Moby Dick

Indeed, Ahab does see himself as a David based character since he seeks revenge against the White Whale.  In the Bible, David sought revenge against Goliath, who “was over nine feet tall” (1 Samuel 17:1-58, New International Version).  In a similar fashion, Goliath is as monolithic compared to David, as the White Whale is to Captain Ahab. Captain Ahab sees himself as the David character facing a Goliath, or Moby Dick.  Interestingly enough, the Post-Classical Jewish traditions emphasized Goliath as the one who represents paganism, as opposed to David, who is seen as the champion of the God of Israel. Knowing that David defeated Goliath in his youth, and later became a King, exactly shows that as one falls, another rises.  Clearly, David seized Goliath’s power and became a very important and influential figure in society.  David, from the Bible, even appears to have almost the same character and personality as Captain Ahab does.  “This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.  Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves;  for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:1-58).  David here is aggressive  and seeks to exact revenge.  Captain Ahab also has the same fire  and obsessive passion to exact revenge and achieve his goals, as does David.   The manner in which David prepares for war and battle against the Goliath, parallels with the way in which Captain Ahab intends to finally bring down and kill Moby Dick.  The irony of it all is that Captain Ahab does not become victorious as he does not manage to survive.  However, much of David’s personality and character resonates with Captain Ahab.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS