Final+Product-Race,+Ethnicity,+and+Diversity


 * Argument**

In Herman Melville’s novel //Moby Dick//, a whaling ship called the Pequod is used to represent America, while the racially diverse crew represents the racially diverse population of America. The crew is captained by a crazy white Swedish man, Captain Ahab, who lets his one desire become his one obsession, and this wish controls everything about him; he ignores the wishes of others and discriminates against those of a different color than him or those against his wishes. As seen in the history of the world, when one dominant ethnic group tries to oppress a smaller group, typically the outcome is disastrous. For example, when the white men of the Southern states felt that the color of the blacks allowed the whites to force their ideas on the blacks and make them their own personal slaves, the end result was ultimately failure and the slaves revolted, murdering many whites and escaping to free states. The crew, like the black slaves, was forced to serve under Captain Ahab only. Ahab’s three first mates were all white men, who controlled the rest of the crew, which happened to be men of all different races and colors.


 * Analysis**

When Ishmael enters the Spouter Inn, he does not intend to share a room with another person, let alone another person of a different color. He is very uneasy about this and asks many questions about the roommate. When his roommate, Queequeg, walks in, he sees that he is of a different color and automatically takes him as somebody dangerous and doesn’t trust him. But after spending the night and sharing a smoke with him, he begins to see the interior of Queequeg, and completely forgets that he is dark skinned and full of piercings. He feels a bond with Queequeg. He sees that Queequeg is a kind hearted man whose character shines brightly. To Ishmael, Queequeg’s exterior simply shows that he is unique and different, but not savage, which was the original thought Ishmael had. //This scene shows how Ishmael gets along with everyone of every color and race. He is the neutral character in the book, and in the end, he is the only one that survives. This connection of neutrality is critical in the procession of the book’s plot.//

The next scene is the dinner scene on the Pequod. This scene shows that despite the different races onboard the ship, they can all come together to eat. The men invited to eat with the Captain are also the most respected on the ship, and even thought they are of a different race and color, they are still allowed to join Ahab. The different races can be brought together without quarrelling to enjoy a simple meal. In an attempt to bring his crew together and unite them in their chase for the whale, Ahab lets them have a dinner together in order to break the ice between them and allow everybody to respect everyone, so that he may pursue Moby Dick without problems and riots arising. //This scene shows Ahab’s futile attempt to combine his racially diverse crew into that of one color. His hope is to unite these independent men, put them into some trance of amazement, and send them off in search of his treasure. One goal for many men does not usually work; everyone has different ideas and opinions. While Ahab succeeds for a little while, his success is short-lived (excuse the pun). There is no real unity of the crew, and Ahab cannot defeat his demons by himself.//

After this, we see Captain Ahab and Stubb fighting onboard. This shows the tension starting to arise between the groups of sailors on the ship. Ahab is starting to obsess over finding Moby Dick, and he isn’t letting anyone get in his way. He insults Stubb who was not used to being bossed around by a higher figure. Ahab shows his indifference towards everyone and dismisses everyone else’s ideas as he continues his mad search for the whale. //This scene relates to historical events such as the oppression of slaves in the 1700s and the oppression of workers during the Industrial Revolution. The people who worked in factories in the// //United States// //in the early 1900s were immigrants from all over the world; they were all different colors. The situation on the Pequod was similar to those times. The workers and slaves were treated very badly and speaking up for themselves did not help; they were ignored, just like Stubb is being ignored by Ahab in this scene. It shows that one person can have a major influence on another just because of their color or position in society.//

Another scene depicting the diversity of the crew is when Queequeg, the Pacific Islander is teaching himself proper grammar and is constantly being made fun of by the white “head men” on the ship. Because Queequeg is of a different race, ethnicity, and is a different color than the others on the ship, two white men who help control the ship feel they have the right to tease Queequeg and poke fun at his poor grammar. If it were another white man trying to learn grammar, they would have stopped to help him, but since Queequeg is of a different color, they see him as a “lower” position on the social status and as someone who won’t understand the grammar of the white man. //This scene shows that society is cruel to those who do not fit in, like people of color. How did the white man because so superior to others? From history, we know that one race is bound to thoroughly defeat the other one. In this case, it is neither. No ONE race wins. It is the combination of races that survives; that is Ishmael.//

Last, we have the chase. Ahab has finally come upon Moby Dick and is on a rampage. He madly chases after her for three days and drives the crew to go mad and tense. Starbuck tries to tell Ahab that the chase is useless and Ahab is madly seeking the whale, but the whale doesn’t really care about Ahab. Ahab snaps and ignores Starbucks wishes to turn back and even states that for Starbuck to die is all right, as long as the whale is captured. Ahab madly sends out his entire crew after the whale, thinking that he was so close to catching his enemy, but the whale destroys his crew and kills them all. Ahab, now without a crew cries out to the whale and chases after it himself, only to die himself. Ishmael was the only one to survive and tell the story. This is because he represented a bit of everyone, he told everyone’s story. He was the neutral character in the book. //This scene shows what we have been telling you all along; that one race always crushes the other race, and that unity of color was impossible in this story. The little world of the Pequod was doomed from the start even if the captain had been a colored man, because there would always be that hunger, that want of more power.//

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Moby/ Ishmaeal - Taylor Schow Queequeg - Sara Stratton Tashtego - Enrique Captain Ahab - Juan Introduce everyonne. this is ishmael, this is queequeg, this is tashtego, captain ahab. Scene 1 : ishmael feeling uneasy at the though of shairng a bed with someone dark skinned Scene 2 : ishmael waking up to queequeg, scared. assumes hes a cannibal bc of his skin color. Scene 3 : sharing a smoke, showing they are finally comfortable together. Scene 4 : dinner scene, everyone eating with Ahab. this shows that everyone on the crew is comfortable with one another, everyone is accepted Scene 5 : ahab yelling at stubb. he is disregarding his views and telling him that nothing else matters but cathcing the whale. ahab clearly wants to be the dominant person Scene 6 : Queeuqueg being laughed at for trying to learn proper grammar. this shows that the whites onboard still see queeuqeg as someone sitting on the lower end of the social ladder. he is seen as dumb. Scene 7 : moby dick is found and ahab goes crazy. he doesnt listen to anyone eles desiring to go back. he wants to catch the whale and he doesnt want to leave until he does. he is a crazy mad man. as a result, everyone dies, except ishmael
 * SCRIPT (get your own quotes you think are approprotiate for the scene and write them on notecards for yourself!look on notes page, some quotes are there)
 * Moby Dick Script::