If my screen name doesn't make you ponder that I am a Herman Melville fan., well, maybe you should go back to sleep. The first time I read a Melville novel was in the 8th grade- it was a very shorten version of his classic Moby Dick complete with illustrations in color! The basic storyline was the same but the prose was gone. So after highly enjoying that mini Moby I decided to read the real, full novel in high school. I loved it. It quickly became my favorite book ever and still holds that title to this day. I even took a Melville appreciation course in college and had to (poor me ;)) read the book once again. As a side note if you are ever in Massachusetts check out Arrowhead, Melville's former home, and see the white capped hill that inspired that white whale.
Patrick Jane's journey has been compared to that of the classic novel. The great, the all powerful creator Bruno Heller has said this on many occasions and in his last interview as well. Is it completely like the story? No, there is no tell it like is man named Cho, no mysteries to solve, and no red smile faces. But the central premise of the story is a story of revenge. How one man (Captain Ahab) becomes obsessed with killing the whale that took his leg and his narrow-mindedness costs him dearly. It is a story of revenge. So let's go over some key themes in both The Mentalist and Moby Dick. Maybe it will at least help you with a future book report. ;)
Feeling Like a Lamb
Melville had originally intended a very different book. But after a consultation with fellow writer Nathaniel Hawthrone, Melville was encouraged to take some risks and change dramatically what the book was about. (For non Hawthrone fans- what is wrong with you- NH liked to show how the sins of the past will come back to haunt you and whatever your past is made from will directly effect your future if not dealt with.) Thus Moby Dick was born. Melville wrote to Hawthrone "I have written a wicked book, and I feel spotless as a lamb." I always thought that was such a cool quote. But as a parallel to The Mentalist - God made the tyger and the lamb, you can't live without dark and light (William Blake, who Red John's follower's must read). I wonder if Heller feels like Melville. ;) It is interesting how we think of the lamb as pure, innocent. The tyger (or tiger) is cunning, deadly. Tiger- Jane/Red John. Lamb- Lisbon Also in Strawberries and Cream Gupta calls himself a baby, a lamb even though he has Lisbon tied to a bomb. So we are what we perceive ourselves to be. Thus maybe Jane is more lamb than tiger inside.
The Unbeatable Opponent
For Captain Ahab he is pitted against a being he doesn't understand. A white whale made of mythological proportions among the other seamen. Everyone fears him. The whale is a symbol. A symbol of an opponent that logically Ahab knows he shouldn't pursue but he can't stop himself. Ahab's intelligence is run over by the obsession to beat the unbeatable. Okay now replace Ahab with Jane. Jane is fighting someone who seems to have all the power and control. Red John seems unbeatable. He is a symbol literally with that Red Smile and also spiritually of the power of evil in the world. Jane is so smart against anyone else but here his obsession for revenge hinders him.
The Importance of Color
In Moby Dick white is the repeating color. Not only is it the whale's color but it appears consistently in prose (white waves, white face, cream) and many animals are white in color. Ahab can't forget what he is pursuing because that symbol of white is forever around him (even his peg leg). As is the case with Jane and the red color of John's smile face, the red of the blood shed, the red names and red-heads that serve as reminders.
What He/It Looks Like
In the novel Ishmael says it is hard to describe the whale because of how he can look differently within the water. It does not keep its shape. And it is impossible to get too close without being in terrible danger. Hmm. Red John is described by Roslind as being under 6 feet tall...but if RJ is like MD maybe it is too hard to get an accurate description. If someone gets close to RJ (Bosco in pursuit, Lorelei to kill) they wind up not only in danger but dead.
The Morals of it All
The classic novel is a study in morals. Who is right and wrong. Where you'll end up when you die. What you owe other people. TM also is all about morals. Jane is sometimes fast and loose with his when pursuing a case and Lisbon, the ultimate symbol of Christianity (with her cross, going to church, prayer), is the moral fiber pulling him back from the edge. BTW symbols of Christianity and thus the white color where important in the novel...in case you are ever asked in class. Ahab never gains back his moral center. He lost it and his sanity when the whale took his leg. What happens to Jane when he is truly faced with the moral choice of killing Red John? He made that choice once but will things be different this time? What role will Lisbon play and how will this effect their friendship in the future?
As the 6th season of The Mentalist approaches I can't wait to see what Heller does with his unique version of revenge. A critic once wrote that no story after MD has ever compared as an interesting revenge tale. I wonder if he has ever watched The Mentalist. While Moby Dick ended with... (I shouldn't spoil you), we will be getting a what happens next here on TM and I can't wait to see that unfold. Mentalist- A classic television show written as if it were a classic novel.
(On a footnote: The wonderful Ashley Gable written first season episode Flame Red deals directly with Moby Dick the book, the theme of revenge and morals, what the killer can appear like and what Jane plans to do to his elusive white whale. A must see.)
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