Moby Dick

Moby Dick

The novel Moby Dick written by Herman Melville is clearly more than just the story of some formidable sea creature, with a cliché power-driven captain and his team of sailors.   In fact, many logical themes are shown throughout this novel if it is read actively and given the proper thought.   These themes are shown in Melville’s brilliant writing in many different ways. An overlying theme is the evil of mankind and Melville’s apparent belief in Anti-Transcendentalism.   This is shown through other sub-themes in the novel, such as the obvious conflict between man and nature, as well as through Melville’s well-developed characters and what they stand for.
A big idea in Anti-Transcendentalism is that all living people have a certain capacity for evil, and when given the proper circumstances, that evil will be shown head on by their actions.   The plot and characters of Moby Dick contribute to this anti-Transcendental philosophy; the entire story revolves around the evil of man, which is demonstrated in practically each person portrayed in the book.   The deadly accurate main harpooner, Queequeg, earns his living whaling and selling shrunken heads.   These barbaric practices symbolize the evil nature of his characterOH COME ON! HE’S A GOOD GUY LIKE ISHMAEL SAYS. The Prophet Elijah’s prophecies are of the destruction the whaling ship and of the men onboard, he sees only the evil that comes of men’s actions.   This alone not only shows that the character of Elijah has anti-transcendental characteristics, but the fact that Melville put these views to a character who is supposed to be as highly regarded as a prophet should says a lot about how strongly his views are against the belief of transcendentalism.   Elijah first handedly shows this when he learns that Ishmael and Queequeg have signed onto Ahab's ship, and asks, "Anything down there about your souls?" When Ishmael reacts with surprise, Elijah continues, “Oh, perhaps you hav'n't got any," he said quickly....