Chapters 55-57 Summary

Ishmael informs the reader of his intent to portray the whale as it really is, not as it appears in some works of art. Ishmael scorns some works of art for their inaccurate depiction of the fish. In addition to scorning works of art, Ishmael also ridicules some of the inaccurate drawings of whales done by those claiming to be part of the scientific, intelligent community. Ishmael excuses these attempts as he says, they are made by observing a stranded whale which would be like drawing a picture of a wrecked boat and passing it for a normal vessel. Ishmael also notes that when alive, the majority of a whale's form is hidden underwater. Also, studying the skeleton cannot even give an adequate idea of what these beasts look like.

Ishmael starts by discussing some of the less inaccurate representations of...