Moby Dick The novel Moby Dick is the story of how Ishmael the narrator came to set sail on a fateful whaling voyage. He travels to Nantucket, where he visits the docks to find a ship; he discovers the Pequod. As Ishmael and his friend Queequeg make their way to board the ship, they meet a haggard looking, wild-eyed man who calls himself Elijah. He warns them against sailing with the Pequod, and hints that there might be something to fear about their mysterious captain, Ahab. Although Ishmael has not yet met Ahab, he dismisses the Elijahs warning and the two set sail with the Pequod on Christmas Day. Ishmael is introduced to the rest of the ships crew: the first mate, Starbuck, the second mate, Stubb, and the third mate, Flask. Finally, after several days at sea, the men meet their captain, Ahab: a fierce looking Nantucketer with a white streak in his hair leading to a scar down the side of his face, and with one false leg made of ivory. Ahab paces the deck, and does not talk to the men nearly at all …
until one day he nails a piece of Spanish gold to the main mast of the ship, announcing that whoever first spies a white whale will receive it as a reward. This white whale, called Moby Dick by Ahab, seems to cause him considerable anxiety; he reveals that Moby Dick bit off his leg. The sailors seem excited at their potential reward, and vow to hunt Moby Dick to the death. Ahab, meanwhile, speaks to himself in terms that suggest his maniacal obsession with the Whale. As the Pequod continues on her course, Ahab grows more and more obsessed with finding and killing Moby Dick even holding a kind of black mass in which he uses the blood of his harpooners to cool the blade of a new, deadly harpoon. In the closing chapters of the novel, Ahab heads the ship into a dangerous storm, allows most of her instruments to break down, and ultimately abandons any pretense of conducting an ordinary whaling voyage.
The Essay on Moby Dick Whale Ishmael Ahab
Moby Dick is an extremely long novel written by Herman Melville. This book is an epic tale of a crazed sea captain hunting the whale that bit off his leg told through the eyes of a school teacher. As the story begins Ishmael is at the local boating dock looking for work. Ishmael being a school teacher has allot of time off as of the moment because the school is at recess, for what reason i don't ...
Finally, Ahab finds the White Whale, and spends three successive days making attempts on its life. The fiendish whale attacks the fragile whaleboats with jaws and tail, eventually sinking the Pequod itself, and killing Ahab. Only Ishmael, who floats safely distant from the scene of carnage, survives and is rescued. The novel Moby Dick shows Ahabs single-minded pursuit of the white whale, Moby Dick, which is the only thing he lives for and is eventually the thing he dies for as Moby Dick strangles him with his own harpoon line. Ahab is eventually killed because he was obsessed with capturing and killing Moby Dick. These events reveal through the character of Ahab and his obsession with Moby Dick that obsession is evil, will take over a persons life and lead to their demise. Herman Melville employs numerous motifs in the novel Moby Dick that all serve some purpose, though that purpose is oftentimes somewhat ambiguous.
One of the more peculiar motifs that I traced throughout the novel was Melvilles strange tendency to foreshadow events to come. Normally, most novels attempt to maintain a certain amount of suspense until the climax, which usually contains some sort of surprise for the reader. However, before getting even halfway through Moby Dick, the reader knows that when Ahab encounters Moby Dick, he will die. One would think that knowing the end to a novel would spoil it, but the methodology behind Melvilles hints and the fashion in which they are presented only contribute to the excitement of the climax, and ultimately to the purpose of the novel itself. The hints are absolutely everywhere in the novel; they are sometimes hidden, sometimes blatant, and sometimes confusing. Moreover, with every sign that Melville drops for the reader, the excitement builds up until the hopeless battle with Moby Dick.
The Essay on Captain Ahab And Moby Dick
Captain Ahab and Moby Dick: Literary critics point to a variety of themes and juxtapositions when analyzing Herman Melville's "Moby Dick." Some see the land opposed to the sea or Fate opposed to free will. Most mention man versus nature or good versus evil. A perspective that seems overlooked though is the perspective of the self and the other. The self and other is when one discovers the other ( ...
One of the first signs in the novel of the impending doom Ishmael will face is the name of the owner of the Spouter Inn: Coffin? Spouter? Rather ominous in that particular connexion, thought I (18).
The chapel where people were worshipping the dead and the two trees that looked like a gallows near the Try-Pots Inn add to the mounting number of signs telling Ishmael to back away. However, Ishmael is an educated man; despite these rather peculiar premonitions, he will not be deterred from his course. When the prophet Elijah warns them about Ahab, saying, …some sailors or other must go with him, I suppose; as well these as any other men, God pity em! (89) Ishmael tries to wave off the mans words as the ramblings of a trickster. However, in truth he is worried about the upcoming voyage. As the chase for Moby Dick progresses, the signs become more and more obvious that the mission was doomed from the start. Ishmaels authoring of his own will, the encounter with a giant squid, the warning from Gabriel, the construction of Queequegs coffin, and many other signs all begin to accumulate.
The effects of the speech that Ahab used to fire up the sailors are wearing off, and the sailors are truly beginning to fear for their lives. At one point near the end of their pursuit of Moby Dick, Starbuck, a man of morals and of God, actually seriously considers murdering Ahab: If, then, he were this instant put aside, that crime would not be his. (422).
It also becomes increasingly evident that the signs being given to the Pequod are sent from heaven. The best example would probably be when Ahab climbs the crows nest, and has his hat plucked off his head by a hawk. The imagery of a man climbing towards the heavens searching for a God, only to have his hat knocked off is somewhat reminiscent of the Greek myth of Theseus.
Theseus attempted to reach Olympus and the Gods by flying on Pegasus towards the heavens, but he was struck down and killed. Ahab receives a warning from heaven, and luckily has only his hat removed. Unfortunately, he pays it no heed. These strategically placed warnings are not meant to trick the reader and surprise them with a different ending; everything turns out as it was expected from the beginning. This whole story is told in hindsight, with an ambiance of doom prevalent throughout. There is a feeling of helplessness that is pervasive among all the characters. Starbuck, who disagrees openly with Ahabs quest, resigns himself early on in subservience to Ahabs will and his own fate: God keep me! keep us all! murmured Starbuck, lowlyAhab did not hear [Starbucks] foreboding invocation (145).
The Essay on Personal Philosophy of Man , God and the World
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I am grateful to the Almighty God for establishing me to complete this project. I wish to express my sincere thanks to SOTERO H. LAUREL Librarians, for providing me with all the necessary facilities and books that I need to be able to carefully analyze all the topics that have been discuss in philosophy of human existence. I also thank Professor Josefina C. Perez, one ...
The men understand that they are doomed; they know that they are following a madmen on a suicide quest. However, they are trapped, isolated on a boat where their only hope is to trust in Ahabs intellect and leadership. The helplessness of the situation adds to the mood of the novel. By knowing the ending and the plot of the novel, the reader is free to look beyond the superficial into the profound ideas Melville has throughout his book. This technique is extremely effective in drawing the readers attention to the greater meanings hidden within the text. Moby Dick is a rich, full novel.
It is not an adventure story, it is not a suspense story; it is a naked representation of the futility of mans struggle against God. There is next to nothing between the reader and the true purpose behind Melvilles writings other than the narration of Ishmael. He is the sole barrier between the Melville and his audience; he is simply a necessity to the format of a novel. What makes this work great is not the plot, the writing style, or the characters. Melville uses omens as a tool to reveal the plot to the reader, as they are guided towards an end that is both expected and craved.
Bibliography:
Albertini, Virgil. Moby-Dick criticism: a survey. Maryville: Northwest Missouri State University, 1976.
Hillway, Tyrus. Moby-Dick centennial essays. Edited for the Melville Society. Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1953..
