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"Call him Ahab, a “grand, ungodly, god-like man” in Herman
Melville’s Moby Dick (85). He is a man whose enthusiasm is so great,
mission so inspirational, and manner so intense that few can resist the
urge to follow him in his journey to kill the white whale. Although
Ahab is only a man, he controls his ship like he is God fighting evil.
Ahab looks “like a man cut away from the stake, when the fire has
overrunningly wasted all the limbs without consuming them”(128). On his
forehead, is a prominent “lividly whitish” scar that runs down his
face, neck and under his clothes (129). The scar looks like the mark of
a lightning bolt. His physique is compared to a sculpture of solid
bronze or an impressive oak tree. Ahab’s wrinkled brow bears a
resemblance to his numerous sea charts. On his face is a grim look, “an
infinity of firmest fortitude, a determinate, unsurrendable willfulness
in his features” (129). He has an artificial leg, a barbaric, white
ivory prosthesis “fashioned from the polished bone of the sperm whale’s
jaw”(130).
From the start of the novel, Ahab creates an aura of secrecy. With
his powerful speech and the incentive of the gold doubloon, Ahab has
the crew in his power. What to the crew is a journey to kill Moby Dick
is to Ahab a journey of pride and a quest against evil. When Ahab first
encountered Moby Dick, he lost more than just his leg. He lost his
soul. He has no connection to any other person or thing beyond the
leviathan. Therefore he befriends Pip who, like him, is an outcast as
well. The crew sees Pip as being crazy, but because of his charisma, he
is the only one who can be close to Ahab. When he witnessed the terror
and rage of the sea, he was driven mad. “The sea had jeeringly kept his
finite body up but drowned the infinite of his soul.” (440) Ahab too
had sacrificed the infinite of his soul, but replaced it with his
burning desire to destroy the evil white whale. Moby Dick was more than
an evil white whale, however, to Ahab he was Lucifer himself. Ahab was
battling the devil the only way a whaler knew how, and that was with
his trusty harpoon and faithful crew.
Ahab had a one-track mind while sailing. Moby Dick consumed his
every thought. When he would encounter another ship, the first thing he
would always ask was “hast seen the white whale?” (461) After meeting
six ships that answered no, Ahab found Captain Gardiner of the Rachel.
Captain Gardiner pleaded with him to look for his missing son, but Ahab
refused. This shows just how much power Moby Dick has over him. He has
gone overboard with his obsession. Ahab puts more importance on his
finding and killing Moby Dick than on saving a human’s life. By
betraying Captain Gardiner, Ahab alienates himself even more. Ahab
realizes this and says to his crew, “…and ye two are all mankind; Ahab
stands alone among the millions of the peopled earth, nor gods nor men
his neighbors” (582).
Seeing Moby Dick sparked Ahab’s emotions. To his faithful first
mate, Ahab reveals his failures as a man. He tells him how he deserted
his wife and child for the sea, and now that he is old he regrets it.
If Ahab were to start over again, he would most likely spend more time
with his family and less chasing the legend of Moby Dick. Starbuck
tried to convince Ahab to turn the ship around and head for Nantucket,
leaving Moby Dick behind. Ahab can’t allow himself to do this, however,
it is too late to forget about the whale. If it weren’t for Moby Dick,
Ahab would have no purpose in life. Without him, there would be an
enormous void in his entire existence.
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