Religious Archetypes in Moby Dick, Billy Budd and Bartleby the Scribe Herman Melville's use of biblical overtones gives extra dimensions to his works. The themes in his stories parallel those in the Bible to teach good and evil. Melville emphasizes the qualities of his characters by drawing allusions and in doing so makes them appear larger than life. In the same way that the Bible teaches lessons about life, Herman Melville's stories teach lessons about the bright and dark sides of human nature. He puts his readers in situations that force them to identify with right or wrong choices. In Moby Dick, Billy Budd, and "Bartleby the Scrivener," Melville encourages his readers to learn from his explanations of human nature and strive for a better society. Melville's Moby Dick is the saga of a whaling voyage gone awry as Captain Ahab of the Pequod leads his crew, not in pursuit of profit, but in pursuit of the White Whale that has taken his leg. Captain Ahab's idolatrous relationship with the White Whale, Moby Dick, parallels King Ahab's idol worship. Captain Ahab represents all idolaters. His obsession approaches biblical proportions. In First Kings of the Old Testament, King Ahab, who is "strong-willed" (Hertz 699), is controlled and influenced by his wife Jezebel. He neglects his responsibility as king of the Israelites and misleads his people into Baal worship. In doing so he breaks the Second Commandment: “you shall have no other gods” (Hertz 295). Likewise, Captain Ahab takes his crew away from whaling work. As Mr. Starbuck says, “I came here to hunt whales, not for my commander's vengeance” (Moby 162). Driven by feelings of revenge and anger, Ahab uses the crew to search for his G......middle of paper......152. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism, vol. 17. Detroit, 153. Michigan.: Gale Research Company, 1985. Gardner, John. “‘Bartleby’: Art and Social Engagement,” in PhilologicalQuarterly, vol. XLIII, n. 1, January 1964, pp. 87-88. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism, vol. 17. Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research Company, 1985. Hertz, J.H., ed. Pentateuch and Haftorah. London: The Soncino Press, 1960. Melville, Herman. "Bartleby the scribe." Rpt. in Billy Budd and Other Stories. New York: The New American Library, 1961._____. Billy Budd. Rpt. in Billy Budd and Other Stories. New York: The New American Library, 1961._____. Moby Dick. New York: Random House, Inc., 1950. The New English Bible. "Matthew 25:40-41." Oxford: Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1970.