English Major, every english major reads Moby Dick.
Ishmael = The name has come to symbolize orphans, exiles, and social outcasts
Manifesto mailed with the name "A. Ishmael"
A "social outcast"
Ishmael
Main article: Ishmael (Moby-Dick)
In the novel's first sentence, the narrator famously declares, "Call me Ishmael." It is unclear whether this is his actual name or an alias. His
role as a narrator varies widely. Initially, his is the only narrative, but after the Pequod leaves port, he repeatedly fades and comes back to full
prominence.
The name 'Ishmael' also appears in the Bible as that of the first son of Abraham in the Old Testament. The biblical Ishmael was born to Abraham and
his wife's (Sarah) maidservant Hagar, because Abraham and Sarah believed Sarah to be infertile. Hagar gave birth to son Ishmael, then 14 years later
a 90 year old Sarah was granted a son (Isaac) by God. Sarah observed 17 year old Ishmael teasing Isaac and urged Abraham to expel Hagar and her son
Ishmael. This proposal upset Abraham; but God commanded him to comply with Sarah's request and so Abraham ordered Hagar and Ishmael to leave.
The name has come to symbolize orphans, exiles, and social outcasts—in the opening paragraph of Moby-Dick, Ishmael tells the reader that he
has turned to the sea out of a feeling of alienation from human society. In the last line of the book Ishmael also refers to himself symbolically as
an orphan. Ishmael has a rich literary background (he has previously been a schoolteacher), which he brings to bear on his shipmates and events that
occur while at sea.
Ishmael resembles Melville in several ways (as well as the narrator of Melville's White-Jacket). They are well-educated and reflective; Ishmael sees
his shipmates as avatars of human nature and society, and tells his story by couching it in a wealth of philosophical observation, (largely occurring
during sections in which Ishmael takes an almost-omniscient viewpoint, conflating himself with his author).
