Response: Visual Cues

In response to Andrew Bagley's post "What if Moby Dick was Not White?" (March 14, 2012):

I agree with the idea that white has certain connotations (death, purity, and so on), but I also think that Moby-Dick's whiteness is the result of a broader issue - that of visual uniqueness indicating other sorts of uniqueness in literature.  Particularly in older literature,, but also continuing in modern literary works, major characters often possess distinctive physical features to act as cues, so to speak, for the importance of the character.  For example, if one compares the ratio of green-eyed protagonists to brown-eyed people in literature (as protagonists or other major characters) versus in reality, one will find that in literature there is a far larger portion of green-eyed people.  Moby-Dick's whiteness is a unique physical feature which sets him apart from all of the other sperm whales, making him 'special' in an obvious, observable way which can then serve to emphasise his other unique qualities.