NCHS AP English Language

Kyle Smith #7 Whiteness of Whale

7. Read Chapter 42 "The Whiteness of the Whale." Categorize all the allusions by type. What do you conclude about the meaning of Moby Dick?


An allusion is a casual reference to some kind of outside knowledge. In Chapter 42, Melville uses many of these poetic devices in order to characterize the true apperance of Moby Dick. He talks about religious ideas/beliefs (Vision of Saint John and the Passion Of Christ), which depict the whale as almost the "Christlike" creature of the sea. References to the language of Latin and the society of ancient Roman times show the different ways to say "white" which is the color of Moby Dick. Melville uses a variety of footnotes that explain the allusions that fill the chapter describing the appearance of Moby Dick. (pg. 206 and 207) White falls and other architectural structures show how the colors of something influence an object's behavior and attitudes. An example is the White Mountains of New Hamphsire, which the author says has a creepy feeling to it because of the white color. His primary purpose is to infer that white is a color of fear and uncertainty based on categories of nature, religion, and structures that mankind has built over the years.

Kyle Smith

posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 9:57 PM