Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Narrator Observes Queequeg’s Tattoos and Rituals

When the harpooneer turns toward the candle light, the narrator is shocked by his dark purplish-yellow skin and large black square marks across his face, initially thinking they are battle wounds before realizing they are tattoos and concluding the man is a South Sea islander who has been tattooed by cannibals. He watches the harpooneer remove a tomahawk, seal-skin wallet, and the New Zealand head from his bag, then take off his beaver hat to reveal a bald head with only a small scalp knot that looks like a mildewed skull. The harpooneer then retrieves a small hunch-backed wooden Congo idol from his coat, sets it up as a shrine on the fireplace, makes a sacrificial offering of shavings and ship biscuit to the idol while chanting in guttural noises, then bags the idol again carelessly before preparing for bed.

Tense Standoff Between Narrator and Queequeg

Terrified by the harpooneer’s strange appearance and pagan rituals, the narrator considers fleeing but is on the second floor and too frightened to speak. The harpooneer puffs tobacco smoke from his tomahawk, blows out the candle, and leaps into bed with the narrator, who cries out in shock. The harpooneer grabs his tomahawk, demands to know the narrator’s identity, threatens to kill him if he does not speak, and waves the lit tomahawk around the dark room, scattering hot tobacco ash on the narrator.

Landlord Mediates the Confrontation

The narrator shouts for the landlord, who rushes in with a light and reassures him that Queequeg (the harpooneer) will not harm him. The narrator complains that the landlord did not warn him the harpooneer was a cannibal, and the landlord explains he assumed the narrator knew from the earlier story of the head-peddling harpooneer. The landlord then speaks to Queequeg in broken English to confirm he understands the narrator will share the bed with him.