Moby Dick Figurative Language

Body vs. Self.
The constant struggle between the well being of the body and the mind is an idea that is prevalent in the direst of situations. In times of crisis, it may be the mind that revives one from the most life threatening events. This idea is not only presented in life, but novels also use this concept to extract a sense of sympathy for the characters from the readers. The novel, Moby Dick, effectively delineates the theme of body vs. self. Although this concept is not a main theme throughout the story, Herman Melville realistically depicts the thought processes of his characters while on their deadly voyage. The use of figurative language and descriptive details also contribute to Melville's reality of how life can influence the
Queequeg is the embodiment of how this can happen when in Chapter 110; he is lying in his coffin because of a death prone sickness. The entire chapter revolves around the essence of body vs. self as he contemplates about how he has “left things undone” which makes him believe that he “mere sickness could not kill him… he could not die yet” (383). Because Queequeg has a reason to live, he completely discards his feelings of sickness for an outside motivation. He overcomes his bodily weakness to pursue something more valuable than his body, and for this, his mind fights his body to remember his true purpose. By the end of the chapter, Queequeg mentions how the tattoos on his body are “a complete theory of heavens and earth… a riddle to unfold” (384) which shows how he thinks that it is his duty to uncover the secrets that the world is trying to tell him. He believes that his physical body is the key to unlock the mind in a way no human being could understand. In this way, the mind and the body are communicating in a manner that shows how the mind can transgress the body even when life seems utterly
Ahab is a fitting manifestation of how the “self” cannot be the same person as it once was. He proves this when he forces the carpenter to make his ivory leg in Chapter 108, Ahab and the Carpenter, which shows that he knows the new leg will not make him feel whole. Ahab has the impression that the Carpenter who is a “manmaker” can forge a leg that could stop making him feel the old leg in place. This proves how the body cannot compensate for what the mind and soul perceive. In this way, Ahab believes the new leg will make him feel human once again. Even though he thinks that the leg is the gateway to his humanity, he has a thought that remains in his mind. Ahab cannot shake the feeling of “only one distinct leg to the eye, yet two to the soul” (376). Ahab has a direct link between his mind and his body that he cannot surpass with even a replica of a leg which makes him think he has two. Melville places this lingering thought in Ahab so that it may remind him of his drive to kill Moby Dick.
The feeling of being oneself by the interconnectedness or disembodiment of the body is seen clearly through the characters, Pip, Queequeg, and Ahab. Melville uses these characters to explain how the body can differ from the self in unexpected ways. Because these characters encounter life changing events, they have obtained a much more extensive view of how life