Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Shaving with the Harpoon

Queequeg proceeds to wash himself, but to the narrator’s amazement, he washes only his chest, arms, and hands—not his face. After donning his waistcoat, he takes a bar of hard soap, dips it in water, and begins lathering his face. The narrator watches expectantly for a razor, but instead Queequeg retrieves his harpoon from the bed corner, removes the wooden stock, unsheathes the iron head, sharpens it briefly on his boot, and proceeds to scrape his face vigorously against the wall mirror using the harpoon blade as a razor. The narrator reflects that this is “using Rogers’s best cutlery with a vengeance,” later learning that harpoon heads are made of fine steel kept exceedingly sharp. After completing his unusual grooming, Queequeg proudly marches out wrapped in his pilot monkey jacket, sporting his harpoon like a marshal’s baton.

第五章 Breakfast

Chapter 5 depicts the narrator’s breakfast experience at the Spouter-Inn, introducing the whalemen boarders and highlighting Queequeg’s distinctive comportment. The chapter establishes a tone that interweaves observation, philosophical reflection, and social commentary.

Greeting the Landlord and Humor Reflection

The narrator follows the landlord downstairs into the bar-room and greets him pleasantly, bearing no ill will despite the previous night’s prank involving the bed switch. The narrator then embarks on a philosophical tangent about laughter, declaring it “a mighty good thing, and rather too scarce a good thing.” The narrator advocates for those with humor to freely spend themselves in making others laugh, suggesting that a person with “bountifully laughable” qualities likely possesses depths beyond initial appearance.