-Although not one of the main characters in the story, Pip proves to be quite an interesting character as the novel progresses, struggling with identity and alienation issues, as well as providing the novel with masked commentary on the issues of racism in 19th century America. Pip is the only African American boy aboard the Pequod, as well as throughout the course of Moby Dick. The relationship of Pip and the rest of the crew is somewhat strained, being that they do not necessarily treat his as their equal(his age and race are definitely not a coincidence). As a young boy attempting to figure out his place in society, as well as the world as a whole, being “trapped” on a boat with a bunch of whalers provides somewhat of a difficult situation for Pip and his quest for self-awareness. Pip’s relevance to the crew proves to be of not much importance, considering that they treat him somewhat as a source of mere entertainment and amusement, also ignoring the fact that placing him as an oarsmen on Stubb’s boat is a recipe for disaster(chapter 93). One of the racial references I noticed in the chapter was when Pip jumped overboard the first time, startled from the whale, Stubb claiming that, “a whale would sell for thirty times what you would, Pip, in Alabama.” Stubb’s slavery reference concurs that the white whale’s value means much more to the crewmen then the life of young, African American Pip. After pip’s second jump overboard, he is rescued, completely and utterly changed, the crew members claiming he has gone mad, loosing his sense of sanity completely. I believe that Pip’s “madness” is more of a unconscious revelation/realization, due to his abandoned experience at Sea. Pip’s insanity, or ingenious speaks not only to racial issues of the time in which the novel was written(the identity of the negro in “white” america), but also his own insignificance and irrelevance as a human being, and to mother nature as a whole. 

Taylor Farkouh