- Question
What does the White Whale symbolize in Moby-Dick?
As one of the most famous symbols in literature, one would expect "Moby-Dick's" White Whale to have a single and exact meaning. Although known by most as a symbol of Ahab's monomaniac obsession, the White Whale actually could represent a multitude of different things. What does the White Whale truly symbolize?
The whale in Moby Dick represents some sort of inscrutable god or higher power
There are many reasons why the White Whale represents God. The whale's whiteness relates to the holiness of higher powers. The whale's incomprehensible size and strength represent that of a diety. Captain Ahab wants to kill the whale to become a God himself.
The whale in Moby Dick represents all evil in the world
This position holds that the White Whale in Moby-Dick symbolises all the evil in the world. It argues that Ahab projects onto the creature the concentrated malice of existence, and that the novel's imagery — especially the dread of its whiteness — casts the whale as the embodiment of universal evil.
The whale in Moby Dick does not represent anything singularly
This position holds that the White Whale in Moby-Dick has no single fixed meaning. It argues that although nearly every character projects their own significance onto the whale, Melville never defines it — much as the doubloon is, finally, just a coin — leaving its meaning deliberately open.