Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick Essay
In Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab’s character remains stuck in the past unable to move forward this in turn causes me to pity him because his vengeful thinking not only gets him killed but his other crewmates as well. Captain Ahab at first seems to be a strong minded man however when he started explaining what happened to his leg I started to notice that he is a man who has put up walls and wont put them down until he has his vengeance. I have pity for this man because he can’t live again until he has defeated the harsh memories that lie within that whale.
In the first half of the book I noticed that the captain was a little rude but I couldn’t shake this feeling of there being more to him so when the captain started telling his story to the crew I finally realized that he was more devastated than he led on. In the first part of the conversation the Captain says, “It was Moby-Dick that dismasted me; Moby-Dick that brought me to this dead stump I stand on now.” When I read this I could feel the emotion he stood there telling people how mad he was with this whale because it took apart of him. Captain Ahab was a mean man yes but the pain that he went through made him pitiable in my eyes. After telling people that it was all Moby-Dick’s fault he goes on to say, “Aye, aye! And I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round Perdition’s flames before I give him up.” Captain Ahab shows that no matter where this whale goes he is determined to catch it. I do believe that it is a little extreme to go half way around the world to try to kill a whale, however this in my mind proves him to be even more pitiable because he is willing to leave his life behind to try and get a piece of it back. After the conversation is over is when his emotion really comes out, Melville writes, “He seemed to half sob and half shout.” The fact that telling his crewmates this story brings him to tears is saddening. It has brought so much
In Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab’s character remains stuck in the past unable to move forward this in turn causes me to pity him because his vengeful thinking not only gets him killed but his other crewmates as well. Captain Ahab at first seems to be a strong minded man however when he started explaining what happened to his leg I started to notice that he is a man who has put up walls and wont put them down until he has his vengeance. I have pity for this man because he can’t live again until he has defeated the harsh memories that lie within that whale.
In the first half of the book I noticed that the captain was a little rude but I couldn’t shake this feeling of there being more to him so when the captain started telling his story to the crew I finally realized that he was more devastated than he led on. In the first part of the conversation the Captain says, “It was Moby-Dick that dismasted me; Moby-Dick that brought me to this dead stump I stand on now.” When I read this I could feel the emotion he stood there telling people how mad he was with this whale because it took apart of him. Captain Ahab was a mean man yes but the pain that he went through made him pitiable in my eyes. After telling people that it was all Moby-Dick’s fault he goes on to say, “Aye, aye! And I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round Perdition’s flames before I give him up.” Captain Ahab shows that no matter where this whale goes he is determined to catch it. I do believe that it is a little extreme to go half way around the world to try to kill a whale, however this in my mind proves him to be even more pitiable because he is willing to leave his life behind to try and get a piece of it back. After the conversation is over is when his emotion really comes out, Melville writes, “He seemed to half sob and half shout.” The fact that telling his crewmates this story brings him to tears is saddening. It has brought so much