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Author Name: Alec Muffett
This story was originally published on allecmuffett.com. [1]
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Captain Ahab & the White Whale in Moby Dick

2023-05

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Summary of Captain Ahab's Relationship with the White Whale

Most people who have heard of Herman Melville's classic Moby-Dick will be familiar with its central story, which is Captain Ahab's relentless pursuit of the White Whale. In fact, Captain Ahab and Moby Dick have become synonymous with the idea of obsession; you might hear someone say something like, 'oh, that's his white whale,' which usually means that it is the object of someone's obsession. In Moby-Dick, Ahab is the captain of the whaling ship Pequod, which sails around the world in pursuit of whales. Ahab, however, is focused on locating one particular whale: the White Whale who was responsible for the loss of Ahab's leg. Ahab longs to find the White Whale and get revenge for the leg he lost.

First Introduction to Ahab

It takes the reader, and indeed the crew within the book, quite some time to meet Ahab. As the ship is prepared and first leaves the port, Ahab is still talked about as a mysterious figure that is on board but has yet to be seen. When we do finally meet Ahab in Chapter 28, we immediately get the impression of a man who is very much not at peace. Ahab is described as pacing the deck, staring out to sea, and generally looking so stern that those around him feel uneasy and ill. Ishmael, our narrator, offers the description:

'There was an infinity of firmest fortitude, a determinate, unsurrenderable wilfulness, in the fixed and fearless, forward dedication of that glance... And not only that, but Ahab stood before them with a crucifixion in his face; in all the nameless regal overbearing dignity of some mighty woe.'

At this stage, we don't know the cause of Ahab's uneasiness, but we know that he is haunted.

Ahab Tells His Story to the Crew

Finally, in Chapter 36, Ahab explains to the crew his history with the White Whale and asks for their support in his mission to exact revenge.

Analysis of Ahab's Perspective on the White Whale

In Ahab's descriptions of the White Whale, it is striking that he discusses the whale as though he's talking about a person. Even if this does not strike every reader, it certainly strikes other characters in the story, who comment on this point from time to time. For example, in Chapter 36 when Ahab is telling the crew about his - and their - quest to find Moby Dick, Starbuck comments on the strange way that Ahab discusses a whale, 'Vengeance on a dumb brute!' cried Starbuck, 'that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous.' The description of 'madness' does not seem far from the mark, especially as the story continues and it becomes clearer and clearer that Ahab's obsession never wavers.

Anthropomorphizing the White Whale

Part of Starbuck's objection to the way that Ahab talks about Moby Dick is based on the fact that Ahab ascribes motives to a whale that an animal couldn't possibly have. When people look at animals in this way, ascribing human tendencies to them, this is known as anthropomorphizing. Part of Ahab's obsession for revenge comes from the fact that he believes the White Whale deliberately injured him, just like a human would, and cannot look at him as simply an animal who behaved as animals do.

Two Captains and a Whale

Ahab's obsession with revenge against Moby Dick is contrasted with another captain's much healthier perspective on the whale in the second half of Moby Dick. The crew of the Pequod meets Captain Boomer, a man who has lost an arm to the White Whale. Boomer tells them his story and adds that he has given up hunting the White Whale. Even when he comes across Moby Dick, he lets him go on his way, as he would rather not lose more of himself to the whale.

After Captain Boomer tells his story about Moby Dick, a member of his crew, Bunger, explains yet again that the White Whale couldn't possibly be intending to hurt anyone. He says, 'So that what you take for the White Whale's malice is only his awkwardness. For he never means to swallow a single limb; he only thinks to terrify by feints.'
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