Ideology: Utilitarianism
1. Ahab seems to use mystery and confusion to his advantage, which is very telling of his motivations. He knows that he must keep his crew on his side lest they question his “subtle insanity” (Chapter 46). Ishmael even describes Ahab as a man who “seemed ready to sacrifice all mortal interests” if it meant he could enact his revenge against Moby Dick (Chapter 46). He also uses the mystery of fate to reach his goals, as he convinces the crew members that their fates cannot be changed no matter what they do or how hard they try to alter it. This also points to Ahab’s motivations since he himself does not believe in the strict laws of fate or destiny. Ahab utilizes the idea of fate to control the crew and rationalize his actions even when he knows they are wrong
2. Ahab furthers his meticulous management of the crew’s ambitions by understanding that, despite their excitement for hunting the white whale, they’ll need “food for their common, daily appetites” (Ch.46)....It is quite clear that Ahab is not only a harrowed fanatic captain, but a skilled one as well.
3. Ahab knew although the crewman at first glance seemed willing to help in his quest, he also recognized that most of the men signed on with hopes to see money at the end. Ahab claims, “I will not strip these men of all hopes of cash- they may scorn it now but let some months ago by without prospect of it, then this same quiescent cash all at once mutinying in them, but cash would soon cashier Ahab” (Ch 46). This passage suggests that even in an obsessive state Ahab is still in some way able to maintain a sense of [rationality].
Comment on Democracy?
4. Does the following description of the crew suggest skepticism about the human capacity for self-government or human vulnerability to political manipulation: "yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable--they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness" (Ch. 46).
Comment on Religion?
5. Does the following description of the Crusades suggest skepticism about religion: "For even the high lifted and chivalric Crusaders of old times were not content to traverse two thousand miles of land to fight for their holy sepulchre, without committing burglaries, picking pockets, and gaining other pious perquistists by they way" (Ch. 46).
Ideology: Human Agency
5. Chapter 47 is entitled "The Mat-Maker," and it basically serves as another comment on fate and how much control humans have over it. Predestination is the idea that the Christian god knows everything before it happens, which also implies that man has no free will. However, this chapter may be implying that humans have more control over their lives than they thought. Ishmael . . . is weaving these threads together, trying to insert his humanity into these concepts that originally left no room for human will.
6. While working on weaving Ishmael begins comparing his work method to his fate claiming, “with my own hand I ply my own shuttle and weave my own destiny” where Queequeg’s seems “impulsive” and “indifferent” (Ch. 47). Ishmael seems to be more set on wanting to control things, such as his fate while Queequeg couldn’t seem to care less.
7. Melville makes more comments about Calvinism and whether it was destiny or one’s own choices which decided the direction of one’s life. He equates Queequeg’s sword to chance, the warp to necessity, and his own hand to free will. He believes that “chance, free will, and necessity... all interweavingly [work] together.”
8. [This chapter includes] . . .a lesson in releasing the desire for control over a situation, as well as surrendering oneself to the nature of life and loss of life, that which a mere man has no real say over, in times when another person—or force of nature—is “steering the boat,” (in this case, literally). Melville writes, “I must resign my life into the hands of him who steered the boat—[…] considering that Starbuck, notwithstanding, was famous for his great heedfulness in the fishery,” and in this instance, we get the idea that Ishmael is beginning to realize that in whaling, there comes a moment of great surrender, when one has no real control over the outcome by and large. This is a universal truth, and being in as dangerous of a hunt as that of a whale quickly puts this into perspective. Ishmael’s resignation to this immutable truth is not one riddled with challenge; by the end of it, realizing that the chances of unforeseeable circumstances cutting his voyage short were quite significant, Ishmael finds peace.
Aesthetics: Poetry
9. Note that the chapter about "mat making" includes this poetic passage: "So still and subdued and yet somehow preluding was all the scene, and such an incantation of revery lurked in the air, that each silent sailor seemed resolved into his own invisible self" (Ch. 47).
Aesthetics: Reader Identification
10. Ahab having a secret crew alludes to an interesting theme in Moby-Dick. Just as it is difficult for the characters to decipher what is real and what is supernatural, the readers also have a difficult time telling the difference between the two. . . . The mysteriousness of the secret crew . . . are described as “dusky phantoms” and “creatures” (Chapters 47 & 48).
The Phantom Crew
11. With the racial diversity of the original crew, it is interesting that many believe this secret crew to be “peculiar" (Chapter 48).
Consider: Does describing Fedallah's crew as "tiger yellow creature" and comparing them to "infidel sharks . . .with "eyes of red murder" undermine the kind of cosmopolitan tolerance that is celebrated in other parts of the novel?
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