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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Chapter 58: Brit
Explanation and Analysis:
When describing how whales feed, Melville uses a simile that compares the process to mowers cutting grass:
As morning mowers, who side by side slowly and seethingly advance their scythes through the long wet grass of marshy meads; even so these monsters swam, making a strange, grassy, cutting sound; and leaving behind them endless swaths of blue upon the yellow sea.
Here, Melville’s comparison of the “monster” whales to mowers cutting grass creates a domestic image that instills the whales with an unexpected gentleness and innocence. The comparison is also symbolic of the kind of cultivation associated with civil society, with mowing an act of taming nature. The use of alliteration in the repetition of the /m/ and /s/ sounds—“side by side slowly and seethingly” and the “morning mowers” in the “marshy meads”—aids this tone of civility, with the softness of the sounds reflecting the peacefulness of the image.
The emphasis on the domesticity of the whales made by the simile is significant to the novel, in which it is the danger and brutality of whales that is frequently emphasized. By comparing the whales to mowers, Melville draws a parallel between humans and whales that hints at the fact that their natures may not be so different. Just like his descriptions of life on the ship, which describes both bloody episodes of the crew when hunting as well as the mundanities and civilities of everyday life, Melville shows how the whales’ natures can be both bestial and genteel. Melville's unconventional simile, with "monster" whales and genteel mowers an unlikely comparison, may be intentionally jarring to reflect the equally harsh duality of humanity and nature.
Related Themes:
