The Literature Network - A shadow of the far east: Fedallah; or, a Japanese sea drifter.(Herman Melville's "Moby Dick")

A shadow of the far east: Fedallah; or, a Japanese sea drifter.(Herman Melville's "Moby Dick")

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From: Leviathan
Date: 20061001
Author:Saiki, Ikuno

Aye, harpooneer, thy race is the undeniable dark side of mankind--devilish dark at that. Moby-Dick, Ch. 40

The multicolored deck of the Pequod is a microcosm of the multiracial world. At Ahab's despotic command the three Caucasian mates--Starbuck, a Nantucketer; Stubb, a native of Cape Cod, and Flask from Martha's Vineyard--provoke a battle in partnership with their harpooners--Queequeg, a Pacific Islander; Tashtego, a Gay-Head Indian, and Daggoo, an African--against the overwhelming whiteness of the ubiquitous and immortal whale, which at the same time represents and ...

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