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 (). God also mentioned that "He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be over everyone, And everyone's hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers."(). A year later, Ishmael's half-brother Isaac was born to Abraham by his first wife Sarah when she was 90 years old (), after she had ceased showing any signs of fertility (). On the day of feasting during which Abraham celebrated the weaning of Isaac, Ishmael was "mocking" or "playing with" Isaac (the Hebrew word מְצַחֵֽק "meṣaḥeq" is ambiguous) and Sarah asked