Here, Melville works to defamiliarize his readers with the very concept of worship. Notably, Ishmael posits a series of questions, leading readers along by the hand to follow his reasoning in why he should partake in this particular service. His “particular Presbyterian form of worship” works to draw his readers away from something completely familiar—a religion influenced by the Old World—to question their own belief system by positing a new, much more open form of Christianity, which accepts Paganism and its practices as an act of being kind to fellow man, rather than dismissing it for simply being Pagan (Moby-Dick 57).
Notably, Melville could have completely undermined this notion of defamiliarizing religion if Ishmael felt any guilt towards …show more content…
As Melville states, “What at last will Mexico be to the United States? All Loose-Fish” (Moby-Dick 310). This is not to say that Melville anticipated a colonizing of Mexico by the United States, but he does point out that America would influence Mexico in some way—either culturally or militarily. Admittedly, there are some who take this reading to be a purely colonialist one, such as Edward Said. Indeed, Said views most of the text and its symbolism to be a pointed commentary towards American colonial ambitions. He states, “Captain Ahab is an allegorical representation of the American world quest; he is obsessed, compelling, unstoppable, completely wrapped up in his own rhetorical justification and his sense of cosmic symbolism” (Culture and Imperialism 288). But perhaps, instead of focusing on the ability for America to be a physical colonizer, it would be more beneficial to focus on its ability to be a cultural colonizer—or at least to bring others into its own culture. Recall back to what Melville stated in his essay, “Hawthorne and His Mosses,” that, “If either [America or England] must play the flunkey in this thing [of literary tradition and culture], let England do it, not us. And the time is not far off when circumstances may force her to it” (Melville, “Hawthorne and His Mosses”). Not only should England be the follower of American culture, but on a broader scale, America would soon force England—and the Old World—to respect and revere it. And to do this, it must be able to demonstrate its ability to integrate people from other cultures into its
Notably, Melville could have completely undermined this notion of defamiliarizing religion if Ishmael felt any guilt towards …show more content…
As Melville states, “What at last will Mexico be to the United States? All Loose-Fish” (Moby-Dick 310). This is not to say that Melville anticipated a colonizing of Mexico by the United States, but he does point out that America would influence Mexico in some way—either culturally or militarily. Admittedly, there are some who take this reading to be a purely colonialist one, such as Edward Said. Indeed, Said views most of the text and its symbolism to be a pointed commentary towards American colonial ambitions. He states, “Captain Ahab is an allegorical representation of the American world quest; he is obsessed, compelling, unstoppable, completely wrapped up in his own rhetorical justification and his sense of cosmic symbolism” (Culture and Imperialism 288). But perhaps, instead of focusing on the ability for America to be a physical colonizer, it would be more beneficial to focus on its ability to be a cultural colonizer—or at least to bring others into its own culture. Recall back to what Melville stated in his essay, “Hawthorne and His Mosses,” that, “If either [America or England] must play the flunkey in this thing [of literary tradition and culture], let England do it, not us. And the time is not far off when circumstances may force her to it” (Melville, “Hawthorne and His Mosses”). Not only should England be the follower of American culture, but on a broader scale, America would soon force England—and the Old World—to respect and revere it. And to do this, it must be able to demonstrate its ability to integrate people from other cultures into its