Why Moby Dick Is White

Moby Dick; or, The Whale (Yeah, that’s the book’s full name)

Herman Melville (Henceforth known as Herman)

1851

For what it’s worth, the movie Jaws is probably the best thing Herman ever wrote.

I had an American lit professor in college who told us a story.  In the 1950s, his first year teaching at Princeton, he met Albert Einstein at a cocktail party.  They were introduced, did the obligatory round of small talk, and went their ways.  My professor was understandably impressed. 

Late that night, home in bed with his wife, the phone rang.  It was Albert, apologetic about calling so late, but wondering if he could ask a question. 

“Okay, Albert” my professor said.  Imagine calling Albert Einstein just “Albert.”

According to the story, Albert Einstein said, “I’m a genius.  I’ve won the Nobel Prize.  But there’s this thing that’s always bothered me.  You teach literature, right?  – In Moby Dick, why is the whale white?”

It comes up again and again.  AP high school teacher and college professors go on and on.  Students write about it.  There are lots of answers.  The thing is, they’re all bullshit.  

She, like Ahab, searches for Moby Dick

Those teachers, professors, and students – they’re all just blowing smoke.  Here’s the real reason Moby is white:

He was an albino whale.

No really, that’s it. 

Wikipedia will tell you that “The symbolism of the White Whale is deliberately enigmatic, and its inscrutability is a deliberate challenge to the reader.” 

I’ll let you in on a secret:  Symbolism is never enigmatic or inscrutable.  If there’s a symbol written into a book, you’re supposed to get it.  When writers use symbolism, they do it to enrich their work.  They want you to understand.  What’s the point otherwise?  Any writer who is being “deliberately enigmatic” is fucking with you.  Most writers who come off that way, they’re just covering for a screw up in their work. 

So back to Moby:

Not this Moby, the other one

A marine biologist, if you happen to know one, will explain that nature occasionally produce albino whales.  Also, sperm whales (like Moby) are community animals who travel in pods, except the albino sperm whale is attacked and shunned by the pod and has to live alone.  He’s usually overly defensive and quick to attack because he’s so often attacked by other whales and because he can’t rely on the pod for defense.  So albino sperm whales used to attack boats.  It was just something that happened.

And that’s it.  It’s no deep symbolism and only a mystery because lit professors often think that inventing an answer is better than finding an answer.  But originally, Herman wanted to tell the story of obsessed Captain Ahab, and Herman needed an antagonist, something that Ahab could be obsessed with, something that Ahab was pitted against in a fight to the death.  A giant albino whale works because it would have attacked Ahab’s whaling boat, and Ahab could spend his life chasing it.  It’s not symbolism, it’s story telling.  Plain and simple.  

Einstein should have been talking to lit professors.

 

So there you have it folks: generations of literary mystery demystified.  If you or someone you know is reading Moby Dick, you or they can pull out that trump card.  Meanwhile, Herman is laughing in his grave.

Spoiler Alert: The whale dies.