Why does ishmael go to sea and why as a humble sailor

His single minded concern to safeguard his prestige and social positions, his absolute insensitiveness to the suffering of Jones, his inability to get the better of his dominating wife and his willingness to stifle out justice in the case of Jones are the clear hall marks of a totally self centred man. Not that he is completely de- humanized. He knows what is right and what is wrong.

He can readily understand the worthlessness of his son, he can at times be outspoken in condemning him. But he can never go beyond the limits of his selfishness. Essays Essays FlashCards. Browse Essays. Sign in. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. Show More. Read More. Words: - Pages: 5. Words: - Pages: 8. Masculinity In Treasure Island He is a wise expert pirate who has the ability to absorb his anger and violence.

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Words: - Pages: 4. Social Injustice In John Barthwick's Play His single minded concern to safeguard his prestige and social positions, his absolute insensitiveness to the suffering of Jones, his inability to get the better of his dominating wife and his willingness to stifle out justice in the case of Jones are the clear hall marks of a totally self centred man. Related Topics. Ready To Get Started? Create Flashcards. Discover Create Flashcards Mobile apps. Melville leads us through different literary genres in the same way as the Pequod chases the whale, bringing us on a literary journey to parallel the physical and psychological ones of his characters.

This unit explores these characters and literary genres using several key excerpts from Moby-Dick selected to expose the variety and life of the text.

As Ishmael sets out to sea, and he joins up with a band of men to ease his land-bound troubles. Ahab sets out on a quest for revenge against the whale that stole his leg, which Ahab symbolically replaced with an ivory prosthesis. He believes in the power of the common man and does not want to be in an authoritative role.

Melville creates a character with whom contemporary readers could easily relate: a humble man who does not position himself above the reader or as better than any man within the text. Ishmael also describes the sea as a panacea for his troubles as he idealizes its power. Though it would be dangerous to assume Ishmael is a mouthpiece of Melville, the narrator conveys aspects of the story that must have been personal to Melville, a common sailor in his day.

They will also discover the ingenuity of his masterful narration and sample the variety of perspectives to be found throughout this maritime journey and hunt for whales.

Have students write a short piece using the narrative voice of either Ahab or Ishmael. While students include the content about their character gleaned from one chapter, they should write in the style of the other chapter. The account will be narrated by Ahab. In a follow-up paragraph, students will then defend the choices they made regarding character traits in an explication using evidence from the text. Have students take a different chapter in Moby-Dick , one not discussed in class, and analyze how well it operates as a literary genre.

You may have students use genres already researched and discussed in Lesson 3 of this unit, or you may challenge them to tackle a chapter where Melville uses a literary genre you did not cover in class. Have them use the questions posed in Worksheet 5 from Lesson 3 to build an understanding about their chapter and genre.

Be sure to have them include what function the shift to a new literary genre has on the novel. Also have them discuss what impact it will have on the reader. Students must defend their choices in a follow-up explanation using evidence from the text.

A student assessment sheet and rubric has been provided to introduce students to the options for composition and offer self-evaluation opportunities using the assessment criteria. Finally, this lesson addresses the impact this drastic shift has on the reader. Skip to main content. Photo caption. Illustration from an early edition of Moby-Dick, How does Melville use a variety of literary genres within the novel, Moby-Dick?