Moby Dick Lesson Plan

In chapter 27, Melville fleshes out the character of the men aboard the Pequod. What does he seem to be saying about the division of labor at sea, and how does this tie into our theme of the whaling voyage as an escape from the typical confines of civilization?

The division of labor among the ship seems significant: while all of the officers are from the eastern United States, specifically New England, their assistants are all Black and Indigenous People of Color: Native Americans, Africans, and Pacific Islanders. Yet Ishmael seems to indicate that there is an order to the ship apart from race or national identity despite the hierarchy of the ship.

The men who are the...