I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.

Man versus nature. Who doesn’t know that problem? It’s a standard on any hero archetype. But Ishmael isn’t really a hero. I’m still looking for some purpose of Melville’s Moby Dick and have not yet discovered a reasonable glimpse. I have some idea. Melville just wanted to show off how great of a writer he was (I still don’t think he was that great). He has his moments where I become a satisfied reader, but then they are followed by disappointment when he rants about nothing of importance.

            A portion of me is hoping this novel has some deep moral. It would make the density and length of it worthwhile. If I get to that last page and Melville says, “Guess you shouldn’t kill whales,” I will most likely puff out hot air and never read anything Melville-like again. This book is decent, but at times torturous. Get on with it Melville! Let’s battle the demon and move on to something more significant than what is inside a ship. Am I on a ship? No. Am I going to be on a ship? No. What would I do if I was on a ship? Not read your book, because it’s not even factually evident and you make up sources. In a nutshell, Melville, you bother me.

Excuse the fact I just had a one-sided argument with a dead guy who is supposedly this wonderful writer. I do have a point to this blog post, so in a non-Melville way, I’m actually going to get to it.

            I think there is a strong underlying tone of man versus nature here. Humans are these supreme beings, right? We are at the top of the food chain, almost indestructible. It takes accidents with wild animals to kill us; otherwise we are wiser and more successful at surviving. But then there’s Moby who doesn’t stand for any human harm or injury. He represents nature in its strongest and purest form. He is the white devil. His wrath is as strong as he is white. I love how he represents humans being challenged by nature.

            Why is it we think of nature, but we don’t consider ourselves apart of it? We are nature. We are evolutionary products of life. Nature raised humans to be what they are now. In that sense, we are simple harvests to her lifetime. So when I say that Moby is challenging humans and that represents nature challenging humans, I’m connecting us to ourselves in a way. We are not better than the idea of life. Therefore, battling Moby is battling human indecency and stupidity.  To go against another member of life in a cruel way is despicable. To go against that same member with ignorant confidence is asking for termination.

            I believe in Moby more than the shipmates. I think they have valor, but they could put it elsewhere. Perseverance of life seems more fruitful than destruction of a whale. There’s a greater purpose to life than oil and products. Those who fail to recognize this purpose are mere ants underneath nature’s foot.