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Why Does Moby Dick Matter Today Essay

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Why Does Moby Dick Matter Today Essay
Why Moby Dick Matters Today
Why does Moby Dick matter today? There are many connections one can find to relate Moby Dick to today’s society. The most apparent is the theme of pride. Without pride there would be no story in Moby Dick. This is a key foundation of the story and the reason the hunt for Moby Dick even occurs. Pride can make people do crazy things. This is true in the tale of Moby Dick and continues to be a driving factor in society today. The further exploration of this theme allows one to open their eyes and view the story and the present world around them in a different light. In Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby Dick we are introduced to one of the most famous stories about how far someone's pride can take them and how it can drive them to do crazy things. Captain Ahab leader of the ship the Pequod sets sail with one mission and that mission is lead by his pride. Before the voyage …show more content…
But when that sense of pride is lost it can be life altering and make the person take unreasonably drastic measures in order to reclaim that sense of pride. Ahab let his loss of pride and leg lead him to a dangerous voyage at sea costing him and his mean their lives just to kill a whale. The Ku Klux Klan caused harm and danger to thousands of lives all in the name of White Pride. The Germans let their loss of pride after World War 1 lead them to a second World War and Holocaust all in attempt to regain its power and national pride. And of course America’s journey of vengeance and regaining our pride that lead us to the unnecessary war in Afghanistan. All in all proud is a powerful thing and a even more powerful thing is the lack of it. It can take control of every aspect of a person's life. Like Mahatma Gandhi once “ Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is the monster that swallows it
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