Melville draws similarities between the narrator, Ishmael, and the self-proclaimed prophet, Gabriel, when they introduce themselves and their desire to go to sea, revealing Ishmael’s unreliable nature and raising the question of whether the reader can trust his story.
The narrator is introduced as follows: “Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world” (Ch. I). The ambiguity about whether his name is actually Ishmael or if this is just what he identifies with creates an uncertainty about his truth-telling. Not only this, but his omniscient ability emphasizes his untrustworthiness because if he is able to divulge what another character is thinking/doing without being there to witness it, what else could he fabricate to the end of spinning this tale in a specific, biased way?
Similarly, Gabriel is not the fanatic’s real name as he is a self-proclaimed prophet. Like Ishmael, this is something he chose to call himself. Both individuals are social outcasts: Ishmael identifies himself with his Biblical namesake who is an orphan and outcast in his own right, and Gabriel lives on the edges of society—being a fanatic—which this following passage articulates: “…straightway upon the ship’s getting out of sight of land, his insanity broke out in a freshet. He announced himself as the archangel Gabriel, and commanded the captain to jump overboard” (Ch. LXXI). This introduction mirrors Ishmael’s not only because each announces themselves as something other than who they are, but also because of what led them both to whaling in the first place. In Gabriel’s case, he is seized by “a strange, apostolic whim,” (Ch. LXXI) and Ishmael is pulled by the sea’s “magic” (Ch. I). Both viewed the sea as limitless and untamed as opposed to the monotonous imprisonment they experienced on land. However, the two of them reacted to the sea differently. Where Gabriel’s insanity flourished “out of sight of land,” as if the wildness in himself responded to the sea’s wildness, Ishmael viewed it as an adventure. He was so bored of the land that his desire to “see the watery part of the world” was more about the experience of freedom than the fanatic outburst of expression that Gabriel partook in.
Where Gabriel is self-deluded, it is true that Ishmael is insecure in himself, but where Gabriel is idolatrous, Ishmael is more open-minded. The former has made up his mind to protect Moby-Dick out of fear that the whale is God, but Ishmael remains undecided up to this point, awaiting the evidence to determine his stance on the matter. Both characters somehow have the ability to know things that aren’t empirical to them, but only Gabriel self-identifies with his prophetic visions. Instead, Ishmael doesn’t present his omniscient findings as truth; he constantly says the reader shouldn’t trust him because of his limited knowledge. By saying “never mind how long precisely” he shows that he is not committed to sharing the exact facts.
Therefore, Ishmael is more open-minded than Gabriel; however, this does not mean we should trust either of them. Melville is clearly using the parallels between Gabriel and Ishmael to make the reader question their narrator. And if Ishmael is not to be trusted, than how can the reader know if anything he said about Gabriel is even true? Both these passages reveal the importance of identifying the self and its desires in a way that considers morality; otherwise the characters are written off as fanatics or liars.
Melville, Herman, 1819-1891. Moby-Dick. [Ashland, Or.] :Blackstone Audio, 2009.