Moby Dick

In your opinion, does Melville do enough to define Queequeg as his own person? How is Queequeg described differently than the more openly stereotypical depictions of, say, Fedallah and his crew? How are they similarly described?

What is a “heathen” and what is a “Christian” in Ishmael’s unorthodox point of view? How should one be guided by morality in general, according to his narration?

Describe Ahab’s physicality and how it relates to the story, particularly regarding his disability and advanced age.

What is the purpose of Ishmael’s digressions into the scientific and cultural background of the whale and of whaling? Assuming it adds to the story, what does it add?

What role does Pip play on the ship? What is the purpose of Ahab’s and Pip’s relationship in the final chapters, after both have stopped thinking rationally?

What are some examples of lightheartedness in Moby Dick? How do these moments of humor inform the deadly stakes set out by the novel?

Describe Starbuck’s point of view of the novel’s events. How does his view of what awaits him at home differ from Ahab’s?

Ahab is trapped by the knowledge of what he is doing and what its likely result will be, even as he drives recklessly forward. How are fate and knowledge entwined in other ways in Moby Dick?