meaning of the color white in Herman Melville s Moby Dick
Herman Melville used to be a seaman when he was a young man. ... He finished writing Moby Dick, his masterpiece, in 1850. It is the story of the hunt for a single whale, a white whale, Moby Dick. ... It is the story of the famous whale-hunter Ahab, who once had lost his leg when trying to kill Moby Dick. Reputation and appearance created a myth about Moby Dick in the course of many years, and no whale-hunter would have dared to challenge the White Whale again. ... Throughout the novel many references are made to the color white which is an underlying theme or as Jean-Paul Sartre says: “ Whiteness returns like a leitmotiv of demonical horror .“ Sartre further adds in his essay that Melville has “attempted this extraordinary undertaking of retaining the indefinable taste of pure quality - the purest quality, whiteness - and seeking in that taste itself the absolute which goes beyond it” (Twentieth Century Interpretations of Moby Dick, J. ... As the “obstacle” character, Moby Dick, is white, which is the most important color in this novel, Melville shows different perspectives on the symbolic meaning of this color through a list of symbols and leaves it up to the reader to decide whether white represents good, evil or both. This essay will focus on the symbols Melville chooses to present for the color white, from different points of view: From Ahabs, whose perspective is clearly negative, and as a contrast, the one of all the others, who are involved less emotionally, e. ... Melville offers the reader which position he or she wants to take. In depicting Ahab as an obsessed madman, Melville unveils that he does not share Ahab`s point of view. ... In the following, Chapter 41 “ Moby Dick ” and Chapter 42 “ The Whiteness of the Whale ” will be analyzed towards the symbolic meaning of the color White. Chapter 42 is the most important chapter in the book because it describes Moby Dick by an almost endless number of symbols. ... This is done within a certain structure: First Melville enumerates positive traditional symbols that can be found in different cultures and eras, such as white as an imperial and religious color. ... Through this structure the author already indicates that there is not only one meaning to the color white and that the reader should also consider other perspectives. ... In his study “ The Trying-out of Moby Dick” Howard P. ... , being a symbol of the color white in this novel, is, in its original form just a white animal that lives in the ice. ... Auden goes even further by saying: “A symbol is felt to be such before any possible meaning is consciously recognized; i. ... ” 1 This definition of a symbol implies that there is no thinking necessary to understand the meaning of a symbol. ... Austin Warren´s definition describes a symbol as “ an object which refers to another object but which demands attention also in its own right, as a presentation. ... New York 1949, 193) Warren´s and Auden´s definition conclude that a symbol implies the freedom of feeling which is the state before thinking. ... Very often the associations we have with something, in this case a color, depends on the experiences we have had. When, for example, a color occurred within a positive context we will always associate it with this experience and therefore it is very likely that this color will create positive feelings whenever we come across it. As Ahab almost faced death during his encounter with the white whale, white is the symbol of death to him. For the reader, or any other person but Ahab, white can be interpreted in various ways. In the next paragraph we will have a closer look at Ahab and Moby Dick. ... Moby Dick Melville describes the beauty and the uniqueness of Moby Dick in chapter 41: “ For it was not so much his uncommon bulk that distinguished him from the other Sperm Whales, but, (. ... ) a peculiar snow-white wrinkled forehead, and a pyramidal white hump. ... ) The rest of his body was so streaked, and spotted and marbled with the same shrouded hue, that in the end he had gained the appellation of the White Whale; a name, indeed, literally justified by his vivid aspect, when seen gliding at high noon through a dark blue sea, leaving a milky-way wake of creamy foam, all spangled with golden gleamings. ... ” 3 Melville presents the whale as a part of nature and of life. By using the words “wrinkled, streaked, spotted and marbled, the author gives Moby Dick dimensions of life. The whale is not only white but has its spots and faults like human beings, too. This shows that there can be more than just one meaning to each thing and that things can possess two contrasting images at the same time. It reveals a completely new aspect to Moby Dick, his vulnerability. The whalers, however, connect Moby Dick´s whiteness only with evil, mostly because of his ruthless actions. His behavior is unjustified in the whalers´ minds and that´s why they perceive him as evil. ... He stood on “ the barbaric WHITE leg ” 3 which had been “fashioned from the polished bone of the Sperm Whale´s Jaw.” Here, the author points out very clearly the association of the color white with the whale´s identity, and at the same time, intends to express the absurdity of adapting parts of an animal. ... In his subconscious, it probably means an inner desire to be like Moby Dick, to possess “something white”, some of the invincibility and the power. In contrast to any other whaler who probably would not have worn a wooden leg, and be reminded so much of such a tragic event, he chooses to be constantly reminded, to keep his hate awake and maintain his will to fight against the white whale. Ahab´s whale-leg is not his only white feature. Ishmael describes Captain Ahab´s looks as follows: “ Threading its way out from among his gray hairs, and continuing right down one side of his tawny scorched face and neck, till it disappeared in his clothing, you saw a slender rod-like mark, lividly WHITISH.