In the brief, poetic epilogue, Melville provides a practical solution to one of the early criticisms of the novel. The epilogue was added after the first British printing, which drew criticism because the story appeared to be told by a dead man.
The conclusion unites the themes of friendship and death, suggesting that it is Queequeg's love for his friend that saves Ishmael. Queequeg's coffin has served as a sea chest and the ship's life buoy. Now it turns from a symbol of death to a practical means of survival, even rebirth, for the narrator who is then rescued by the very ship that Ahab previously had refused to help.
