The giving of names to whales by sailors in Moby-Dick is an example of anthropomorphism that draws attention to the ways in which the characters create personal narratives in their search for meaning. The whale is repeatedly presented as a symbol of unreadability, with its whiteness representing a blankness that is tantalizing for the men in its mystery. The naming of whales can thus be read as one response to this, with it representing an attempt to make the inscrutable somehow tangible.
In particular, the sailors' individualizing of particular whales is used to elevate the whaling industry to a world of heroic pursuits. In a chapter where Ishmael attempts to convince the reader that this tale is based in truth and that specific whales can indeed become recognizable and tracked around the world, Ishmael reflects on the "privileges" that come with these whales' notoriety:
But not only did each of these famous whales enjoy great individual celebrity—Nay, you may call it an ocean-wide renown; not only was he famous in life and now is immortal in forecastle stories after death, but he was admitted into all the rights, privileges, and distinctions of a name; had as much a name indeed as Cambyses or Cæsar.
Ishmael makes clear the esteem that comes with a name, which can elevate its subject to the realm of heroes and kings. By consequence, the naming of whales also allows the sailors to fashion themselves as heroes, with their pursuits of these great whales elevated to that of a heroic quest rather than merely the hunting of a wild animal.
This is particularly significant in the case of Ahab, who fashions himself as a Shakespearean hero on a grand quest. As alluded to by Ishmael, the giving of a name not only ascribes its subject with renown, but also a sense of agency. Ahab’s references to Moby Dick by name thus helps him to present their relationship as personal and reciprocal, reinforcing his belief that Moby Dick’s dismembering of him was personal and deliberate. The giving of a name thus helps Ahab elevate and justify his lust for vengeance by projecting the narrative that he is in dialogue with Moby Dick, not that he is merely a brute animal.
In Moby-Dick, whales are consistently anthropomorphized in ways that highlight the fine line that divides human from animal. In particular, Melville’s passages detailing the domestic lives of whales draw parallels with human behaviors in a way that can be read as a playful satire on the trivialities and animal instincts that dictate civil society.
Passages such as those found in “Schools and Schoolmasters” (a chapter detailing the domestic politics within schools of whales) exemplify this. There is a satirical edge, for example, in the description of the kind of courting that goes on in the whale world, with Ishmael describing the carnage that can come from the “unprincipled young rakes” and “young Lotharios” that may be bold enough to “invade the sanctity of domestic bliss”—or, in other words, steal another whale’s lady. Ishmael describes the ensuing scenes with a rye tone:
As ashore, the ladies often cause the most terrible duels among their rival admirers; just so with the whales, who sometimes come to deadly battle, and all for love.
Ishmael’s tone blends the triviality of the politics of dating with the high esteem and grandeur of great love in a way that satirizes human relationships too. The noting of how these romantic jealousies can end in deadly battle hints at the often primal and self-indulgent motives that can escalate into great tragedies. Indeed, such an idea is evident in the tragedy of the Pequod, which is ultimately driven by Ahab’s reckless and self-centered desire for revenge.
Furthermore, the references to civil American institutions when describing the whales highlight the way in which modern society may use such systems and glossy institutions to hide its true nature. Describing the forty-barrel-full schools, Ishmael writes:
Like a mob of young collegians, they are full of fight, fun, and wickedness, tumbling round the world at such a reckless, rollicking rate, that no prudent underwriter would insure them any more than he would a riotous lad at Yale or Harvard. They soon relinquish this turbulence though, and when about three-fourths grown, break up, and separately go about in quest of settlements, that is, harems.
Here, Ishmael’s comparison of these schools of whales to young reckless college boys uses humor to emphasize the satirical implications. The reflection that these young disreputable whales soon grow out of their roguish ways and settle into polite society (by joining harems) is intentionally playful in the way it depicts the maturing of young men. The use of concepts such as insurance and university to describe the whales is significant in its undercutting of the systems that are usually held up as proud symbols of the advancement of human civilization. Through these comparisons, Melville exposes the disorderliness and essential humanity that lies beneath these institutions, a humanity that indeed is not so dissimilar from the behavior of wild animals. By anthropomorphising the whales, Melville thus emphasizes how civil society is dictated by the very same instincts that guide the animal world.
