Moby Dick

At last! After 132 chapters of talking about and endlessly searching for him, we finally have encountered Moby Dick in the flesh. Up to this point, Melville has not really provided us with a lengthy description or compared Moby Dick to a mythological figure or concrete object as he has with so many other characters; the whale is simply an unknowable god-like entity. But in the first chase chapter, Melville finally provides us with a description of the white whale. He writes,

A gentle joyousness—a mighty mildness of repose in swiftness, invested the gliding whale. Not the white bull Jupiter swimming away with ravished Europa clinging to his graceful horns; his lovely, leering eyes sideways intent upon the maid; with smooth bewitching fleetness, rippling straight for the nuptial bower in Crete; not Jove, not that great majesty Supreme! did surpass the glorified White Whale as he so divinely swam. (Melville 596).

Melville likens Moby Dick to the king of gods, Jupiter, but in the form of a “white bull.” Melville is referencing the story of Europa, a beautiful Phoenician princess who was abducted by Jupiter. Jupiter fell in love with Europa and disguised himself as bull; he convinced her to get onto his back and then proceeded into the sea and swam to the island of Crete. I think that Melville references this story, not simply to imbue Moby Dick with a god-like aura and divine qualities, but also because it emphasizes the whale’s seductive powers over Ahab. While the story of Europa and Jupiter is not indistinguishable from Ahab and Moby Dick, there are certain parallels between the two. Much like the white bull, Moby Dick has this intriguing and irresistible quality that Ahab can not ignore; he has been consumed by this whale for the past year and has so to speak, climbed onto Moby Dick’s back and followed him half way around the world.

In Chapter 23, The Lee Shore, Melville uses the character of Bulkington to demonstrate the physical and spiritual immersion of whalers into life at sea:

… it fared with him as with the storm-tossed ship, that miserably drives along the leeward land. The port would fain give succor; the port is pitiful; in the port is safety, comfort, hearthstone, supper, warm blankets, friends, all that’s kind to our mortalities. But in that gale, the port, the land, is that ship’s direst jeopardy; she must fly all hospitality; one touch of land, though it but graze the keel, would make her shudder through and through. With all her might she crowds all sail off shore; in so doing, fights ‘gainst the very winds that fain would blow her homeward; seeks all the lashed sea’s landlessness again; for refuge’s sake forlornly rushing into peril; her only friend her bitterest foe.

The excerpt continues the tone established at the beginning of the novel, where Ishmael describes his own relationship to the sea. For Bulkington, the sea had also become a means of escape and source of strange familiarity, or at least strange to those outside the whaling world. Bulkington does not appear to be particularly unique in his reversal of the typical notion of home, as Ishmael, Ahab, and indeed all the men on board share both a connection to the sea and an aversion of the safety of port. While the object of the voyage is to survive the perilous months at sea, battling weather and whales, even the particular whaling climate of Nantucket or other towns that cater to the industry does not suit one such as Buckington. Instead, “the land seemed scorching to his feet,” resulting in the desire to immediately begin another voyage.

Know ye, now, Bulkington? Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore?

Here Melville further extends the metaphor, linking the sea to the freedom of thought and action. Dying on the sea becomes a more glorious end than on land, for the vastness and openness of the sea allows for the independence of the soul. The land, while safe and represented by safety, comfort, hearthstone, etc., restricts an individual’s internal growth, especially one inclined to the sea. Melville continuously explores the relationship between the effects of the environment on the individual, and the idea of what is or is perceived as natural by society and the reader. He pushes this notion by elevating the personal impact that the isolation and natural brutality of the sea has on different sailors and seeing how it accumulates into a core element of the community that develops on board a whaling ship.

Melville, Herman. Moby Dick. New York: Signet Classic, 1998.

In Chapter 36 of Moby Dick, Captain Ahab reveals the secondary purpose of the Pequod’s voyage to his crew: Ahab seeks revenge against Moby Dick, the white whale that took Ahab’s leg, sanity, and pride. When a crewmember suggests that Ahab’s desire for revenge is ludicrous, Ahab responds with a speech reminiscent of a Shakespearean monologue.

I’d strike the sun if it insulted me. For could the sun do that, then could I do the other; since there is ever a sort of fair play herein. Jealousy presiding over all creations. But not my master, man, is even that fair play. Who’s over me? (157)

With these words, Ahab reveals his hubris, a flaw that will no doubt cause harm to him later in the novel. His question of “Who’s over me?” seems more of a challenge than a matter of doubt; in his mind he is both willing and able to sail around the world until his revenge his complete, an act that he must consider impossible for others but not for him. As captain of the Pequod, Ahab already exerts a great deal of control over his crew which is further illustrated by his “change of plans” for the whaling voyage. Ahab’s madness seems to have driven him on a larger power trip in attempting to kill the white whale. This could be seen as a man versus nature conflict. It could be argued, however, that this in turn is part of man versus the unknown (or in this case God).

Ahab’s journey could also be compared and contrasted to Jonah’s from the Book of Jonah in the Bible. Jonah tried to run away from God by escaping to the sea and was swallowed up by a whale. Only when Jonah repented and prayed to God did the whale finally set him free after three days. Similarly, Ahab has gone to sea but instead of simply running away from God, Ahab is attempting to destroy the whale and establish himself as a being greater than God’s creations. Ahab could view the whale’s attack on him as something done by God through the whale (as an agent) which would put Ahab’s revenge against God. In this way Ahab would be seeking a status greater than the divine’s and his question of “Who’s over me?” would be answered with, “No one and nothing.”

Who exactly is above Ahab? Certainly no one in his crew and, in Ahab’s mind, certainly not Moby Dick. Whether Ahab will be successful in his revenge is yet to be seen, but if the story of Jonah serves as a model, it seems that Ahab too might be swallowed up by his pride and the whale. This would ultimately prove that humans cannot overcome nature and cannot, in turn, overcome the divine.

In chapters 36 through 40, Melville inserts a Shakespearen mini-play into his novel using literary devices such as poetic rhythms & images, soliloquies, and stage direction that help to illustrate the dramatic and tragic elements of Moby Dick. Through the use of soliloquies, Melville also communicates to the reader (without relying on the narrator) the true feelings and reflections of Ahab, Starbuck, and Stubbs.

Much like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, who is driven to madness by his obsession of exacting revenge on his uncle Claudius, Ahab, admittedly, has grown mad with his fixation on killing Moby Dick. In his soliloquy, Ahab proclaims,

What I’ve dared, I’ve willed; and what I’ve willed, I’ll do! They think me mad—Starbuck does; but I’m demoniac, I am madness maddened! That wild madness that’s only calm to comprehend itself! The prophecy was that I should be dismembered; and—Aye! I lost this leg. I now prophesy that I will dismember my dismemberer (Melville 183).

Ahab’s reflections on Moby Dick and his “demoniac” attitude demonstrate that Ahab’s quest for vengeance on the whale has completely consumed him, and, as he acknowledges, has driven him quite mad. Melville’s juxtaposition of Ahab’s madness and his acknowledgement of this madness is very curious. You might ask, ‘how crazy can a person be who is aware of their madness?’ As Ahab says, “that wild madness that’s only calm to comprehend itself!”, implying that Ahab can set aside his craziness for an instant, only to recognize it; apart from that self-awareness, this madness has consumed every other aspect of his life. This passage illustrates Ahab as a flawed protagonist because he is fully aware of his madness, but he is willing to put others at risk to achieve his goal of “dismember[ing] his dismemberer.”

Starbuck’s soliloquy also plays an important role in these chapters. The first mate comments to himself:

My soul is more than matched; she’s overmanned; and by a madman! Insufferable sting, that sanity should ground arms on such a field! But he drilled deep down, and blasted all my reason out of me! I think I see his impious end; but feel that I must help him to it (Melville 184).

Despite Starbuck’s recognition of Ahab as a “madmen”, he is unable to stand up and combat his captain; he even fells compelled to help Ahab with his mission, perhaps because he prophesizes that their quest for Moby Dick will lead Ahab to an “impious end.” With Starbuck’s soliloquy, Melville foreshadows a tragic end for Ahab and the rest of the Pequod.

This post uses YouTube as an example, but other object plugins from other sites can be inserted into WordPress posts, I encourage you to explore & experiment. If you discover a great trick, just post it and add it to course support (category).

Copy the “embed code”. Click on the “HTML” view. Paste in the Embed Code.

“Add Media” by URL doesn’t seem to be working at present