Ind.+Essay

Essay: In Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick, the story of Captain Ahab’s obsession with the white whale is merely a platform for Melville’s critic of life in America in the 1800’s due to the industrial revolution. This era created problems for all common workers and made the wealthy class a powerful minority. The whaling ship "Pequod" represents how America was functioning during this time, and the overall corruptive nature of the industry system.

The Pequod represents America not only by its multicultural crew but by the obvious class separation between workers. Industrialism in America was a proliferation of factories that brought along the separation of common workers by titles and wages. The most apparent example of class differences on the ship is when and where each worker had their meals. The officials, being the highest rank, ate in the cabin before anyone else with the harpooners eating after. The sailors ate whenever they could, where ever they could. The system elected the few with certain abilities and higher positions to be granted special treatment, in this case, the time and place they ate. It is also noted that Captain Ahab had control during meals and it was his time, thus showing his strength over the workers.

The social ladder brought upon by the industry system was very rigid in America as well as on the Pequod. On land, Ishmael struggles on finding the most economic hotel to stay in before his voyage. The rigid system also affects the salary of each worker depending entirely on their abilities and for how much they are willing to work for. Common workers had no input in what their salary will be which leads to many problems, one being the employers taking advantage of their workers and paying them little amounts for strenuous work. This represents some of the conflicts that Herman Melville observed in the factories during the industrial revolution; workers were underpaid and were seen as cattle that were in need of the money to survive. Common workers become chained to the system with no escape route; they had to work in order to survive. This system only added to poverty and made it almost impossible for the lower class to have a higher status in society. Also, it shows the negative appeal towards workers. Both Ahab and the factory owners of America oppressed their workers to stop them from trying to rise up above their social status.

In conclusion, Melville set the stage to reveal how corrupt society was becoming, only for economic gains. High classes, like factory owners, were the only ones to achieve any gains during this era which left workers like Ishmael to struggle at the bottom of the totem pole. The obliteration of the Pequod is used as a metaphor by Melville, to show how the system can destroy society if no precautions were put in order. Ishmael, the only survivor, represents the noble common man, who stood up for what he believed was right, that all people are equal. Through all this, it is evident that Melville requests to show the disruptive nature of the industrial system in America during the 1800’s.

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