ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -As the narrator of Moby-Dick, Ishmael has long provoked critical problems. He disappears from the dramatic action midway through the book, he reports scenes and conversations which he could not have witnessed, and his style varies erratically.

Detailed explanation-2: -Truth be told, Ishmael is all of the above; his identity keeps shifting from just another name for Herman Melville to an independent actor throughout the book’s 135 chapters and all-significant epilogue.