In his novel Moby Dick, Herman Melville seeks to explore the ambiguities of good versus evil, as well as the ambiguities within man himself. Melville treats the open ocean and the Pequod, a whaling ship, as a microcosm of society to explore the true nature of humanity. During this journey the reader encounters two integral characters: Ishmael and Ahab. While the two may seem opposite in terms of personality and aspirations, it is with Ishmael and Ahab that Melville highlights the inherent attributes of humanity as a whole. Ishmael is presented to the reader as a contemplative, if not melancholy, young man. He is attracted to the sea as a means of escaping the monotony of everyday life and considers it a "substitute for gun and ball" (CITE). As a narrator, Ishmael's naturally contemplative nature invites the reader to reflect with him as the ship leaves port and sails out to sea. It must be understood, however, that Ishmael does not have a passive role as a character or sailor, but rather goes to sea “as a simple sailor, right before the mainmast, crashed into the forecastle, up there on the royal mast. -Head." (CITE). As the narrator, he is presented to the reader as a terribly intelligent man looking for something - freedom, adventure or experience - on the wave worn by the Pequod. Interestingly, though, there is an event which lingers in the reader's mind and which Ishmael seems to ignore without gnashing his teeth the pontification essential to his character, that of his meeting with the prophet Elijah. Biblically, Elijah sought to defend the sovereignty of Yahweh during a period in northern Israel in which Baal, a pagan deity, was worshiped. It is certainly no coincidence that the most important part... half of the paper... has been lost: Ishmael his peace of mind and Ahab his pride. However, while Ishmael intends to discover his through escape and exploration, Ahab seeks to find his by exacting revenge. It is worth noting here that while many would simply attribute Ishmael's boundless pontifications to naivety, which as literary critic Nina Baym explains, "the voice is what it is." we hear is not that of the gloomy Ishmael who took to the sea as a substitute for suicide, found escape by submitting to the will of a charismatic captain and faced annihilation in the shape of a white whale. It is the voice of the returned traveler with a much broader reach who is now writing a book” (917). By the time Ishmael is writing his book, he has already gone through a far worse experience than Ahab ever went through, and thus possesses the same propensity for sadness and madness that Ahab once clung to..