Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Final Breath

Mapple promises that eternal delight and deliciousness await the one who, coming to lay himself down, can say with his final breath: “O Father!—chiefly known to me by Thy rod—mortal or immortal, here I die. I have striven to be Thine, more than to be this world’s, or mine own.” He acknowledges that this striving is nothing and leaves eternity to God, questioning what man is that he should outlive his God.

Benediction

Mapple speaks no more, but slowly waves a benediction over the congregation. He covers his face with his hands and remains kneeling alone in the chapel until all the people have departed.

第十章 A Bosom Friend.

This chapter details Ishmael’s return to the Spouter-Inn after chapel, where he finds Queequeg alone, and follows the unexpected, rapid development of a deep cross-cultural friendship between the two men, from initial observation to intimate mutual bond.

Queequeg’s Solitary Rituals in the Inn

Ishmael finds Queequeg alone in the inn after he left chapel early, before the benediction. Queequeg sits on a bench by the fire with his feet on the stove hearth, whittling the nose of his small black idol while humming to himself, then turns to count the pages of a large book on his lap, stopping every fifty pages to whistle in apparent amazement at the book’s length, as if unable to count past fifty on his own.

Ishmael’s Observations of Queequeg’s Character

Watching Queequeg closely, Ishmael observes that despite his savage appearance, harsh facial tattoos, and uncouth heathen customs, his countenance carries a noble, unpretentious bearing. He sees traces of a simple, honest heart in Queequeg’s deep fiery black eyes, and notes that the man is entirely self-possessed, unacquainted with cringing or debt, with a quiet, unspoken philosophical ease even when stranded twenty thousand miles from home among total strangers.