As one reads Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick it becomes more and more clear that the novel is not confined to a maritime theme, nor a sailors story. There seems to be a multiplicity of themes occurring throughout Moby Dick, a particularly interesting one being Ishmael’s musings on the whale. Although the act of whaling is considered of the maritime genre, Melville’s inclusion of the whale seems to stray from the strict maritime description. It appears more likely that the emphasis of the whale Moby Dick as the climatic action in the novel is actually a sexual innuendo to either homosexuality, the male genitalia, or both.

Melville’s creation of the character Ishmael resembles the stereotypical closet homosexual. This is apparent right from the start, when Ishmael crawls into bed with Queequeg. There is an intimacy described in their interaction that alludes to a shared feeling of sexual attraction/ awkward desire. This theme is apparent all throughout the book when it concerns Ishmael,  especially in the way that he describes male characters. For example his description of all the crew members on the boat, of captain Peleg, captain Bildad, and captain Ahab. There is a continual emphasis on their sinewy or salty, weather-worn skin. Ishmael also places extreme care in talking about how their muscles and physical bodies, in a manner that seems sexually charged. On top of these descriptions the general prose of Moby Dick is incredibly sexually suggestive. This is extremely apparent in the final chapters of the novel when they are chasing the White Whale. Every act made by the White Whale is described with sexual vernacular alluding to the thrusting of the male genitalia and its ejaculation. This prose makes it feel like the character Ishmael is the creation of the repressed homosexual desires of Herman Melville. On top of the sexual language the prose is beautiful and flowery, with amazing sensory details of nature; the subtle importance of the morning dawn and setting set. Because of this it gives the novel a feminine undertone, leading the reader to believe more that it is not so much a story of valor but a spin on heterosexual and homosexual roles within the self and society. 

-MaraJean Hagen-Spath