With his novel Moby-Dick, Herman Melville uses the voyages of a New England whaler as a metaphor for the expansionist society in which he lived. Completed in 1851, the novel condemns mid-19th century American values. At this time, the growing population of the United States encouraged the idea of ​​Manifest Destiny, or that the nation was destined to expand to the Pacific Ocean. This goal caused numerous incidents between America and its bordering civilizations, such as Mexico, and the many Native American tribes that were either displaced or destroyed by Western settlers. The United States considered these civilizations primitive; thus, exterminating them for their land was not considered a criminal act, especially given the value of natural resources that could be exploited for profit. Melville opposed this expansionist policy and the methods used to achieve it, and the novel shows this opposition as well as his admiration for indigenous values. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay One of the first indications we have of the author's support for indigenous cultures that were being destroyed is his first interaction with Queequeg. Learning that he must share a room with the cannibal, he first argues, then accepts, on condition that the native obeys a few rules, specifying: "It is better to sleep with a sober cannibal than with a drunk Christian." (31) This sentence shows us that Melville does not share the typical Christian values ​​of the 19th century which consider pagans as subhuman. It is this superior attitude that enabled American expansionist logic. Ishmael deepens his views on equality a few chapters later, as his friendship with Queequeg develops further. He admits that it is not like his society to befriend a savage, but says, "I will try a pagan friend since Christian kindness has proven to be nothing but empty courtesy." » (53) This statement is likely one of the main reasons why many Christians criticized the book at the time, as they felt it condemned their beliefs. Here he criticizes the same kind of strict Christianity that his friend Hawthorne condemns. Melville's criticism of Christian practices is surprising, however, given the amount of scripture he uses in his novel, meaning that he must have been a fairly educated Christian at one point to be able to know as much the Bible. For this reason, readers should infer that Melville is not criticizing the Christian religion, but rather the way he sees it practiced. Being a friend of Hawthorne, he probably had more than adequate knowledge of the Puritan judgments used by the county's founders. Furthermore, he saw how Christianity's superior perception allowed it to encroach on pagan civilizations. It is this attack and exploitation of other societies that the book condemns as one of its major themes. Although the Pequod was heading east, it and the United States were attempting to exploit resources all the way to the Pacific. In this way, Melville may be trying to express that the United States is trying to exploit all the "uncivilized" areas of the world, by taking all the lands in the west and conquering the seas all around the globe. are symbolic of Western lands, which will only be exploited for what is most profitable; in the meantime, we waste everything that is not worth it. Examples of whaling wastepermeate Ishmael's story. Although he never condemns these actions, the inclusion of the details allows readers to make their own inferences. One of the first indications we receive follows the capture of the first whale. Here Melville vividly describes the process that men go through to treat the dead animal. From the whale, they only take the blubber and the gallons of spermaceti that are found in the dead whale's head. Most of the rest of the carcass is thrown back into the ocean for sharks to feed on. This is reminiscent of the treatment of buffalo on the midwestern plains in the mid-19th century, where the animals were slaughtered and the best parts removed while the rest were left for the vultures. Ahab's monomaniacal mission to conquer the whale is even older. compared to American expansionism as the crew approaches the position of Moby Dick. In chapter 109, Starbuck informs the captain of the leaking barrels of spermaceti in the hold. Upon hearing the news, we find that the captain is indifferent, as we learn that he does not care about the resources he has already plundered, but only about killing the white whale. It is as if the United States was heading west, although little had been done to cultivate the lands already owned by the settlers, because they refused to rest until their manifest destiny was completed . After achieving their goal, they could focus on "trivial" things, like using what they hadn't yet destroyed during their conquest. One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is the colors used symbolically. Although Melville encourages readers to criticize the crew's values, he also does not make us sympathize with the White Whale. In fact, it portrays Moby Dick as evil, making everything white in the novel evil. Melville does not view white as purity as modern society generally does. Instead, he sees him as an evil shadow that cannot be trusted. By making the pro-Native argument, this could be used to condemn white society, which can be seen as evil for murdering so many Native people. Likewise, among the characters we meet in the novel, those with dark skin seem to represent the best that the characters in the book have to offer. Although none of them are considered role models by society, they appear more civil than their white peers. This compares them to natives of the United States, as their actions were generally polite towards their white peers. This is similar to the help settlers received from Native Americans during the Revolutionary War. Ultimately, however, the harpooneers' loyalty is abused, as they are thrown to their deaths in support of their leader's solitary actions, much like the United States used the Indians to win the war and then took them stripped of their land. freedoms that they had helped Americans acquire. Other indicators of Melville's dissatisfaction with his country's politics are also found in the book, although they do not pertain to the plot of the novel, but rather to the factual information the author gives for help readers. better understand the whaling industry. One such example is where Melville states that “the Nantuckians were the first among mankind to harpoon the great sperm whale with civilized steel; and for half a century, they were the only ones in the world to harpoon them in this way. » (369) This passage is relevant because it emphasizes American greed. At the time of Melville's writings, whale populations throughout the.