“The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge discusses the superstitions of sailors and the consequences of ignoring those superstitions. Ahab, as a Quaker, leans more towards Christian beliefs, and therefore does not subscribe to the same superstitions as his men. These Christian beliefs, however, do not show up on the page. In the place of those beliefs, a black hole exists, one that Ahab believes restoration can only come with the death of Moby Dick. Moby Dick is more than a whale that took Ahab’s leg, and Ahab desires grow to become more than vengeance. To Ahab, Moby Dick represents every evil thing, every demon that has ever haunted him. The loss of his limb was not the reason for Ahab’s madness, but merely become the catalyst to allow those same evils that reside in Moby Dick to transfer to Ahab: “all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick…then it was, that [Ahab’s] torn body and gashed soul bled into one another; and so interfusing, made him mad” …show more content…
The outward appearance of this segment appears to be nothing more than a moment in the crow’s nest. The words Ishmael uses to describe the feeling of falling, however, also directly relates to what happens when a person allows the vengeance for Moby Dick takes over. The result of death isn't always in the final sense. Ishmael loses part of himself in Ahab's crazed mind, and in the desire to kill Moby Dick. His death isn't final. Ishmael loses his identity, and he becomes someone new, broken, and alone. The famous quote from the beginning of the novel shows this: “Call me Ishmael” (Melville 18). The crew of the Pequod does not fare as well, and their deaths become finalized. Ahab, in his pride, leads them all to their
Analysis: Melville's Great American Novel draws on both Biblical and Shakespearean myths. Captain Ahab is "a grand, ungodly, god-like man … above the common" whose pursuit of the great white whale is a fable about obsession and over-reaching. Just as Macbeth and Lear subvert the natural order of things, Ahab takes on Nature in his
In this case, the whale Moby Dick would be the oppressor that harmed Ahab by amputating his leg. Similar to his modern-day counterparts, the captain expresses this condemning rage through his speech. For example, he lashes out, "That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will
9. Captain Ahab and Q and their stories are similar in a few ways. First, just like Ahab was obsessed with finding the white whale, Q was obsessed with finding Margo. Second, both characters cannot be identified as being foolish or heroic. Finally, both characters actions lead them to disappointment by Q not convincing Margo to come back with him and by Ahab not finding the whale, which caused his death. In conclusion, Moby Dick represents Margo and Q’s story and
A tattooed man he meets in an inn, named Queequeg keeps Ishmael company throughout his journey. At first, Ishmael is alarmed by Queequeg’s tattoos and brute like habits, but eventually he becomes fond of him. Together the two get on a whaling ship, known as the Pequod. The captain's name is Ahab. He is a rather strange character. The primary conflict of the story is that Ahab holds a grudge against Moby Dick, the great
In Moby Dick, it follows the accounts of a young man named Ishmael. Ishmael is looking for money in the whaling business, the same thing as hunting game, but for whale blubber and whatever else they have to offer. At a tavern, he signs up to go whaling upon a ship named the Pequod, under the captaining of a man named Ahab. At first, Ishmael thinks he’s just your average whaling trip, but soon realizes there’s a deeper story behind Ahab. Ahab’s true intentions are to find a specific whale called Moby Dick. The whale is famous for sinking hundreds of whaling ships, and one was Ahab’s previous ship. In that process, Ahab also lost part of his leg at the knee. As you can imagine, most of the story Ahab is almost insane. At nothing anyone calls
This sentiment, this anxiety over lack of control is most certainly connected to his leg. By losing his leg, Ahab has lost a part of himself and seeks Moby Dick to avenge this loss. He is not able to perceive that the leg is simply a physical part, he...
Ahab is dedicated towards regaining control of his life by conquering the whale. His obsession with Moby Dick is what fuels his desire to spend months and months at sea. Ahab is so involved that he tries to get into the mind of the whale. He becomes obsessed with the whale’s every move. Similarly, the narrator is highly analytical of Bartleby’s behavior. He feels the need to know exactly what it is that makes Bartleby ‘tick’. Eventually the narrator is mentally defeated by Bartleby and is forced to change the location of his offices in order to avoid him. Ahab on the other hand is constantly chasing his antagonist and does whatever he can to get closer to Moby Dick.
Ahab’s quest for the whale is not an honorable pursuit of God, but man’s vain endeavor in his hatred of God to destroy the all-powerful deity. The symbol of the whale as God makes sense as it is white a color that is associated not only with purity and honor but the deity of God himself. Because this whale caused him personal damage in an earlier encounter, Ahab views the whale as an “inscrutable thing”, making it his life’s quest to get revenge (335). Not only does he associate the whale with this damaging experience, he connects the deity of God with “the white whale that razeed me; made a poor pegging lubber for me forever and a day!” (334). His quest for vengeance distorts his ability to have a relationship of God as who can endure the pursuit of such a being if the pursuit is driven by enmity? Ahab’s pursuit of Moby Dick, “Be [he] agent, or be [he] principal” is driven strictly by hostility and a lack of righteousness (335). Only those who have experienced the sweetness of reconciling grace can look at the tremendous
Going Insane in Moby Dick People's dreams can make them insane. One person can be entirely focused on a particular event, so that the event soon begins to take over their life and influence others. Captain Ahab's intent is to find and kill Moby Dick, the whale that maimed and disfigured him years ago. His obsession with this whale puts many others in danger, such as Ishmael, Starbuck, and himself. Captain Ahab uses his shipmates as bait for Moby Dick.
In addition Ahab in "Moby Dick" is considered not only as an evil and sinful person but is selfish and greedy. The reason why he is sinful, evil, selfish, greedy, mainly is because he didn’t care what the other people on the ship wanted or that what he was going to do would or could bring dangers, and what he was doing was a waste of time, because instead of getting vengeance on "Moby Dick". He could be hunting whales for food and selling what’s left of them and make money.
One might think it a difficult task to find a tragic hero hidden in the pages of Moby Dick. Yet, there is certainly potential for viewing Ahab as heroic despite unfavorable responses to him by the reader.
Captain Ahab sights Moby Dick from afar and continues his hot pursuit on the White Whale. For three days, a relentless chase occurs because of Ahab’s desire for revenge. The indomitable whale continually destroys boat after boat. During the latter days of the struggle, the whale finally attacks the Pequod, plunging the ship to the bottom pits of the ocean. Determined to reach his final goal, the captain makes a last ditch effort and launches his harpoon towards Moby Dick. Ironically, Ahab’s harpoon catches around his neck and strangles him to death. Obviously determined to avenge his leg, the Captain causes his own downfall through his own desire for retribution. In The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare creates two characters, Hamlet and Laertes, who endure a series of events and unveil Shakespeare’s similar belief that revenge causes one to act blindly in anger. Through Shakespeare’s distinct language and diction, the characters’ motivational factors and personality traits, the write conveys his strong belief regarding the desire for vengeance.
At first glance, Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, appears to be the story of a man, his captain, and the whale that they quest to destroy. But a closer look reveals the author’s intense look at several metaphysical ideologies. He explores some of the most ponderous quandaries of his time, among these being the existence of evil, knowledge of the self and the existential, and the possibility of a determined fate. All of these were questions which philosophers had dealt with and written about, but Melville took it to a new level: not only writing about these things, but also doing so in a lovely poetic language backed by a tale packed with intrigue. He explores the general existence of evil in his antagonist, the white whale, and through the general malice that nature presents to humans throughout the novel. The narrator, Ishmael, gains a lot of knowledge about himself through his experiences on the whaling voyage, where he also is able to learn much about the phenomenon of existence itself. Also, through Captain Ahab, he sees more about the existence of man and the things that exist within man’s heart. Especially through Ahab and his ongoing quest for the white whale, and also in general conversation amongst the whalers, the issue of fate and whether one’s destiny is predetermined are addressed in great detail, with much thought and insight interpolated from the author’s own viewpoints on the subject.
Another biblical allusion is of the prophet Elijah and Captain Ahab. Elijah WARNS Queequeg and Ishmael of Ahab. Ishmael says he and Queequeg ARE boarding the Pequod because they have just “signed the articles” (Melville 68) and Elijah responds “Anything down there about your souls” (Melville 68). This conflict between Elijah and Ahab goes all the way back to the bible. I Kings describes the conflict between King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Elijah tells Ahab that “in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick they blood, even thine,” (I Kings 21:19), and that “the dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezrell” (I Kings 21:23). This allusion is significant for foreshadowing the destruction of the Pequod. In Moby Dick the characters names are not so different than names in the Bible and neither is the outcome of those characters so different.
In this novel, it's hard to see Ahab surviving and the whale not. It's hard to see that because the feminine side of nature is so overpowering and overwhelming. Almost everything that is larger than man is female and all of it is indifferent to him. Indeed, the part of Moby Dick that is male is probably the part that wants to hunt Ahab so much. The rest of his power is that over-arching feminine power of the ocean, the sun, nature, and even the soul. The men's club doesn¹t stand a chance. In the end, Ahab must take whatever she decides to give them.