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 for granting him Ishmael and Isaac in his old age. Ishmael is further mentioned alongside the patriarchs who had been given revelations and Jacob's sons promised to follow the faith of their forefathers, "Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac", when testifying their faith. In the narrative of the near-sacrifice of Abraham's son, the son is not named and, although the general interpretation is that it was Ishmael, Tabari maintained that it was Isaac. Most modern commentators, however, regard the son's identification as least important in a narrative which is given for its moral lesson. The commentaries on the Quran and the numerous