nched line-of-battle ship; and out of that element it is a thing eternally impossible for mortal man to hoist him bodily in the air, so as to preserve all his mighty swells and undulations." (227-228) The whale remains symbolic to Melville even when not literally present."Then, again, in mountainous countries where the traveler is continually girdled by amphitheatrical heights; here and there from some lucky point of view you will catch passing glimpses of whales defined along the undulating ridges. But you must be a thorough whaleman, to see these sights; and not only that, but if you wish to return to such a sight again, you must be sure and take the exact intersecting latitude and longitude of your first stand-point, elseso chance-like are such observations of the hillsyour precise, previous standpoint would require a laborious re-discovery;" (233)This passage reiterates the idea that a long stare at the nature of the supernatural is restricted from man, and even passing glimpses are difficult to acquire.One of the most significant things impressed on my mind by Melville is the duality of the universe. This is the stem of the yin-yang metaphor. Good forces are balanced by Evil forces that are just as real. More than once does Ishmael clearly speak for the existence of Evil, especially as embodied in sharks, saying "If you have never seen that sight [of sharks tearing at a dead sperm whale], then suspend your decision about the propriety of devil-worship, and the expediency of conciliating with the devil." (250) The cook Fleece even refers to Satan as "old Massa Shark hisself" (254) As the try-pots boil blubber down to oil (in what could easily be construed as a whale's Hell) they are heated by the immolation of the remains of blubber from the very same whale. The smoke is apparently objectionable to men, as Ishmael relates: "[The smoke of burning whale fritters] has an unspeakable, wild, Hindoo odor about it, such as may lur...
