Call me Ishmael.
But should you really call him Ishmael?
As Moby-Dick's narrator, Ish has got some issues. He’s not always honest with others and himself. He tells Elijah that he knows all about Captain Ahab when he really just barely found out he exists. It’s fair to ask whether Ishmael’s description of events, based on his own perspective and informed by his interpretation of events he may not fully understand, sufficiently captures all the ish that happens on the boat. What say ye?
Along these lines, what do you make of Ishmael’s opening words, “Call me Ishmael”? He doesn’t tell us that he is Ishmael or that the name belongs to him; instead, he chooses to introduce himself with an imperative regarding your act of calling rather than his act of being. What does that say about how we’re supposed to interpret his narration, if we can’t even fully believe his own name?