Near the beginning of Moby Dick, Father Mapple reminds the sailors of the Pequod of the biblical prophet Jonah and his unique encounter with a whale. The whale, known as Leviathan in the Bible, swallows Jonah because Jonah refuses to obey God's command to preach to an evil group of people. Father Mapple in his sermon says: "If we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobedience of ourselves that the hardness of obeying God consists" (47). Once Jonah admits his sinfulness and follows his creator, the whale frees Jonah. Father Mapple says obeying God can be difficult and may not seem logical to the person listening. Once Father Mapple talks about Jonah and the whale, it becomes clear that Herman Melville's 1851 novel has a connection to the Bible and Christianity. Melville fills Moby Dick with numerous biblical allusions, and the novel's main characters are symbolically linked to figures from the Bible. Melville alludes to the Bible in Moby Dick to mock Christianity. He uses his main characters of Ishmael, Ahab, and Moby Dick to make God seem like a judgmental being who has no mercy on sinners unless they obey him. It also portrays faithful Christians as outsiders living boring, uninspired lives. Melville definitely shows his frustration with the creator and Christian teachings. Before exploring Ishmael, Ahab, and Moby Dick and their biblical counterparts, it is important to understand Melville's background. He grew up as a baptized Calvinist in the Dutch Reformed Church. His parents trained him to obey God at all times, even if God's commands seem unfair and cruel. However, after his father's death he quickly turned against his faith. During his travels, he witnessed disease, catastrophe, and hatred throughout... middle of paper... Elville's negative experiences with the teachings of Christianity and those who claimed to be Christians certainly influenced his writing in Moby Dick . . Instead of simply criticizing God and Christianity directly, he uses the characters in his novel to get his point across. There are many other examples of biblical allusions in Moby Dick, but he specifically uses allusions related to Ishmael, Ahab, and Moby Dick to mock God and Christianity. By connecting the personalities from the Bible with the characters from Moby Dick, he shows his anger and disagreement with Christianity. God gave everyone free will and Melville is entitled to his opinions. Works Cited Melville, Herman. Moby Dick or the White Whale. London: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.Holy Bible: New International Version. New York: Harper, 2005.