Analysis

//Moby Dick//, a novel written in the 19th century by Herman Melville, to many seems to be a long tale about a crazed man's journey in search of a great white whale. Even though most readers simply believe that the crazed man, Captain Ahab, has set out to kill the white whale and rid the world of evil, they may have noticed the other aspects to the story. Behind the dozens of chapters is a great insight into what Melville saw happening in the United States at the time the novel was conceived. Capitalism and Socialism being two great factors in the 1800s were seen throughout the novel in various situations and symbolized by specific people and ideas. Socialism being the idea that people should be able to make their own money through the government. Capitalism is in many ways the opposite, it is the idea that the economic system is free and without the consent of the government.

Socialism is represented by the crew members of the book whose money is made only through their lay which is given to them by the captains, who represent the government. A lay is the percent of the money that will be given to them out of the total profit of the catch. Ishmael is used to provide the viewer with a picture of how the rest of the crew had to go about and hope that the captains would come to a fair agreement on his lay. Like the socialistic economy Ishmael is free to make his own money and profit without having to make a certain amount every day, he can do as little as he pleases and get the same paycheck in the end as he would if he worked ten times as hard, and he is free to go with another captain of a different boat to see what they would offer him. After much bickering, Captain Peleg and Captain Bildad (who represent the government) finally come to an agreement that they will give Ishmael a 300th lay.

Throughout the scenes Captain Peleg and Ishmael speak about Captain Ahab who represents the capitalism in the novel. Later in the novel we learn about Ahab's true plan in taking the Pequod and this is when we are opened to the view that Captain Ahab has decided to take control of the Pequod. We are blind to Ahab's true plan he represents the capitalism because once the crew is out of ship the government has no control over the crew and captains decisions. As Ahab moves further towards insanity, he offers the sailors a golden dubloon if they spot Moby Dick. In Capitalism, there is incentive for the worker to work harder because if they do, they will be payed more. Ahab offering the dubloon to the member of the crew that spots Moby Dick is a perfect example of this aspect of capitalism.

After successfully analyzing //Moby Dick// it is obvious that Melville does not just write about Ahab's obsessed adventure and ambitious plan that leads his entire crew excluding Ishmael to destruction. Melville tries to help his readers get a better glimpse at what was going on in the world as well as the United States at a time when everything was changing and many people had their own view and perceptions on many of the era's issues and events.