appears on the Pequod's decks, and makes Ishmael wax sentimental about the
heroism in sailing into the deeps.
In the chapter called The Advocate, Ishmael defends the whaling profession
in a series of arguments and responses. Whaling is a heroic business, he
says, that is economically crucial (for the oil) and has resulted in
geographical discovery. He finds the utmost dignity in whaling: a subject
of good genealogy, worthy enough for Biblical writers and also educational.
These, he says, are facts. He can't praise sperm whaling enough and even
suggests that sperm oil has been used to anoint kings because it is the
best, purest, and sweetest.
In the chapter called Knights and Squires, we meet the mates and their
lieutenants. The first mate, Starbuck, is a pragmatic, reliable
Nantucketer. Speaking about Starbuck leads Ishmael to carry on about the
working man and democratic equality. The pipe-smoking second mate Stubb, a
native of Cape Cod, is always cool under pressure and has "impious good
humor."
Third mate Flask, a native of Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard, is a short,
stocky fellow with a confrontational attitude and no reverence for the
dignity of the whale. He is nicknamed "King-Post" because he resembles the
short, square timber known by that name in Arctic whalers. Already
introduced, Queequeg is Starbuck's harpooner. Stubb's "squire" is Tashtego,
"an unmixed Indian from Gay Head" (Martha's Vineyard). Flask's harpooner is
Daggoo, "a gigantic, coal-black negro-savage" from Africa with an imperial
bearing.
The rest of the crew is also mostly international. But, says Ishmael, all
these "Isolatoes" are "federated along one keel" and unified by
accompanying Ahab. Ishmael also makes small mention of Pip, a poor Alabama
boy who beats a tambourine on ship.
Ahab finally appears on deck and Ishmael observes closely. He sees Ahab as
a very strong, willful figure, though his encounter with the whale has
scarred him. Certainly, Ahab seems a bit psychologically troubled. Ahab's
relationship to others on the boat is one of total dictatorship. When Stubb
complains about Ahab's pacing, Ahab calls him a dog and advances on him.
Stubb retreats. The next morning, Stubb wakes up and explains to Flask that
he had a dream that Ahab kicked him with his ivory leg. (The title of this
chapter, Queen Mab, refers to Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, in
which the character Mercutio talks about weird dreams.)
Chapters 32-40
"Cetology," as Ishmael explains, is "the science of whales." In the
Cetology chapter and subsequent cetology- like chapters in the book,
Ishmael tries to dissect whales scientifically. After including some
quotations from previous writers on the whale, Ishmael says he here
attempts a "draught" (draft) of a whale classification system that others
can revise. He divides the whales into books and chapters (like today's
Linnaean system that includes genus and species). His first subject is the
sperm whale. At the end of the chapter, he pronounces it a "drought of a
draught." The Specksynder is another cetology-like chapter in that it tries
to dissect the whaling industry. Beginning with trivia about the changing
role of the specksynder (literally, "fat-cutter"), who used to be chief
harpooneer and captain, Ishmael moves on to a discussion of leadership
styles, particularly that of royal or imperial leaders.
The chapter called The Cabin-Table returns to the plot, showing the ship's
offcers at dinner. This is a rigid afiair over which Ahab presides. After
the offcers finish, the table is re-laid for the harpooneers. Then Ishmael
discusses his first post on the mast-head watching for whales. He writes a
history of mast-heads and their present role on a whaling ship. Ishmael,
who can rarely stick only to one subject or one level of thinking,
discusses metaphorical meanings of what he sees. Then, in the chapter
called The Quarter-Deck, he returns to narrative plot, dramatizing Ahab's
first offcial appearance before the men. Ahab's call and response tests the
crew, checking whether they know what to do, and unites them under his
leadership.
Presenting a Spanish gold doubloon, he proclaims. "Whosoever of ye raises
me a white-headed whale with a wrinkled brow and a crooked jaw; whosoever
of ye raises me that while-headed whale, with three holes punctured in his
starboard uke - look ye, whosoever of ye raises that same white whale, he
shall have this gold ounce, my boys!" The men cheer. Ahab then confesses,
in response to Starbuck's query, that it was indeed this white whale Moby
Dick who took off his leg, and announces his quest to hunt him down. The
men shout together that they will hunt with Ahab, though Starbuck protests.
Ahab then begins a ritual that binds the crew together. He fills a cup with
alcohol and everyone on the ship drinks from that agon. Telling the
harpooners to cross their lances before him, Ahab grasps the weapons and
anoints Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo "my three pagan kinsmen there -yon
three most honorable gentlemen and noble men." He then makes them take the
iron off of the harpoons to use as drinking goblets. They all drink
together while Ahab proclaims, "God hunt us all, if we do not hunt Moby
Dick to his death!"
Another chapter beginning with a stage direction, Sunset is a melancholy
monologue by Ahab. He says that everyone thinks he is mad and he agrees
somewhat. He self- consciously calls himself "demoniac" and "madness
maddened." Even though he seems to be the one orchestrating events, he does
not feel in control: "The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails,
whereon my soul is grooved to run." Dusk is Starbuck's monologue. Though he
feels that it will all come out badly, he feels inextricably bound to Ahab.
When he hears the revelry coming from the crew's forecastle, he laments the
whole, doomed voyage. First Night-Watch is Stubb's monologue, giving
another perspective on the voyage. Midnight, Forecastle is devoted to the
jolly men who take turns showing off and singing together. They get into a
fight when the Spanish Sailor makes fun of Daggoo. The onset of a storm,
however, stops their fighting and makes them tend to the ship.
Chapters 41-47
Summary
Ishmael is meditative again, starting with a discussion of the white
whale's history. Rumors about Moby Dick are often out of control, he says,
because whale fishermen "are by all odds the most directly brought into
contact with whatever is appallingly astonishing in the sea; face to face
they not only eye its greatest marvels, but, hand to jaw, give battle to
them." It is easy to attach metaphorical meaning or make up legend about
dangerously intense, life-threatening experiences. Ishmael is skeptical,
though, about assertions that Moby Dick is immortal. He admits that there
is a singular whale called Moby Dick who is distinguished by his "peculiar
snow-white wrinkled forehead, and a high, pyramidical white hump" and that
this whale is known to have destroyed boats in a way that seems
"intelligent." No wonder Ahab hates the white whale, says Ishmael, since it
does seem that Moby Dick did it out of spite.
Intertwined with Moby Dick's history is Ahab's personal history. When the
white whale took off Ahab's leg, the whale became to Ahab "the monomaniac
incarnation of all those malicious agencies which some deep men feel eating
in them, till they are left living on with half a heart and half a lung."
Ahab's reaction was to magnify the symbolism of the whale: the whale didn't
just take off his leg, but represents everything that he hates and
everything that torments him. Ahab went crazy on the trip home, says
Ishmael, though he tried to appear sane.
The Whiteness of the Whale turns from what Moby Dick means to Ahab, to what
it means to Ishmael. Above all, he says, it is the whiteness of the whale
that appalls him. (Note Ishmael's pun{the root of the word "appall"
literally means to turn white.) Ishmael begins his cross-cultural
discussion of "whiteness" by saying how much it has been idealized as
virtue or nobility.
To him, however, the color white only multiplies terror when it is attached
with any object "terrible" in itself.
After a short dramatic scene (Hark!) where the sailors say to each other
that they think there may be something or someone in the after-hold,
Ishmael returns to an examination of Ahab in The Chart. Because Ahab
believes that his skill with charts will help him locate Moby Dick, Ishmael
discusses how one might scientifically track a whale. In The Afidavit,
Ishmael explains in organized form "the natural verity of the main points
of this afiair." He realizes that this story seems preposterous in many
ways and wants to convince the reader that his story is real by listing the
"true" bases for this story in quasi-outline form (first, personal
experiences, then tales of whale fishermen or collective memory, and
finally books). He then looks at why people may not believe these stories.
Perhaps readers haven't heard about the perils or vivid adventures in the
whaling industry, he says. Or maybe they do not understand the immensity of
the whale. He asks that the audience use "human reasoning" when judging his
story.
The chapter called Surmises returns the focus to Ahab, considering how the
captain will accomplish his revenge. Because Ahab must use men as his
tools, Ahab has to be very careful. How can he motivate them? Ahab can
appeal to their hearts, but also he knows that cash will keep them going.
Ahab further knows that he has to watch that he does not leave himself open
to charges of "usurpation." That is, he has to follow standard operating
procedure, lest he give his offcers reason to overrule him.
The Mat-Maker returns to the plot. Ishmael describes slow, dreamy
atmosphere on the ship when they are not after a whale. He and Queequeg are
making a sword-mat, and, in a famous passage, likens their weaving to work
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