Here’s a list of some of the funniest chapters, with bullet-point notes on what makes each one hilarious:
Funniest Chapters in Moby-Dick
• Chapter 2: “The Carpet-Bag”
• Ishmael’s awkward search for an inn on a cold, rainy night.
• He ends up in the Spouter-Inn, where things just get weirder.
• Chapter 3: “The Spouter-Inn”
• Comic descriptions of a bizarre, incomprehensible painting.
• Ishmael meets the fearsome Queequeg—but can’t understand his language or intentions.
• Builds to the hilarious and affectionate “marriage bed” moment between the two.
• Chapter 4: “The Counterpane”
• Ishmael wakes up with Queequeg’s arm draped over him “in the most loving and affectionate manner.”
• A tender yet absurd reflection on cultural difference and bodily intimacy.
• Chapter 10: “A Bosom Friend”
• Ishmael rhapsodizes about Queequeg with over-the-top, mock-romantic language.
• The chapter satirizes sentimental writing and bromantic excess.
• Chapter 17: “The Ramadan”
• Ishmael tries to get Queequeg to stop fasting and contorting himself in his religious ritual.
• His frustration and condescension become their own joke.
• Chapter 23: “The Lee Shore”
• A grandiose tribute to a minor character, Bulkington, whom we never really see again.
• The seriousness of tone for such a brief cameo is comically disproportionate.
• Chapter 33: “The Specksnyder”
• A long, deadpan explanation of the title and role of the “chief mate.”
• Part of Melville’s tendency to treat whale-hunting bureaucracy with mock-gravity.
• Chapter 55: “Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales”
• Ishmael rants about how badly whales are painted and engraved in books and art.
• He names and mocks specific (fictional) artists—satire of academic pretension and bad taste.
• Chapter 58: “Brit”
• Philosophical musing on tiny marine life eaten by whales, full of dry wit.
• Ends with comic contrast between the serene sea and the violence underneath.
• Chapter 65: “The Whale as a Dish”
• Ishmael defends the eating of whale meat with ridiculous logic.
• Lists historical whale-eaters, culminating in his “vindication” of the dish.
• Chapter 69: “The Funeral”
• A funeral for a whale carcass, described in mock-epic, overly reverent tone.
• The chapter is both disgusting and weirdly reverent—very Melville.
• Chapter 79: “The Prairie”
• A bizarre and humorous meditation on a whale’s forehead.
• Melville gets mock-philosophical about its “brow” and lack of eyebrows.
• Chapter 91: “The Pequod Meets the Rose-Bud”
• A French whaling ship is tricked by Stubb into giving up its stinking whale.
• Stubb is gleefully manipulative, and the French crew are played as comic foils.