15A. Moby-Dick (1851), Chs. 50-53

Gregory Peck as "Ahab" in Moby-Dick (1956) directed by John Huston

Ideology: The Value of Courage, Defiance, Persistence, Focus

1. Ishmael tells the reader that it is unheard of for a whaling captain to hunt whales himself, which is why Ahab had to smuggle onboard a secret crew that was willing to enable him. Ishmael is confused by this, but the reader can put together that Ahab wants to kill Moby Dick himself, despite the unconventionality of it all and despite the obvious danger Ahab would be put in. Ahab is so desperate to track Moby Dick down that he sleeps with one eye trained on the ships compass so that he can track their progress. It’s a display that wigs out the rest of the crew, as Ahab would stand “hours and hours would stand gazing dead to windward, while an occasional squall of sleet or snow would all but congeal his very eyelashes together.”

Consider: When is a willingness to defy convention an admirable, heroic quality?

2. Ishmael later describes what the seamen call a “Gam,” which is when two whale ships meet and shortly assemble to talk and trade resources or mail. It is interesting that Ahab as well as the other ship both decide not to stop for the other, despite both being from Nantucket. Ishmael says it is unlikely Ahab would have wanted to commune with the other captain even if the seas had been hospitable. Unless the captain “could contribute some of that information [Ahab] so absorbingly sought,” Ahab would see no reason for it. This observation gives the reader more insight into both Ahab’s devotion, and his experience. He is so dedicated to finding the White Whale that he sees no reason to talk to any other ships unless they can provide him with information pivotal to his goal. He has no concern for things that do not directly [affect] his quest.

Consider: When is focus an admirable quality?

Aesthetics:  Poetry

3. During one of these nights the narrator poetically talks about the scenery [Fadallah] is sitting in, saying, “when all the waves rolled by like scrolls of silver; and, by their soft, suffusing seethings, made what seemed a silvery silence, not a solitude: on such a silent night a silvery jet was seen far in advance of white bubbles at the bow” (ch. 51).

Compare with this passage from Uncle Tom's Cabin: “The boat swept proudly away from the shore, and all went on merrily, as before. Men talked, and loafed, and read, and smoked. Women sewed, and children played, and the boat passed on her way” (686)