian culture. The New Testament is going to figure in our understanding of the novel. In this particular
Professor Moffler-Daykin
ENGL 320
05 May 2016
Research Proposal:
Herman Melville’s view on religion translated in Moby Dick
The first line of the novel suggests that the narrator wants to be called another name. It suggests that he was once known by a different name, but for the purpose of the story, there is another name that is presented to the reader. In a way Ahab can be referenced as a God. He always tests his crew’s loyalty to him and the ship. That being said, Ahab actually underwent something like a trial of Jonah or a Christ like death or burial. Elijah speaks of "that thing that happened to him off Cape horn, long ago, when he lay like dead for three days and nights" (87). But if this resulted in a rebirth, it …show more content…
Father Mapple presents a sermon on the biblical passage about Jonah and the whale. Of course, there is an obvious parallel in the story of Jonah and the story crafted by Melville. However, a deeper analysis of Father Mapple’s sermon in “Moby Dick” may yield some other interpretations as well. Re-read the sermon of Father Mapple and mine its deeper meaning. Then, write an analytical essay on “Moby Dick” in which you offer your own interpretation of the sermon and determine its significance in relationship to the …show more content…
However, these references are almost dark and about death. There are many allusions to the Bible in this novel. Most notably, the story of Jonah and the whale come to mind. Moby Dick is set in the "primitive, pre-Christian universe of Job." Melville is not writing a Christian allegory, so the picture of salvation is more physical, worldlier, like the restoration of Job or Jonah or the sparing of Noah in the Old Testament. With a good personal knowledge of the Bible, Melville in his own way wants to bring forth a revelation. Nevertheless, he is writing in and for a Christian culture. The New Testament is going to figure in our understanding of the novel. In this particular