Ishmael Character Analysis

Despite all the evidence which proved Ishmael was not a simple man, he continues to attempt to persuade others that he was nothing more than a simple man who “always [goes] to sea as a sailor, because they make a point of paying me for my trouble” (Melville); Ishmael claims that being a sailor is just a job. Although Ishmael is more than capable of performing any job on a ship, he chooses to work as a sailor because he detests the other positions on board the whaling ship. However, when Ismael speaks of sailing, he mentions the “pure air of the fore-castle deck” (Melville); this, too, proves that Ishmael is not a simple man. Simple men do not take the time to appreciate things such as pure air, but Ishmael respects nature and by acknowledging