American ApocryphaBy Kodel Pilch

The Argument

Should Moby-Dick be referred to as the “American Bible?”

Doom, Doom, Doom

JCO argument about Moby-Dick does imply a strong correlation to the book of Revelation.

But could there be even more broad connotations, as Henry Jenkins suggests?

Call me Ishmael…

The idea of being a Slave to fate is Biblical…

…but it is also common in, and more apt to be compared to, Greek tragedies.

Melville applies a Greek Trope to a Biblical story.

Collision Vs. Coalescence

Fate is the enemy of free will in both Moby-Dick and Greek tragedies.But in the Bible, God is a provider of destiny as a gift.

Predestination + Free Will.

Greco-Biblical Fanfiction

What is Canon?

A general law, rule, principle, or criterion

by which something is judged.

A collection or list of sacred books accepted

as genuine.

Why is this Important?

Ishmael’s interpretations of the Bible don’t fit in the Biblical canon.

Melville understands what his character’s may not.

Why is this Important?

Contrarily, if one were to present the preacher’s sermon of Jonah to an audience familiar with the Bible, they would probably accept it despite his embellishment.

Melville understands what his character’s may not.

Another Biblical Canon…

Consider a Writer’s Bible used in a Television series.

The Writer’s Bible defines the characters and the show for the creators of the program.Likewise the Holy Bible defines “Holiness.”

American Bible

Ahab

Vilifies God.

American Atheism and Anti-Theism

Vilifies God.

Removes God and Religion.

Prophetic Nature

Will the Anti-Theistic movement implode on itself in the same way that Ahab’s quest does?

Like the Bible, there are changes that have been left untapped.

Ishmael and QueequegThe debate of their relationship raises the question of what Melville intended with his writing.

Intentional or not, it has informed where our culture has moved in the past century.

Relationship Taboos

The I-Q relationship has most prominently been referred to for its alleged homosexual tone.

But also, Ishmael and Queequeg’s relationship does cross ethnic boundaries, platonic or romantic. This also has had a reflected change in our society over the past fifty years.

The Pequod

Diverse Group of Whalers.

The crew displays a myriad of opinions and interpretations

America

The great Melting Pot.Where, at least in theory, everyone has a vote.

Uncanny SimilaritiesThe major difference is the lack of women represented in the book as opposed to American society.

An American Bible

Given of the strong reflections the novel has in American Society, the term “American Bible” does seem fitting.