“The similarities between Herman Melville's
novel Moby Dick,
and the story of
Jonah in the Bible center around the whale,
and the faith of the two protagonists”.
Taken from:
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-similarities-between-story-moby-dick-ionas-216247
What are the similarities between the
story of Moby Dick and Jonah
the prophet in the Bible (who was swallowed by a big fish)?
....
In his quest to understand the
preternatural quality of Moby Dick, Ahab pursues the white whale through the
seven seas, for he desires to break through "the pasteboard mask" of
the visible object. Almost like his namesake, Ahab seems to worship a
false god in his fixation upon capturing the great white whale.
Ultimately, however, the
"inscrutable malice," that "inscrutable thing... I hate" as
Ahab says, the captain of the Pequod is destroyed.
Jonah, a disobedient Jewish
prophet who attempts to eschew his divine commission, is cast [overboard] and
swallowed by a whale. But, he is rescued in a marvelous manner, and he is
sent to Ninive, the traditional enemy of Israel. There, all have humbled
themselves having listened to God's message. When Jonah complains to God
about the unexpected success of his mission, he expresses his bitterness
because Yahweh, has led the people to repentance rather than having destroyed
them. Thus, Jonah stands for a narrow and vindictive mentality ….
Captain Ahab, named after a
powerful Israelite king, who became quite wicked as he worshipped Baal, the
pagan god, and he and his wife [Jezebel] committed murder, also cultivated an intolerant
attitude. Like Jonah, Ahab of Melville's novel, Moby Dick,
has a narrow and vindictive mentality towards Moby Dick.
For, despite his survival of the first attack by Moby Dick, he wishes to kill
the whale in retaliation for the loss of his leg as well as so that he can
understand the "inscrutable malice" of the huge creature.
The
similarities between Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick, and the story
of Jonah in the Bible center around the whale, and the faith of the two
protagonists.
In the story of Moby Dick,
the major conflict revolves around Captain Ahab and his obsession to kill the
white whale, Moby Dick, who maimed him the last time they confronted one
another. Ahab is named after a wicked Biblical king in the Old Testament. Ahab
is a Quaker—allegedly a man of God—and is supposed to be a pacifist
(peacemaker), but has turned his back on his faith. He has lost sight of
everything but killing the whale who he sees as the personification of evil.
His unhealthy preoccupation with destroying the whale ultimately brings about
the death of the entire crew, except for Ishmael.
In the story of Jonah, he,
too, is a man of God. He has been called by God to go speak to the people of
Nineveh. Jonah did not want to do so, so in essence, he too turned his back on
God and boarded a boat to take him in the opposite direction. Soon a storm
assaulted the boat, and Jonah, sure that he was the reason for the danger the
ship was in, convinced the ship's crew to throw him overboard in order to save
themselves. They did so, and Jonah was swallowed by a great fish (which we
would refer to as a "whale.") When he repents, he visits Nineveh, and
the people make peace with God and are saved.
Similarities are as follows:
both are religious men; each has an experience with a whale; each man turns his
back on his faith.
Differences are as follows:
both men turn their back on God. Ahab never finds his way back to God and
brings about the destruction of the majority of his crew. Jonah, on the other
hand, saves the lives of the crew members on his ship and he turns himself
around and fulfills God's purpose, saving the people of Nineveh.
While the whale brings about
Ahab's death, it is the whale that saves Jonah from drowning.
Melville used many Biblical
allusions in the classic tale of Ahab and the white whale Moby Dick.
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