Feb 08 2010
David/Captain Ahab and Goliath/the White Whale
In Chapter CVI, “Ahab’s Leg,” we see Captain Ahab requesting repairs on his artificial leg, since he splintered it. I interpret Captain Ahab’s request as him wanting to be seen as a god, perfect, unscathed, unhurt and still ready for more adventure and action. We, as readers, also get to see much of Captain Ahab’s character, as he wants to be completely independent, and wants to be free of his physical limitations; Captain Ahab becomes irate, livid and frustrated when he remembers that he is physically ill and wounded. In addition, I noticed other religious allusions as the novel states, “[it] shall be followed by the joy-childlessness of all hell’s despair; whereas, some guilty mortal miseries shall still fertilely beget to themselves an eternally progressive progeny of griefs beyond the grave; not all to hint of this…” (667). Nevertheless, Captain Ahab still tries to be left alone and did not want to be disturbed. He even insists on getting the ship checked for repairs.
Furthermore, in Chapter CIX, “Ahab and Starbuck In the Cabin,” we see Starbuck and Ahab converse about the acquisition of oil to help continue their journey on the seas. However, there is some misunderstanding between the two. Starbuck assumed that they were looking for more oil, but apparently Ahab is so monomaniacal that he only wants to get the White Whale. Ahab even dares to say, “Let it leak! I’m all aleak myself.” This shows how obsessive and careless Captain Ahab can be. We also see Captain Ahab saying to Starbuck that, “There is one God that is Lord over the earth, and one Captain that is lord over the Pequod.—-On deck!” (682). This quote shows Captain Ahab’s imperious nature and how controlling and ordering he can be. He quite simply proclaims himself to be the “lord over the Pequod” (682). Apparently, Captain Ahab has an obsession with keeping his power over everything. Captain Ahab prepares to receive a well-shaped, powerful harpoon. This reminds me of how David prepared to finally overcome the monolithic Goliath. In this sense, Goliath is the Biblical allusion to the White Whale in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and Captain Ahab represents David.
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Interesting comparison you get to at the end of your blog, Chris — I think you’re right that Ahab sees himself as a David figure. Now, this might be the place to start your next posting — think about what is at stake for Ahab to consider himself a David facing a Goliath. Go back to the story in the Bible, for instance (check out http://www.biblegateway.com to read the story — and try Wikipedia for information about it). Once you’ve read the story, what similarities are there between Ahab and David, or the whale and Goliath, and what does it mean for Ahab to see himself as a David? What might it mean, for instance, to know that David defeats Goliath as a boy, but then goes on to become a King? What might it do to Ahab’s thinking to see himself as King David?