The White Whale
When reading through the chapter on the whiteness of the whale I was a bit surprised about the connotations that went along with its color. I understand that white versus black is a racial issue and white usually represents dominance or power over black. But it seems a bit extreme to me to pull the race card in this situation regarding animals. For example the white dove in the story of Noah’s Ark is not seen as a dominant bird. Rather is is seen as a symbol of peace and hope. And the Albatross (ship name), mentioned in chapter 52, is an even bigger white bird. But again nothing is mentioned in regard to its color to make it seem superior at all. So why is the whiteness of the whale such an issue? Why is it so different? Perhaps it is that the whale is much bigger than the bird. But even so, shouldn’t color be color?
I think that the whiteness of the whale is such an issue because white is a color which represents purity and innocence. When such connotations are combined with an animal that is known for killing whalemen, the thought is unsettling. It is one thing to be overtly evil, it is another to be evil under the guise of “goodness” and “purity”. Ishmael claims that the fundamental idea of whiteness “strikes more of panic to the soul than that redness which affrights in blood”. As a result, Ishmael claims, anything that is already terrible seems even more horrifying when it has a ghostly, eerie whiteness to it. What Ishmael really wants to know is why things seem more sinister if they’re white.