{"id":"01KFNR84CCNZVF019TFY36V5P5","cid":"bafkreifakuxykyznii26z57bpt2u7orqwwygkwciz6xkjgusimwnftfx3a","type":"chapter","properties":{"description":"# Chapter 17 of *Moby Dick; Or, The Whale*\n\n## Overview  \nThis entity is Chapter 17 of the novel [Moby Dick; Or, The Whale](arke:01KFNR81RMVAX2BBMMBW51V97D), titled \"The Ramadan.\" It is structured as a textual chapter within the larger narrative and spans lines 3779 to 4006 of the source file. The chapter is divided into four sequentially ordered text chunks ([Chunk 0](arke:01KFNR86Z26X7JG9XZN8BCA2KQ), [Chunk 1](arke:01KFNR86WSJFK9N46D443TZGES), [Chunk 2](arke:01KFNR86VCX8Y5BXPH90FZAKPK), and [Chunk 3](arke:01KFNR86ZYJ4CB0VKVFMWEYYH2)) for digital processing. It follows [Chapter 16](arke:01KFNR847Z5PK5KBJXR1EFBJCD) and precedes [Chapter 18](arke:01KFNR847N53W49ZV7G7SDMFNC) in the novel’s sequence.\n\n## Context  \nThis chapter is part of the full text of Herman Melville’s [Moby Dick; Or, The Whale](arke:01KFNR81RMVAX2BBMMBW51V97D), which is preserved in the [Moby Dick](arke:01KFNR0H0Q791Y1SMZWEQ09FGV) collection. The digital structure of the novel was extracted automatically and later manually refined by the \"Structure Extraction\" service. The chapter reflects the narrative voice of Ishmael as he observes the religious practices of his Polynesian companion, Queequeg, during their stay at the Spouter-Inn in New Bedford.\n\n## Contents  \nChapter 17, \"The Ramadan,\" centers on Queequeg’s observance of a day-long religious fast and ritual silence, which Ishmael refers to as his \"Ramadan.\" Concerned for his friend’s well-being, Ishmael grows increasingly anxious when he finds Queequeg locked in his room, motionless and meditative, squatting on his hams with a small idol, Yojo, balanced on his head. After a dramatic attempt to break down the door—interrupted by the landlady, Mrs. Hussey—Ishmael finally enters to find Queequeg unharmed but still in deep ritual contemplation. That night, Ishmael struggles to sleep, disturbed by the presence of his silent, fasting companion. The chapter concludes the next morning when Queequeg emerges from his fast, cheerful and at peace, declaring the ritual complete. Ishmael reflects on the nature of religious observance, expressing tolerance for diverse beliefs but skepticism toward extreme ascetic practices that cause physical or spiritual distress. The chapter ends with the two characters preparing to board the whaling ship *Pequod*.","description_generated_at":"2026-01-23T15:45:58.998Z","description_model":"Qwen/Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507","description_title":"Chapter 17 of *Moby Dick; Or, The Whale*","end_line":4006,"extracted_at":"2026-01-23T15:40:57.863Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"17","source_file":"01KFNR0Z394A878Y5AQ63MQEM2","start_line":3779,"title":"17"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KFNR81RMVAX2BBMMBW51V97D","peer_label":"Moby Dick; Or, The Whale","peer_type":"novel","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KFNR81RMVAX2BBMMBW51V97D","peer_label":"Moby Dick; Or, The Whale","peer_type":"novel","predicate":"partOf"},{"peer":"01KFNR0H0Q791Y1SMZWEQ09FGV","peer_label":"Moby Dick","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KFNR86Z26X7JG9XZN8BCA2KQ","peer_label":"Chunk 0","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"contains"},{"peer":"01KFNR86WSJFK9N46D443TZGES","peer_label":"Chunk 1","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"contains"},{"peer":"01KFNR86VCX8Y5BXPH90FZAKPK","peer_label":"Chunk 2","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"contains"},{"peer":"01KFNR86ZYJ4CB0VKVFMWEYYH2","peer_label":"Chunk 3","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"contains"},{"peer":"01KFNR847N53W49ZV7G7SDMFNC","peer_label":"18","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"next"},{"peer":"01KFNR847Z5PK5KBJXR1EFBJCD","peer_label":"16","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"prev"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-23T15:40:59.870Z","ts":"2026-01-23T15:45:59.271Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}