#i've also been terrified by this chapter for months and months since i thought Queequeg would actually be dying in it

[hwestil]

I find it heartbreaking how Ishmael tries to distance himself from Queequeg dying: Queequeg calls someone to his deathbed to hold his hand and to express his final wishes to, he tells someone "to go to his bag and bring out his little god, Yojo," Ishmael says what "you" can see if you look at Queequeg instead of what he saw himself and dissolves himself among "every one" who is sad and "some" who are delighted when Queequeg rallies—until he's truly well and strong, and then Ishmael calls him "my Queequeg" again like he has in the past and like he did at the start of the chapter.

#whale weekly #just my take of course #plausible deniability that Queequeg had other people do those things but who would he pick besides Ishmael #i've also been terrified by this chapter for months and months since i thought Queequeg would actually be dying in it #Herman Melville pulled a fast one