ishmael

Relationships

• travels_withQueequeg

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  Ishmael is traveling alongside Queequeg as companions on their journey.

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  Come on, Queequeg,” said I, “all right. There’s Mrs. Hussey.

• encountersElijah

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  Ishmael and Queequeg are repeatedly accosted and warned by the stationary Elijah.

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  Holloa!” cried stationary Elijah, hailing us when we had removed a few paces.

• boardsPequod

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  Ishmael and Queequeg finally step on board the Pequod after their encounters with Elijah.

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  At last, stepping on board the Pequod, we found everything in profound quiet, not a soul moving.

• findsOld Rigger

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  Ishmael and Queequeg discover an old rigger sleeping in the Pequod's forecastle.

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  Seeing a light, we went down, and found only an old rigger there, wrapped in a tattered pea-jacket.

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• was_born_and_bred_inInfallible Presbyterian Church

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  Ishmael's religious background is rooted in the Presbyterian Church, where he was born and bred.

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  born and bred in the bosom of the infallible Presbyterian Church.

• redefinesWorship

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  Ishmael broadens his understanding of worship to encompass doing good to one's fellow man, transcending traditional religious forms.

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  But what is worship?—to do the will of God—_that_ is worship.

• feels_drawn_towardsQueequeg

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  Ishmael experiences a mysterious attraction to Queequeg, drawn by qualities that would typically repel others.

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  yet I began to feel myself mysteriously drawn towards him. And those same things that would have repelled most others, they were the very magnets that thus drew me.

• confirms_bedfellows_withQueequeg

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  After Queequeg asks, Ishmael confirms they will share a bed again, a prospect Queequeg seems pleased by.

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  he made out to ask me whether we were again to be bedfellows. I told him yes; whereat I thought he looked pleased, perhaps a little complimented.

• explainsThe Book

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  Ishmael endeavors to clarify the purpose of printing and the meaning of pictures in a book to Queequeg.

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  I endeavored to explain to him the purpose of the printing, and the meaning of the few pictures that were in it.

• andQueequeg

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  A metaphorical description of the deep intimacy and comfort Ishmael and Queequeg experience together in bed, akin to a honeymoon.

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  Thus, then, in our hearts’ honeymoon, lay I and Queequeg—a cosy, loving pair.

• joinsQueequeg

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  After an internal debate about the nature of worship, Ishmael participates in Queequeg's pagan ritual as a gesture of fellowship.

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  So I kindled the shavings; helped prop up the innocent little idol; offered him burnt biscuit with Queequeg; salamed before him twice or thrice; kissed his nose; and that done, we undressed and went to bed, at peace with our own consciences and all the world.

• offersBurnt Biscuit

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  Ishmael participates in Queequeg's ritual by offering a burnt biscuit to the idol.

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  offered him burnt biscuit with Queequeg;

• disregardsLandlord's Policy of Insurance

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  Ishmael's growing affection for Queequeg leads him to no longer worry about the landlord's insurance policy regarding smoking in bed.

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  I no more felt unduly concerned for the landlord’s policy of insurance.

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• is_tasked_withShip Selection

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  Yojo has specifically instructed that Ishmael alone should be responsible for choosing their whaling ship.

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  Yojo earnestly enjoined that the selection of the ship should rest wholly with me,

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• is_part_of_crewCaptain Ahab

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  Ishmael confirms his role as a crew member and his shared commitment to Captain Ahab's quest.

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  I, Ishmael, was one of that crew; my shouts had gone up with the rest; my oath had been welded with theirs; and stronger I shouted, and more did I hammer and clinch my oath, because of the dread in my soul. A wild, mystical, sympathetical feeling was in me; Ahab’s quenchless feud seemed mine.

• is_on_quest_to_huntMoby Dick

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  Ishmael joined the crew's oath of violence and revenge against Moby Dick, feeling a deep, sympathetic connection to Captain Ahab's feud.

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  I, Ishmael, was one of that crew; my shouts had gone up with the rest; my oath had been welded with theirs; and stronger I shouted, and more did I hammer and clinch my oath, because of the dread in my soul. A wild, mystical, sympathetical feeling was in me; Ahab’s quenchless feud seemed mine. With greedy ears I learned the history of that murderous monster against whom I and all the others had taken our oaths of violence and revenge.

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• entersThe Trap

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  Ishmael enters the building he initially identifies as 'The Trap,' stumbling upon an ash-box in the porch.

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  so, entering, the first thing I did was to stumble over an ash-box in the porch.

• entersThe Spouter Inn

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  Ishmael finally enters 'The Spouter Inn,' finding himself in a wide, low entry reminiscent of an old ship.

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  Entering that gable-ended Spouter-Inn, you found yourself in a wide, low, straggling entry with old-fashioned wainscots, reminding one of the bulwarks of some condemned old craft.

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• survivesSinking of the Pequod

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  Ishmael is the sole individual who survives the destruction of the Pequod, eventually being drawn into and then escaping the closing vortex.

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• usesCoffin life-buoy

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  Ishmael finds and utilizes the coffin life-buoy as a means of staying afloat and surviving for a day and a night after the sinking.

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• takes_place_ofAhab's bowsman

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  After the disappearance of the Parsee, Ishmael is ordained by the Fates to fill the vacant role of Ahab's bowsman.

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  I was he whom the Fates ordained to take the place of Ahab’s bowsman, when that bowsman assumed the vacant post;

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• reflects_onCaptain Ahab

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  Ishmael, the narrator, ponders the character of Captain Ahab, feeling a complex mix of emotions towards him.

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  what had been incidentally revealed to me of Captain Ahab, filled me with a certain wild vagueness of painfulness concerning him. And somehow, at the time,

• tries_to_reachQueequeg

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  Ishmael attempts to make contact with Queequeg, who is secluded in his room during his religious observance.

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  I went up to his room and knocked at the door; but no answer. I tried to open it, but it was fastened inside. “Queequeg,” said I softly through the key-hole:—all silent. “I say, Queequeg! why don’t you speak? It’s I—Ishmael.” But all remained still as before.

• informsChamber-maid

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  Ishmael quickly relays his suspicions about Queequeg's well-being to the chamber-maid.

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  Running down stairs, I quickly stated my suspicions to the first person I met—the chamber-maid. “La! la!” she cried,

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• holdsQueequeg

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  Ishmael holds Queequeg down in the sea by the monkey-rope, ensuring his safety while Queequeg works on the whale's back.

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  Just so, from the ship’s steep side, did I hold Queequeg down there in the sea, by what is technically called in the fishery a monkey-rope, attached to a strong strip of canvas belted round his waist.

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• negotiates_forLay (share of profits)

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  Ishmael negotiates with Peleg and Bildad to secure a better share of the voyage's profits, initially offered the 777th and eventually securing the 300th lay.

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• ships_onPequod

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  Ishmael signs the necessary papers to join the crew of the Pequod for a whaling voyage.

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  after signing the papers, off I went

• has_friendQueequeg

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  Ishmael refers to Queequeg as his friend and arranges for him to also seek employment on the Pequod.

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  I have a friend with me who wants to ship too

• inquires_aboutCaptain Ahab

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  After signing on, Ishmael asks Captain Peleg about the whereabouts of the ship's actual captain, Captain Ahab.

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  accosted Captain Peleg, inquiring where Captain Ahab was

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• is bowsman forQueequeg

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  Ishmael's duty as bowsman was to pull the bow-oar in Queequeg's boat and assist him on the whale.

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  Being the savage’s bowsman, that is, the person who pulled the bow-oar in his boat

• heldQueequeg

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  Ishmael secured Queequeg from the ship's side using a monkey-rope while Queequeg was on the whale.

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  did I hold Queequeg down there in the sea, by what is technically called in the fishery a monkey-rope

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• referenced_byCHAPTER 1. Loomings.

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  introduces

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• visitsWhaleman’s Chapel

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  Ishmael, the narrator, makes a Sunday visit to the Whaleman's Chapel.

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• contemplates_voyage_fromNantucket

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  Ishmael contemplates embarking on a whaling voyage that would depart from Nantucket.

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  on the eve of a Nantucket voyage

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• introducesChapter 42

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  Ishmael, as the narrator, introduces the subject matter of Chapter 42 from his personal perspective.

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  what, at times, he was to me, as yet remains unsaid.

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