Feb 21 2010
Ahab’s Purpose
“Come, Ahab’s compliments to ye, come and see if ye can swerve me. Swerve me? Ye cannot swerve me, else ye swerve yourselves! Man has ye there. Swerve me? The path to my purpose is fixed with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Over unsounded gorges, through the rifled hearts of mountains, under torrents bed’s unerringly I rush! Naught’s an obstacle, naught’s an angle to the iron way!”
For me, this passage really drove home just how serious and driven Ahab is on his quest for Moby Dick. He describes this purpose as having a path that is already fixed with iron rails- he is saying that this is already what he had decided on and his mind cannot be changed. Also, he says that his soul is running on this path- this tells us how determined and deeply devoted Ahab is to killing the white whale. Ahab also makes it clear during this soliloquy that none of the men on the ship are going to be able to change his mind about this, he is letting it be known that he is the captain of this ship and his word goes. During the last part of this passage, Ahab also lets us in on the how far he is willing to go and what he is willing to risk and go through in order to achieve his goal.
One Response to “Ahab’s Purpose”
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Hi Jennie — you picked a good passage to examine, since, as you point out, it underscores Ahab’s dogged attachment to his purpose. I would have to say, however, that the post is a little short — you could expand a bit by connecting the passage to a larger theme in the book. How does Ahab’s purpose play out? Are there later examples of his crazy attachment to his “unswervable” goal? Does this speech demonstrate his insanity? Are we meant to trust him here? Admire him? Try to connect this small passage back to a larger idea.