Chapters 3-4 Summary

Ishmael enters the Spouter Inn and is disappointed to find there are no empty rooms. If he wishes to stay there, he must either sleep on a bench in the dining hall or share a bed with a harpooner. Disturbed by the idea of sharing another man's bed, Ishmael tries to make the bench work, but cold drafts and the inadequate size of the bench make that arrangement impossible.

The landlord again offers Ishmael the option of sharing the harpooner's room. The landlord has a bit of fun at Ishmael's expense when describing the harpooner and takes great pleasure in informing Ishmael the savage man is out selling heads and probably won't be in all night. Despite this information, Ishmael decides to share the room. As Ishmael tries to sleep, the harpooner, known as Queequeg, comes back from his night of...