In Moby Dick, Herman Melville presents us with many different deaths. At the end of the Novel, Everyone except Ishmael dies. The reason Ishmael lives, is because of his good friend Queequeg. Earlier in the book, Queequeg fell ill and thought that he would die. Because of his assumption, the carpenter builds a coffin. The same coffin that Ishmael now lays on in the middle of the ocean amidst all the carnage. The reason that the coffin and Queequeg are important is because they live on past death. Marking Queequeg as the embodiment of a noble death for Melville. The reason that Queequeg dies nobly, is his piety towards his God Yojo as well as his reverence, loyalty, and friendship with Ishmael. When first introduced to Queequeg, he is praying
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Ahab pushes away any sort of friendship or dependency towards anyone. He says that being dependant removes freedom and brings softness of will. He tells the carpenter “Here am I, proud as a Greek god, and yet standing debtor to this blockhead” (367). Since Ahab believes that he is a god he hates being dependant on anyone, such as the carpenter that makes his new leg. However, Ishmael and Queequeg embrace their friendship, as Ishmael says about the “Monkey-Rope” he explains how he and Queequeg are “wedded” by a the rope between them, as Queequeg is lowered controlled by Ishmael into the sea to attend to a whale carcass. Any slip means death for both: “my free will had received a mortal wound,” (262) he says, acknowledging the interdependence they have. Due to Queequeg’s reverence and piety, it allows him to build a friendship with Ishmael as well as stay humble, the opposite of Ahab. It is the same friendship that Ishmael is enriched by, for in the end, Queequeg’s legacy, which manifested itself into the coffin-buoy, saves Ishmael’s life, as Queequeg and his generous heart saved Ishmael during the voyage. Queequeg symbolizes that a friendship can last even after
Ahab pushes away any sort of friendship or dependency towards anyone. He says that being dependant removes freedom and brings softness of will. He tells the carpenter “Here am I, proud as a Greek god, and yet standing debtor to this blockhead” (367). Since Ahab believes that he is a god he hates being dependant on anyone, such as the carpenter that makes his new leg. However, Ishmael and Queequeg embrace their friendship, as Ishmael says about the “Monkey-Rope” he explains how he and Queequeg are “wedded” by a the rope between them, as Queequeg is lowered controlled by Ishmael into the sea to attend to a whale carcass. Any slip means death for both: “my free will had received a mortal wound,” (262) he says, acknowledging the interdependence they have. Due to Queequeg’s reverence and piety, it allows him to build a friendship with Ishmael as well as stay humble, the opposite of Ahab. It is the same friendship that Ishmael is enriched by, for in the end, Queequeg’s legacy, which manifested itself into the coffin-buoy, saves Ishmael’s life, as Queequeg and his generous heart saved Ishmael during the voyage. Queequeg symbolizes that a friendship can last even after