MOBY-DICK – Revenge and Redemption – A Filmscript - 7. Appendix 2 - Script Notes

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Moby-Dick Appendices

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Moby-Dick Script Notes

1) Setting: November 1844 to February 1845.

2) Character and Costume Notes:

In Valparaiso

PETER: (aka Peter Coffin) American-born innkeeper; 56 years old. He is a retired sailor who makes his way catering to a ‘particular’ type of client in Valparaiso, Chile. He wishes to give safe-zone comfort to sailors looking to be relatively free and open about their same-sex loves and partners. He opened this inn about ten years ago with his soulmate, Sal; they both have a matchmaker interest in seeing young love blossom. Peter has a thin frame, relatively short salt-and-pepper hair, a jolly disposition and speaks both Spanish and English with a pronounced New England accent.

CLOTHES: As a frugal Yankee, he wears the fashions that were current 30 years ago – which means light colored breeches and stocking, vests, and cutaway coats.

REDBURN: (aka Ishmael; Tommo) From the Hudson River Valley; 24-25 years old. Redburn is damaged goods. In many ways he is stuck. He cannot escape the survivor’s guilt that surrounds not knowing what happened to his partner, Toby. The mysterious disappearance keeps him motivated to search the Pacific just for the off-chance of picking up on his trail, but after many leads, he still has no results. Nevertheless, he will not give up. In Valparaiso he will sign onto another American whaler and seek his opportunities to locate Toby. His plans are served a shocking blow as he sees and begins to fall madly in love with a remarkable man. Queequeg is a hero; a person who thinks of others long before himself, and his very presence is a strong pull to the otherwise numb heart of Redburn. He falls in love, and lets himself go, because he wants to feel alive and happy again. He is amazed and gladdened that Queequeg will be a friend as well as a mate, and assist him in finding out what happened to Toby. By doing so, Queequeg adds more fuel to the burning passion Redburn has for this man, and ultimately makes him want to go all the way with him, something he and Toby did not experience together.

CLOTHES: He wears neat and tidy sailor garb, and once mated with Queequeg, he wears his clothes too, which are slightly big on him. He wears a jackknife on his belt and has the Panama hat that Jarl gave to him when they first met. At night on the Pequod, he can be seen wearing the poncho Queequeg gave him.

SAL: A Chilean-born man; 50 years old. A dapper and handsome former sailor, he fell hard for Peter, and since they “were first spliced,” has never looked back. He has relatively long and dark hair, which he wears in a ponytail.

CLOTHES: He prefers to wear Chilean style jumpers with long pants. These jumpers are very similar to sailor frocks, but are usually embellished with embroidery all around the collar. He also wears the typical Chilean long scarf tied around his mid-section as a kind of cummerbund; the knot riding the front of his hip. His love of clothes is a strong point of contrast to his partner. ^[21]

QUEEQUEG: (pronounced KWEE-keg) A Māori man from an island near New Zealand; 28 years old. He is the son of a king, and has all the noble bearing of a prince among men. At eighteen he fought his way onto an American whaler out of Sag Harbor, New York, that was touching his island. He grew to love life on the ship and saw many parallels between the way sailors form same-sex partnerships and the natural family life in which he grew up, where such marriages are commonplace, and indeed, venerated. He became disillusioned with his shipmates once their homophobic and bigoted actions showed themselves in port. He was confused. Being two-faced was a completely new and repulsive feature of his non-Polynesian friends, and one he was not ready for. He continued to ship and improved to be one of the best, most famous, and dearly recompensed harpooners in the American fleet. He is in Valparaiso to take some time off, look for love, and eventually sail again. He never imagined that the love of his life would be waiting for him in his bed one dreary Sunday morning, but Redburn was there. His attraction to the young man with the “heathenish look” about him, was instantaneous. This being said, he played it mostly hands off, once he learned about Redburn’s love for Toby. Unknowingly, by Queequeg simply being Queequeg, he was paving the way – action by action – to revive hope in Redburn, and to allow himself to love him. When Redburn said he was ready, Queequeg blessed the opportunity as the one he was waiting for and made sure to thank the agents of blessed mana from above. Yojo, his “idol,” is probably intended by Melville to be a Māori Hei-tiki. Many of the remarkable qualities of Queequeg are based in fact, and on a particular Māori man named Tupai Cupa. In the 1820’s he and his accomplishments had celebrity status. In physical appearance, Queequeg and Tupai are probably intended to be close matches – over six-foot-tall, muscular and athletic in the extreme. Queequeg’s body tattoos are described as broad squares on his back and chest, and finer geometric patterns are mentioned as being on his legs and arms. All of these tattoos Redburn find irresistible. His face tattoos are likewise said to be handsome, and one must think Tupai Cupa is the model for this comment, as his were very elegant (for a portrait, see Moby-Dick Text Endnote No. 8, page 335 below). Queequeg has an abundant central topknot, which is looped over once and rides the rear portion of his crown, while the sides of his head are cleanshaven. This gets neatly tucked up when he is wearing his top hat. Redburn also finds this irresistible.

CLOTHES: He first set foot on American soil in 1834, thus the fashion he saw on the dapper young beaus of the time have stuck with him. Melville says he dotes on his top hat, and it happens that in the early ‘30s the fashion was for light colored top hats, so those are the kinds he prefers. He has a large wardrobe of sea clothes, which like most Gay sailors, he keeps impeccably neat, orderly and clean. He needs a long and loose red woolen shirt, which he can cinch with a belt and use as a kilt during the scene where he is cutting into a whale. He hates for his top hat to get soiled, and is glad Redburn is by his side to look after it as occasion warrants. His black leather poncho with fur on the inside is decorated Māori quillwork embroidery in bright blues and yellows. He gives it to his partner.

THE LEADER: A Chilean gadabout; about 17 years old. He seems to exist to make his crony pals laugh, and that day on the ferry he feels lucky to spot such “a singular pair” as Queequeg and Redburn. He is fairly handsome, with a slightly pimpled face, and sturdy middleclass clothes. His buddies are all dressed similarly.

On the Pequod

STARBUCK: (aka First Mate) Nantucket-born chief officer of the Pequod; 30 years old. He is a Quaker, and described as being a condensed man, where nothing superfluous was left to grow. He is also tall, or “long,” as our author says. He is good-looking, has a deep tan, and his honest heart seems to shine out of his eyes with the intensity of converting the one being watched. I imagine his hair dark, glossy and long (see Moby-Dick Text Endnote No. 6, page 338 below, for George Lippard’s 1842 photograph, who seems to have this same quiet Quaker zeal on display). Starbuck is a hero in the story – not ‘the hero,’ as that proves to be Queequeg – but as a hero, Starbuck is instantly burdened with the hopes of the entire crew. He must face the mettle he is made from and bide his time until he can claim the ship from the story’s anti-hero, Ahab. As is often the case with men oppressed with hero status, he is likely to fail, or prove powerless precisely because he is so good. If he was a tiny bit untrustworthy, Ahab would have removed him from his position long ago. Ahab feeds on this godliness as much as the rest of the crew does, but ultimately he uses that goodness to his own demise. His leadership style is to lead from out in front, and in that instance, he and the Captain are alike. He motivates his boat crew by reminding them that they are going to share in the profits. He looks upon whales as danger and dollar signs.

CLOTHES: As a Quaker, his religion dictates he dress modestly. When first seen in the tap room of The Spouter Inn, he has on an old-fashioned black coat like in George Lippard’s photograph. On ship he wears white shirts and dark trousers, which are trim but undecorated in any way.

STUBBS: A Cape Cod-born man; about 40 years old. He is an unsettled man who vacillates between blind faith in the religious instruction of his childhood, and a nagging suspicion that he is praying to a heartless void. On the scale of the Pequod officers, he is figuratively where he belongs – halfway between the rock-solid Starbuck, and the ungodly and unruly Flask. He is shorter than the First Mate, but several inches taller than the Third Mate. He is generally a round-faced man, with neatly trimmed beard, close-cropped hair, and a well-studied carefree air. His style of leadership is to amuse his men with over-the-top hyperbole, and tongue-in-cheek goading. He will say things like: “Why don’t you break your backs, my hearties – you have but one life to give to the whaling industry!” His studied coolness means he can never seem too interested in the chase even when shouting about. He looks upon whales with a repressed, but strong inclination to see one of God’s greatest creations, and does not doubt that they have a piece of the Earth’s soul in them. But then again, he likes the taste of them, and likes to have light in the darkness from whale oil.

CLOTHES: As a non-Quaker, his wardrobe is flashy compared to Starbuck’s. He wears worn multi-colored shirts, vests, and trousers. His hat is a compact white tarpaulin affair with a wide and very sturdy black band. It has to be strong, as this is where he keeps his pipe. The pipe is short and black.

FLASK: (aka Kingpost) A Martha’s Vineyard-born young man; about 25 years old. He is feisty, temperamental, a foot-stomping and irrepressible force of nature. Everyone likes him, though few love him. He is rash, quick to comment, and quick to feel slighted. He is not fully out, and as low man on the totem, wants to keep his relationship with Daggoo under wraps. He is not overly tall, and since Stubbs says to him in the book that he “has pretty red hair,” it must be of a fair length, and naturally makes him a redhead. He looks upon whales as a bothersome ends to a means. He has no regard for them as an independent life-force, and no sensibilities to think of them as majestic. Instead, he regards whales as vermin equivalent to field mice, and that there will always be plenty to trap and kill. The game is what he craves, and in this, he is linked to Ahab. He leads by displays of passion, and draws his boat crew into seething rage that the obstinate beasts do not die and tow themselves back to the ship (in that order!).

CLOTHES: His wardrobe is like Stubbs in color and variety, but unlike him, Flask’s is in good kit and has flashes of fancy – like silk neck scarves.

TASHEGO: (pronounced Tah-SHEY-go; aka Tosh) Massachusetts-born member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), from the tip of Martha’s Vineyard; 27 years old. He is strikingly handsome, tall, lean and lithe. He has high cheekbones, and large dark eyes. He can be a bit standoffish, but caution in dealing with unpredictable non-natives is always well-advised. He is the harpooner in Stubbs’ boat, and generally likes and respects that man. He is a consummate professional, and he often takes turns in the lookouts even when others are on the watch. He takes his hunting prowess as a point of pride for his whole people’s long whaling tradition. Tashego has waist-length, sable-black hair, which he has Queequeg braid for him, or wears in a ponytail.

CLOTHES: He wears typical sailor garb, but with many strings of whale ivory beads. In his free time he fashions them, and decorates them with scrimshaw in the spiritual emblems of his people. He goes around his duty hatless.

DAGGOO: Liberian-born harpooner; 32 years old. He is tall, and moves with a majestic self-possession and grace. He is Flask’s secret partner, and circumspect about where and where they can have alone time, as he is also Flask’s public harpooner. The two make a striking contrast together, but show an ease with one another that is easy enough to read for those initiated as to what same-sex couples look and act like around one another. Like Queequeg, Daggoo finagled his way onto a whaler when he was a teenager, and has never regretted it. He is proud of the two thick gold hoops he wears in his ears, because in the best of sailor fashion, it means he has rounded both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope. Daggoo’s parents immigrated from the United States to Liberia before he was born, but his education, culture and language are all American. He keeps his hair relatively short.

CLOTHES: He wears typical sailor garb, and prefers knit caps with brims when in the whaleboat.

ARCHY: Nantucket-born sailor; 45 years old. A kindly figure to everybody, he likes to see that everything is stowed and in its place. He is partnered with Cabaço, whom he protects in a typical sailor / chicken arrangement, although the Brazilian young man is old enough to be looking for his own ‘chick.’ He is thin and lithe, and has fairly long ashen hair which he sometimes wears tied back.

CLOTHES: He has the usual wardrobe of sailor attire, but prefers to wear lighter indigos, white and French striped sailor jerseys. He has a broad-brimmed tarpaulin hat with long pale blue ribbons streaming off.

CABAÇO: Brazilian-born sailor; 26 years old. His nickname is a suggestive one, for among Portuguese-speaking sailors, it stands for a sexually-available young man; a guy who is always messing up, or one who is always getting in the way; the word can also stand for a critical piece of the female anatomy. So it is something like ‘Punk’ in the roughest way it is used in English. Cabaço is tall, handsome, and strong. He has black hair that Archy keeps parted and straight. At the point now where he could dump his old name and move on, he sees no reason as long he can maintain an equitable relationship with Archy. He knows that as they both age, he will become Archy’s protector in the way that man has been for him over the last ten years. Theirs is a love match.

CLOTHES: He wears impeccably laundered and maintained clothes from the hands of Archy. He looks better in dark colors, so Archy embroiders his frocks with anchors, ropes, chains and other beautiful designs. He is the best-dressed man on the Pequod, thanks to Archy’s devotion. He has several caps and Scotch caps with brims that he wears while out on the whaleboat.

PIP: (aka Pippin) Connecticut-born African American ship’s boy; 17 years old. His job on the ship is to do – without question or trouble – any and every thing another sailor does not want to do himself. Before his maddening vision, Pippin is bright and has an infectiously positive outlook on life. He was born to a musician father in Tolland County, and assisted in ‘passing the hat’ with warmth for all. As a result, Pip is well-loved on the ship even though old growlers will always find something in work to complain about. His jolly, devil-may-care attitude meant he was ill prepared to be in a whaleboat. His fight or flight instincts kicked in, and he jumped to get away from the whale. He is handsome and warm; youthful and kind to his core. All of this leads to his vulnerability in seeing the true nature of the universe, and it drives him mad. His prophetic lunacy is properly only understood by Ahab, as he had the same conclusions driven into him dealing with the loss of his leg. Pip is almost a cure to Ahab, because he must suppress ‘human’ feelings for the boy’s plight, almost to the point of giving up his own chase. Pip on the other hand is transfixed by the stark beauty of brutality he sees in Ahab. This is in many ways a mortal version of what he was allowed to see of the universal heartlessness. Pip as witness to the ability of love to bring soul to the world around us is profoundly drawn to and comforted by Queequeg and Redburn. He sees in their love redemption large enough for all of mankind. Unfortunately, in Pippin’s madness, he has forgotten that he too is loved and loves Doughboy. He is not overly tall or large; just right for the teenage boy he is.

CLOTHES: Somewhat like Redburn on his first voyage, Pip’s outfits are better suited for sidewalks than bulwarks. He wears flashy clothes that were fashionable about 10 years ago, as he picks them up at thrift stores in various ports. He has a magpie-eye for color, and likes his neck scarves long and flowing. This show of color is a perfect match to his bubby personality.

DOUGHBOY: (aka the Steward) New York-born ship’s cabin boy; 16 years old. Outwardly, he is a perfect match to Pip: same height, build, weight, proportions and age – but he is very pale. This is why he was given a ‘pasty’ moniker, and not his weight. In personality, he also contrasts to his partner. While Pippin is bright, charming and makes friends with easy confidence in himself, Doughboy is nervous and concerned someone will call him a bad name. He works well enough seeing to Ahab, and is thusly mostly ignored by that worthy gentleman. The same cannot be said about the raucous harpooners. When he serves their meals in their cabin, they often tease him and seem to delight in putting him on edge. Queequeg keeps that from going too far though. He was drawn instantly to Pip, and fell for him quickly. Pip responded favorably, and in their quiet time together, tells Doughboy to stand up for himself more, and to try a smile now and again. Doughboy loves him deeply.

CLOTHES: As the cabin boy of a Quaker captain, he wears very straight-laced hand-me-downs from his employer’s sea chests. Mainly black or snuff-colored coats with white shirts and throat ties that are like starched tongues coming from his front collar

AHAB: (aka Captain Ahab) Nantucket-born, Quaker captain of the Pequod; 64 years old. More words are spoken about him in the book than even Moby-Dick, but that does not mean we ‘know’ him at all. For example, we do not know what his last name is. Since we are told that his doddering old mother named him Ahab in a fit of ill consideration, we never learn what his family name is – that is a symbol for thinking we know the man, when we do not. After he was “de-masted” by Moby-Dick during the last voyage, he was laid up in his cabin for weeks, and then months as the ship sailed back to Nantucket. His initial ravings and fever slowly gave way to stable health and a desire that his madness find a purpose. He ‘hid’ it, so to speak, and bided his time until he could hunt the whale again. In this film, he has spent a successful whaling season on the equator, but he did not want a hold full of any whale oil unless it came from the carcass of the white whale. Under great psychological pressure, he set into Valparaiso to sell some oil, hire a crack crew and a seer of mystical proportions who could guide him to an encounter with Moby-Dick. If at any time he divulged his single-minded plan, he knew Starbuck with his natural leadership abilities could wrest the ship from his hands. Thus he motivates his crew with money – one ounce of gold (which to us would be worth about $1300). He knows how to touch upon and manipulate man’s basest instinct to sidetrack Starbuck’s inherent good sense and logic as it reaches out to the crew. So why does Ahab want to kill the white whale? – Pride? Revenge? Instinct? – no. He seeks to prove that man is not as insignificant as the heartless universe showed him in his ‘recovery.’ If hate is the opposite of love, then Ahab has embraced that as the last hold on his humanity. He walks tall as a proud man, and has learned to incorporate the stride of his whale ivory leg with his fleshen foot. On the same voyage, but before he was injured, a mark appeared on him. A discoloration on his skin that starts as a point just about the hairline on his left side, then slowly widens into a sharp angle as it descends down his cheek, chin and neck. Only he and Doughboy know this same mark continues all the way down to finally come off the end of his right big toe. This ‘birthmark’ is analogous to some people having their hair turn white overnight due to some trauma.

CLOTHES: He dresses plain. His coats and vests are buttoned from sternum to navel. The colors are somber; joyless. He wears a knit cap when out on the whaleboat.

FEDALLAH: Philippines-born harpooner and soothsayer; 55 years old of Indian / Persian extraction. A practitioner of the Zoroastrian monotheistic faith, he’s a man whose very appearance speaks of foreboding. He has white hair long enough to drag on the ground, but which he braids loosely and wraps around the crown of his head like a turban. He is an intermediary in the sense of a shaman, and can travel to various places while in meditation. He has been shown Ahab’s task, and that it will mean Fedallah own demise, and yet delights that many more than just he and Ahab will perish. In many metaphysical belief systems of the world, contact with the natural world via a spiritual link is tantamount to the ability to shape destiny. Ahab makes this same mistake too, and Fedallah laughs when in the hold when the entire crew pledges death to either themselves or to Moby-Dick.

CLOTHES: He wears Peking-style coats and Chinese silks underneath. His trousers come to be buttoned just below the knees, and he wears neither socks nor shoes.

OARSMEN: Six Philippines-born boat crewmembers; from 25 to 45 year old. These men are from the indigenous population of the Philippines. They are all extremely fit and strong. They do not socialize with the rest of the crew of the Pequod.

CLOTHES: They wear loose items of clothing that can be ripped off when whaleboat duty calls. They go around entirely barefoot, and have no headgear.

The Whales

MOBY-DICK: He is described more than any other character in the book, except Ahab, which is befitting considering his is the title role. Moby-Dick has albinism, which means he lacks melatonin pigment in his body in general. His flesh is white; his eyes are blue. He has a slightly crooked jaw, and a rather wrinkled brow, as some sperm whales do. Otherwise, Moby-Dick is on the upper size limit of how large a sperm whale can grow. He is athletic and powerful, and in the prime of his life. His skin is cruelly marked with various scars from attempted harpoonings and spearings. He has had enough with the torment from mankind, both for himself and his species, and he will do something about it.

General population: Melville provides a full interaction with an entire community of whales, including newborns only hours old, to a geriatric veteran who is gnarled with arthritis and looks out on the world with cataract eyes. Young and old, they are all here: sporting teenage bucks who are full of bluster and fearlessly approach the boats; mothers who shelter their little ones and look for safe spots: mature males who form a protective ring around the mothers and children.

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