Ishmael (Moby-Dick) Ishmael (Moby-Dick) Ishmael is a fictional character in Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" (1851). Ishmael, the only surviving crewmember of the "Pequod", is the narrator of the book. His importance relies on his role as narrator; as a character, he is only a minor participant in the action and the main protagonist is Captain Ahab. The Biblical name has come to symbolize orphans, exiles, and social outcasts. Because he was the first person narrator, most of the criticism of "Moby-Dick" either confused Ishmael with the author himself or overlooked him. From the mid-twentieth century onward, critics distinguished Ishmael from Melville, establishing the
Ishmael the incident to symbolize the two covenants the old but fulfilled and new covenant which is universal by promise through Jesus Christ. In Galatians 4:28–31, Hagar is associated with the Sinai covenant, while Sarah is associated with the covenant of grace into which her son Isaac enters. Some Christians believe that God fulfills his promises to Ishmael today by blessing the Arab nations (Ishmaelites) with oil and political strength. The Bahá'í writings state that it was Ishmael, and not Isaac, who was the son that Abraham almost sacrificed. However, the Bahá'í writings also state that the name is unimportant as