Starbuck- underrated.
I am writing my essay about the 1956 film of the novel, Moby-Dick; and what I came to notice was how important of a character the film portrayed Starbuck to be. I’m not sure if I missed it in the novel, or if it simply wasn’t there, but Starbuck’s levelheadedness throughout the film really surprised me. He was the only one on board who wasn’t afraid to stand up to Ahab. A favorite quote of mine from the film was when Starbuck looked around the ship and said something along the lines of, “I don’t recognize any of you men. You’ve all turned into clones of Ahab.” This really struck me as previously he would only confront either Ahab or Stubb and Flask. But it was very powerful for him to lash out at the whole crew, and rightfully so. Since he was such a moral conscience I wonder why he was not spared at the end of the film/novel.
In the novel I feel like Starbuck is one of the only people on the ship who tends to be wary of captain Ahab’s decisions, but he doesn’t seem to be as outspoken as you say he is in this film. I think that it is an interesting choice that the filmmakers made to make his role on board seem more important and his ideas controversial. I think a lot of us tend to side with Starbuck in the novel because we had an idea of what was to happen in the end because of his uneasiness. The story of Moby Dick would be very interesting to see if it was told from Starbuck’s perspective.
I completely agree. I am also writing my essay on the 1956 movie and was surprised about a lot of the choices made in the portrayal of the story. I think in the novel, because most of the scenes are through Ishmael’s eyes, we get the story he sees. In the movie, we are freed from only seeing Ishmael’s thoughts and feelings. Starbuck in general is very levelheaded, and in a book where there are so many things going on, the practical people kind of get lost in the mix.