The Herman Melville Collection characters

Also known as The Lawyer

Appears from the start

The unnamed elderly Wall Street lawyer who narrates Bartleby's story. Comfortable, cautious, and proud of conducting business without drama, he employs copyists and tries to handle disruption through reason, charity, and avoidance rather than confrontation.

Appears from the start

An aging copyist in the lawyer's office. He works efficiently in the morning but becomes flushed, noisy, and error-prone after his midday meal, a pattern his employer tolerates.

Appears from the start

A younger law copyist whose indigestion and ambition make him irritable in the morning, though he settles into useful work later in the day. His schedule of difficulty complements Turkey's.

Appears from the start

The office boy, named for the small cakes he regularly brings the copyists. He runs errands and supplies a youthful observer within the lawyer's cramped workplace.

Appears from the start

A quiet scrivener hired when the lawyer's workload increases. At first he copies with exceptional persistence, but his calm refusals to examine documents or perform other tasks gradually unsettle the office's routines and assumptions.

Also known as Baby Budd

First appears in chapter 3

A handsome young merchant sailor impressed into naval service. His strength, openness, and instinctive good nature win affection easily, but strong emotion can leave him unable to speak because of a stammer.

First appears in chapter 3

The naval lieutenant who takes Billy from the merchant ship Rights-of-Man for service aboard the Bellipotent. He treats the merchant captain's objections with amused firmness.

First appears in chapter 8

Captain of the Bellipotent, a brave, cultivated officer whose devotion to naval duty is matched by an unusually reflective temperament. His learning and reserve distinguish him from many fellow officers.

Also known as Jemmy Legs

First appears in chapter 10

The Bellipotent's master-at-arms, outwardly controlled and civil. His responsibility for order below decks gives weight to his observations, while Billy's innocence and popularity provoke a concealed hostility in him.

First appears in chapter 12

An experienced old foretopman who takes a protective interest in Billy. His guarded warnings reflect a long familiarity with dangers and motives the younger sailor cannot readily imagine.

First appears in chapter 29

The sailor who narrates Moby-Dick, introducing himself as a restless man who goes to sea whenever life ashore becomes oppressive. Educated, observant, and speculative, he joins a whaling voyage as an ordinary crew member.

First appears in chapter 31

A renowned harpooner from the fictional Pacific island of Rokovoko. His tattooed appearance and unfamiliar customs initially alarm Ishmael, but his generosity, courage, and calm self-possession quickly establish a deep friendship between them.

First appears in chapter 47

A scarred stranger who approaches Ishmael and Queequeg after they sign aboard the Pequod. His cryptic questions and warnings focus on the ship's absent captain and suggest that the voyage carries dangers beyond ordinary whaling.

First appears in chapter 44

A co-owner of the Pequod and former whaling captain who handles the practical work of hiring its crew. Gruff, energetic, and shrewd, he balances his partner Bildad's severity with a more worldly approach to business.

First appears in chapter 44

A Quaker shipowner and former captain who co-owns the Pequod. He speaks in strict religious terms and bargains closely over the crew's shares in the voyage, combining plain dress with hard commercial judgment.

First appears in chapter 54

The Pequod's first mate, a capable Nantucket whaleman with a wife and child at home. Courageous but not reckless, he regards the dangerous business as work and believes command should remain answerable to prudence and moral law.

First appears in chapter 55

The Pequod's second mate, easygoing and humorous even in dangerous work. He responds to uncertainty with practical jokes and casual fatalism, commanding one of the ship's whaleboats.

First appears in chapter 55

The Pequod's short, sturdy third mate. Energetic and combative, he treats whales as opponents to be attacked with direct force and commands the smallest of the three mate-led boats.

First appears in chapter 55

A young Black cabin boy aboard the Pequod, cheerful and musically inclined. He serves the officers and contributes his tambourine to the crew's noisy life before later being drawn into the far more dangerous work of a whaleboat.

First appears in chapter 56

Captain of the Pequod, long absent below deck after sailing. When he finally appears, the loss of one leg and the long scar down his body reinforce an imposing, withdrawn presence that holds the crew's attention before he explains his purpose.

First appears in chapter 64

The enormous white sperm whale that previously destroyed Ahab's boat and took his leg. Sailors have given the animal a reputation for unusual power and aggression, while Ahab treats it as the visible agent of every force he hates.

First appears in chapter 76

A secretive Parsee harpooner who emerges with a hidden boat crew during the Pequod's first pursuit of whales. He is closely bound to Ahab and speaks with an authority rooted in prophecy and their shared private purpose.