Pequod

The twisting limbs of the sea toss the floating world along it’s back, allowing it to pluck from its depths light to fuel its ventures in search of the scorn of the seas. The “world” spoken of- a damned whaling ship, marked by the foreboding albatross for a watery death at the hands of wrathful God. Captained by wickedness and run by figures of the Old Testament, the ship Herman Melville uses biblical allusions in revenge tragedy, Moby Dick to illustrate the eventual fates of the crew aboard the Pequod and flesh out each character's perception and emotions. Ishmael acts as the reader's keyhole view into the tumultuous relationships aboard the Pequod. Despite Ishmael's constant presence and analysis of those around him, he leaves himself…

maintained on the Pequod. The Pequod is like a microcosm of a diverse America except that its best whalemen are non-white Islanders (Melville 123). The fact that non-whites can be superior to whites debunks the notion that white is the pinnacle of good and challenges the readers to associate the color black with capability, leadership, and success. In fact, it is the great white whale and not the non-white sailors that Ahab fears. The grandiose creature represents the pinnacle of every good in…

Ahab, is a whaling captain. He is fixated on killing and conquering a huge white whale that had bitten off his leg in a previous encounter. Though his manic behavior may be regarded by some as a sign of greatness, this is not the case. Instead, Captain Ahab’s character is that of a revenge-obsessed, egotistical, and mentally unstable man. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator explains that Captain Ahab paces the deck of his ship, the Pequod, with his ivory leg. He does this so often, in…

In Herman Melville’s timeless novel, Moby Dick, Captain Ahab of the ship Pequod convinces his crew to join him on a quest for revenge against Moby Dick, the whale that devoured his leg, which ends in the death of every crew member but one. To Ahab’s chief mate, Starbuck, this quest seems dangerous and impossible, but the rest of the crew enthusiastically takes part due to Ahab’s mastery of persuasive tactics. In chapter 36, “The Quarter-Deck,” from pages 232-235, Captain Ahab uses a combination…

As Said argues, “[The] Pequod’s crew is a highly differentiated set of individuals and a representation of America’s races, clans, religions; the novel contains an obsessively personal as well as a national trajectory” (“Introduction to Moby-Dick” 366-67). Said continues, “Yet for Melville, America’s society was not as settled, established, and patterned as Europe’s; nearly everyone in it was, if not an immigrant, traceable to immigrant stock” (“Introduction to Moby-Dick” 365). If we assume the…

Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby Dick, is a well-known tale describing how vengeance ultimately leads to despair and death. The book takes a very critical look at its characters motivations and its overlying message extends far beyond its plot. The novel primarily focuses on the titular whale and the man hunting it, the rest of the characters upstaged by the themes expressed by the duo. The author's most intricate character, by far, has to be the forceful To summarize the events up the…

Reactions to events are an important part in today’s world. From tragedy and horror to miracles and joy, everyone has their own unique reaction to an event. There are many examples of how characters react to events in every novel. Reactions can completely change the opinion of someone or something. The story, Moby Dick, has many positive and negative reactions that take place during different events. One example of a positive reaction is that Ahab wants to hunt down and kill the whale that took…

“I don't wanna be another wave in the ocean” lyrics truncated from Bon Jovi song Because We Can. He is expressing that people need to take a stand and not just float by like a wave. The singer is refusing to go along with the flow of life anymore. Displaying he is not conforming to following the masses, going through the motions and relationships. The word wave has many different meanings, but they all have to do with an undulating motion or shape. First, a wave is a disturbance on the surface…

For my analysis, the story that I've chosen is the Kraken by Arthur Lord Tennyson. The poem itself is derivative of the Norse legend of the creature, a more than giant squid-like monster that was rumored to live off the coasts of Norway and Greenland. It is said that the legend of the Kraken is most likely based on sightings of giant squids, who - like the Kraken - lay in the depths, but have reportedly surfaced in order to cause havoc and attack sailing vessels. It is often the victim of wild…

In his novel Moby-Dick, Herman Melville exposes humankind’s ingrained lust to conquer the natural world through the narrative of a doomed whaling voyage. A Dark Romantic, Melville seeks to depict the inner turmoil of humanity and the innate evil of mankind. The titular whale Moby-Dick represents nature and serves to prove that man can never overcome the power of earth. Melville portrays Moby-Dick as an indestructible whale with incredible strength and invincible might. Ahab has previously…