Summary
Ishmael and Queequeg head to the docks to find a whaling ship, and Ishmael gets his first real taste of the chaotic energy of a whaling port. The streets are packed with sailors from every corner of the world - Feegeeans, Tongatabooans, Portuguese, Danes, and more. It's like walking through a human zoo of different cultures, all drawn to New Bedford by the promise of whale oil money. Ishmael notices how these men, despite their wildly different backgrounds, all share the same hungry look in their eyes - they're all here for the same dangerous gamble. The chapter paints New Bedford as a kind of American melting pot on steroids, where the whale fishery brings together the most unlikely collection of humanity. Ishmael observes actual cannibals walking the same streets as Quakers, and nobody bats an eye because money is the great equalizer here. The whaling industry doesn't care where you're from or what gods you worship - it only cares if you can handle a harpoon. This diversity isn't celebrated or condemned; it's just the reality of a business that needs bodies willing to risk their lives. The chapter subtly shows how capitalism can create strange bedfellows, forcing people who might otherwise kill each other to work side by side. It's a perfect setup for the Pequod's crew, which we'll soon learn is its own floating United Nations. Melville is showing us that before these men even step foot on a ship, they're already living in a world where normal social rules don't apply - where a tattooed cannibal can be your best friend and a Christian can be your worst enemy.
Coming Up in Chapter 21
Ishmael and Queequeg's search for the right whaling ship leads them to a fateful encounter with a vessel whose very name seems to carry a curse. The choice they make will seal their destiny.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
All Astir. A day or two passed, and there was great activity aboard the Pequod. Not only were the old sails being mended, but new sails were coming on board, and bolts of canvas, and coils of rigging; in short, everything betokened that the ship’s preparations were hurrying to a close. Captain Peleg seldom or never went ashore, but sat in his wigwam keeping a sharp look-out upon the hands: Bildad did all the purchasing and providing at the stores; and the men employed in the hold and on the rigging were working till long after night-fall. On the day following Queequeg’s signing the articles, word was given at all the inns where the ship’s company were stopping, that their chests must be on board before night, for there was no telling how soon the vessel might be sailing. So Queequeg and I got down our traps, resolving, however, to sleep ashore till the last. But it seems they always give very long notice in these cases, and the ship did not sail for several days. But no wonder; there was a good deal to be done, and there is no telling how many things to be thought of, before the Pequod was fully equipped. Every one knows what a multitude of things—beds, sauce-pans, knives and forks, shovels and tongs, napkins, nut-crackers, and what not, are indispensable to the business of housekeeping. Just so with whaling, which necessitates a three-years’ housekeeping upon the wide ocean, far from all grocers, costermongers, doctors, bakers, and bankers. And though this also holds true of merchant vessels, yet not by any means to the same extent as with whalemen. For besides the great length of the whaling voyage, the numerous articles peculiar to the prosecution of the fishery, and the impossibility of replacing them at the remote harbors usually frequented, it must be remembered, that of all ships, whaling vessels are the most exposed to accidents of all kinds, and especially to the destruction and loss of the very things upon which the success of the voyage most depends. Hence, the spare boats, spare spars, and spare lines and harpoons, and spare everythings, almost, but a spare Captain and duplicate ship. At the period of our arrival at the Island, the heaviest storage of the Pequod had been almost completed; comprising her beef, bread, water, fuel, and iron hoops and staves. But, as before hinted, for some time there was a continual fetching and carrying on board of divers odds and ends of things, both large and small. Chief among those who did this fetching and carrying was Captain Bildad’s sister, a lean old lady of a most determined and indefatigable spirit, but withal very kindhearted, who seemed resolved that, if _she_ could help it, nothing should be found wanting in the Pequod, after once fairly getting to sea. At one time she would come on board with a jar of pickles for the steward’s pantry; another time with a bunch of quills for...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Money's Strange Fellowship
Economic necessity forces cooperation between people who would otherwise remain separate, creating temporary but potentially transformative alliances.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches you to recognize when financial pressure creates temporary partnerships between natural opposites.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when money forces you to cooperate with someone you'd normally avoid - use that shared pressure as a conversation starter instead of a barrier.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Feegeeans
People from Fiji, a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. In the 1800s, they were known as fierce warriors and cannibals, which terrified and fascinated Americans. Their presence in New Bedford shows how far people traveled for whaling work.
Modern Usage:
We still stereotype people from certain countries based on outdated ideas, like assuming all Russians are spies.
Tongatabooans
Natives from Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga in the Pacific. Like Fijians, they were seen as exotic 'savages' by white Americans. Their presence shows whaling pulled workers from the most remote places on Earth.
Modern Usage:
Today's equivalent would be migrant workers from places most Americans can't find on a map.
Quakers
A Christian religious group known for pacifism, plain dress, and moral strictness. They dominated New Bedford's whaling business despite their peaceful beliefs. This irony - peace-loving people running a violent industry - shows how money complicates principles.
Modern Usage:
Like tech companies today preaching 'don't be evil' while exploiting user data.
Melting pot
The idea that America blends different cultures into one new culture. New Bedford's whaling port is an extreme example - cannibals and Christians working together. But it's not about harmony; it's about everyone wanting the same paycheck.
Modern Usage:
We still use this term, though now we debate whether America is more of a 'salad bowl' where cultures stay separate.
Whaling port
A harbor town where whaling ships dock, hire crews, and sell whale oil. These were like gold rush towns - rough, diverse, and focused on one thing: money. Social rules bent or broke entirely when profit was involved.
Modern Usage:
Think of oil boom towns in North Dakota or tech hubs like Silicon Valley - places where normal life gets warped by one industry.
Cannibals
People who eat human flesh, used here to describe Pacific Islanders. While some practiced ritual cannibalism, Melville uses the term to show how 'civilized' people work alongside those they consider 'savage' when money's involved.
Modern Usage:
We use 'cannibal' metaphorically now, like companies that 'cannibalize' their own products for profit.
Characters in This Chapter
Ishmael
Narrator and observer
Walks through New Bedford taking in the wild mix of humanity drawn to whaling. His observations about diversity driven by economics set up the Pequod's international crew. He's learning that the sea doesn't care about your background.
Modern Equivalent:
The new hire at an Amazon warehouse noticing workers from everywhere
Queequeg
Ishmael's companion
Though not speaking much in this chapter, his presence beside Ishmael embodies the chapter's theme. A 'cannibal' walking through American streets, about to work alongside Christians. He represents how whaling makes strange partnerships normal.
Modern Equivalent:
The immigrant coworker who becomes your best friend despite different backgrounds
Feegeeans
Background inhabitants
These Fijian sailors represent the global reach of whaling. Their presence shows how American capitalism pulled labor from the furthest corners of Earth. They're both feared as 'savages' and needed as workers.
Modern Equivalent:
Migrant workers in meat-packing plants that locals won't work in
Tongatabooans
Background inhabitants
Like the Feegeeans, these Tongan sailors show how whaling created unlikely gatherings. They're walking proof that when an industry is dangerous enough, it'll take workers from anywhere, no matter how 'foreign' they seem.
Modern Equivalent:
H-2A visa workers picking crops in dangerous conditions
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Actual cannibals stand chatting at street corners; savages outright; many of whom yet carry on their bones unholy flesh."
Context: Ishmael describing the international mix of sailors in New Bedford's streets
This quote shows how whaling ports forced 'civilized' Americans to work with people they'd normally fear or shun. The casual mention of cannibals 'chatting at street corners' like regular folks highlights how money and need override social taboos. It's Melville's way of showing capitalism's power to normalize the extraordinary.
In Today's Words:
It's like working night shift at a warehouse where half your coworkers are from countries we're supposedly at war with, but everyone just wants their paycheck.
"In New Bedford, actual cannibals stand chatting at street corners; savages outright; many of whom yet carry on their bones unholy flesh. It makes a stranger stare."
Context: Ishmael's first impression of New Bedford's diverse whaling community
The phrase 'It makes a stranger stare' captures the culture shock of seeing your prejudices made irrelevant by economics. These 'cannibals' aren't in a zoo or a book - they're potential coworkers. The whaling industry's hunger for labor trumps society's usual boundaries.
In Today's Words:
It's that moment when you realize your Uber driver has a PhD from a country you've been taught to fear.
"In thoroughfares nigh the docks, any considerable seaport will frequently offer to view the queerest looking nondescripts from foreign parts."
Context: Describing the international character of whaling ports
Melville uses 'nondescripts' - people who can't be easily categorized - to show how ports scramble normal social classifications. These spaces exist outside regular society's rules. The word 'queerest' (meaning strangest) emphasizes how whaling creates spaces where the abnormal becomes normal.
In Today's Words:
Like walking through JFK airport at 3am - you see every type of human being possible, and nobody fits into neat little boxes anymore.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
The whaling industry flattens social hierarchies—cannibals and Quakers become equals when they're all potential crew
Development
Builds on earlier class observations, showing how maritime work specifically disrupts normal social order
In Your Life:
Your workplace probably pairs you with people from completely different backgrounds who you'd never meet otherwise
Identity
In This Chapter
Individual cultural identities become secondary to the shared identity of 'potential whaleman'
Development
Expands from Ishmael's personal identity questions to show how entire groups reshape identity for economic survival
In Your Life:
You might act differently at work than at home, adopting a 'work self' that fits the environment
Diversity
In This Chapter
New Bedford's streets showcase extreme human diversity united by singular economic purpose
Development
Introduced here as a major theme—the whaling industry as America's first truly global workplace
In Your Life:
Your job probably brings you into contact with people from backgrounds you'd never otherwise encounter
Capitalism
In This Chapter
The whale oil trade overrides all cultural, religious, and social boundaries in pursuit of profit
Development
Introduced here as the force that drives all other themes—money as the great equalizer and destroyer
In Your Life:
You've probably worked jobs where making rent mattered more than who you worked with
Prejudice
In This Chapter
Normal prejudices get suspended (not eliminated) when there's money at stake
Development
Develops from Ishmael's friendship with Queequeg to show this pattern at societal scale
In Your Life:
You might work smoothly with someone whose politics or lifestyle you strongly disagree with
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What surprised Ishmael most about the crowds at the New Bedford docks?
analysis • surface - 2
Why do you think the whaling industry attracted such a diverse mix of people from around the world?
analysis • medium - 3
Where in your own life have you seen money or work bring together people who wouldn't normally associate?
application • medium - 4
If you were dropped into a workplace where everyone was completely different from you, how would you find common ground?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about how economic necessity changes the way humans treat each other?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Workplace Alliances
Draw a simple diagram of your workplace or a place you regularly interact with others. Mark yourself in the center, then add the people you work with. Draw solid lines to people you'd socialize with outside work and dotted lines to those you only interact with for the job. Now add notes about what you've learned from the 'dotted line' people that you wouldn't have discovered otherwise.
Consider:
- •Which 'dotted line' person has taught you the most valuable skill or lesson?
- •Are there people you initially avoided but now respect?
- •What common goals unite you with people you'd never choose as friends?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when working alongside someone very different from you changed your perspective. What walls came down? What did you discover about yourself?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 21
As the story unfolds, you'll explore key events and character development in this chapter, while uncovering thematic elements and literary techniques. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.