...Moby Dick: A Judgment of Ahab’s Character Everyone is responsible for their own actions; moreover, fate is just a scapegoat if something goes wrong. Captain Ahab, a character in the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville, is a victim of his own negligent actions. As a result, he faces an unfortunate death from the fury of the white whale. Ahab places all of his hate on the whale, whom is later referred to as Moby Dick, because he lost a leg to him. In his eyes, Moby Dick represents all of the hatred and evil in the world, and that he must go and destroy it. Yet, he is fully responsible for his own death due to the fact that he overlooked the warning signs that Nature and God provided for him, lacked communication between him and his shipmates, and preferred to be isolated from the crew in order to fuel his monomaniac conscience to put Moby Dick to his death. Because Ahab is the captain of the ship, he assumed that he ultimately had higher authority than God. God, in his mind, was in the wrong, by letting Moby Dick “dismember” (Melville 161) him; leading into Captain Ahab’s growing fixation with the beast. While being infatuated with Moby Dick, he is forced to ignore the obvious signs from Nature that were telling him to change his plans if he desired to live. However, Ahab chose to ignore the warning signs that were thrown at him throughout the novel. One omen that Ahab chose to pay no heed to was when the Pequod “was left to fight a Typhoon which had struck it directly ahead”...
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...Ahab’s Leg and Moby Dick Melville uses symbolism in his novel Moby Dick to express his theme. Anti-Transcendentalism plays a large role in his writing as well. Captain Ahab’s leg is a symbol used to express natures mark on man along with anti-transcendentalist ideas. Melville also uses Moby Dick to represent man vs nature. Captain Ahab’s leg and Moby Dick represent anti-transcendentalist ideas and are symbols throughout the story. Captain Ahab is the captain of the Pequod whaling ship in the story. The singular purpose of the Captain’s whaling mission is to hunt down and kill a whale name Moby Dick. In his previous encounter with Moby Dick the Captain lost his leg to the whale. In place of his real leg the Captain has a prosthetic leg made of out whale bone. The Captain’s bone leg has quite a few meanings. It represents struggle to readjust to life, the want for vengeance, and anger. The Captain wants to invoke vengeance on Moby Dick because of his unrightful taking of his leg. This strong anger towards Moby Dick makes him obsessed on getting revenge. He offers a reward to all of the crew members aboard the boat for whoever kills Moby Dick; “Whosoever of ye raises me a while headed whale, with three holes punctured in his starboard fluke - look ye, whosoever of ye raises me that same white whale, he shall have this gold ounce, my boys” (Melville 4). This reward offering shows that the Captain will go to the ends of the sea and back in order to have Moby Dick killed. This...
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...proved to be a genius of his own, with his many works such as Moby Dick, Billy Bud, and Bartleby. Three distinct themes could be seen throughout most of his literature; whales and the whaling industry, commentary on the universe and human destiny, and ideas about God and nature. Moby Dick is an incredible work by Melville most often referred to as an epic, a tragedy, a novel, an exposition on the whaling, and a spiritual autobiography. It is often overlooked that a deeper, more symbolic, meaning may have been the driving force behind Moby Dick. Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819, to Allan and Maria Melville. He was the third of eight children in the Melville family. He was generally described as silent and slow; his mother thought him to be a very dull child. In 1832 Melville suffered tragedy when his father died. Finishing school when he was fifteen, Melville took service as cabin boy aboard the St. Lawrence. After returning to his home in New York for some time after serving as cabin boy, Melville took berth as an ordinary seaman aboard a whaling ship called the Acushnet. After approximately four and a half years as a seaman on various ships, he set down, again in New York, to write of his experiences. Within six years he had published five books. Shortly thereafter Melville was married and moved his family to a farm near Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It was at this location where Moby Dick was written. Moby Dick was first published in 1851. Melville continued to write...
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...I believe Frederick Douglass would find Melville’s chapter 42 of Moby Dick, titled “The Whiteness of the Whale,” most compelling. Moby Dick’s whiteness may symbolize nobility, virtue, fear, and racial superiority. We learn that most men fear Moby Dick, and Ishmael focuses on the fear his color creates amongst them. This all correlates with the fear of the unknown and fear of the white man. I say this because of Ahab’s relationship with the whale. Moby Dick took away his leg, which is a representation of his inability to fully assimilate into society, just as slaves had a hard time becoming equal citizens. Ahab’s missing leg can parallel to the missing rights of slaves that white man has taken away. Also I found the way Melville speaks about...
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...Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Limits of Knowledge As Ishmael tries, in the opening pages of Moby-Dick, to offer a simple collection of literary excerpts mentioning whales, he discovers that, throughout history, the whale has taken on an incredible multiplicity of meanings. Over the course of the novel, he makes use of nearly every discipline known to man in his attempts to understand the essential nature of the whale. Each of these systems of knowledge, however, including art, taxonomy, and phrenology, fails to give an adequate account. The multiplicity of approaches that Ishmael takes, coupled with his compulsive need to assert his authority as a narrator and the frequent references to the limits of observation (men cannot see the depths of the ocean, for example), suggest that human knowledge is always limited and insufficient. When it comes to Moby Dick himself, this limitation takes on allegorical significance. The ways of Moby Dick, like those of the Christian God, are unknowable to man, and thus trying to interpret them, as Ahab does, is inevitably futile and often fatal. The Deceptiveness of Fate In addition to highlighting many portentous or foreshadowing events, Ishmael’s narrative contains many references to fate, creating the impression that the Pequod’s doom is inevitable. Many of the sailors believe in prophecies, and some even claim the ability to foretell the...
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...Moby-Dick is one of the most controversial and entertaining books known. Along with the book the themes are also extremely entertaining. Herman Melville is the outstanding mind behind this masterpiece. Herman Melville included the powerful theme of defiance, the worshipping theme of duty, and sorrowful theme of death. This book showed both respect for nature along with respect-less people. Throughout Mr. Melville showed his great mind along with his writing skills. Defiance is one of the numerous major themes of this book. One of the most defiant of all of the characters is Ahab. Ahab want to be so much more of a person than what he really and truly is (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). This fact that he can not be drives him crazy throughout the...
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...Herman Melville is certainly a prodigy when it comes to writing. He was a part of time in American history where inspiring works of literature began to emerge. It was also a time when American writers had not completely separated its literary heritage from Europe, partly because there were successful literary genius flourishing there. He never received hardly any credit for any of his works. Melville wrote such novels as Moby-Dick, and Billy Budd. He also wrote about things that he knew about. He wrote about his own experiences. The one thing that he loved, and knew the most about was whaling. During Herman’s childhood he lived in the good neighborhoods of New York City. In 1832 he suffered tragedy when his father died after trying to cope with the stress of debts and misfortunes. After a short time in a business house in New York City, Herman determined he needed to go to sea. He spent years traveling on a variety of ships, including whaling ships. Melville s perspective on life is that God created the universe with an infinite number of meanings and man is always trying to determine one specific meaning. The lessons that Melville is likely to weave into his writing are: an exposition on whales and the whaling industry, a commentary on the universe and human destiny, and thoughts about God and Nature. As he wrote Melville became conscious of deeper powers. In 1849 he began a systematic study of Shakespeare, pondering the bard's intuitive grasp of human nature...
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...Symbolism in Literature In literature, symbolism is used to provide meaning to the writing beyond what is actually being described. The plot and action that take place in a story can be thought of as one level, while the symbolism of certain things in the writing acts on another level to enhance the story. It is a product of the culture of the day and reveals the culture in return. Symbolism can take place by having the theme of a story represented on a physical level. A simple example might be the occurrence of a storm at a critical point, when there are conflicts or high emotions. The storm might symbolize these. Similarly a transition from day to night, or spring to winter, could symbolize a move from goodness to evil, or hope to despair. A river in a scene could represent the flow of life, from birth to death. Flowers can symbolize youth or beauty. Take The Loons as an example, it is just a typical novel with symbolism from beginning till the end, with “the loons” throughout as a symbol of Piquette. Through the parallel of loons and Piquette, it is easy to find their common inability to change themselves and their environment——loons are unable to adapt to modern human invasion; Piquette is unable to escape the cultural stereotypes imposed on her. The novel reflects the ecological and ethical crises between man and nature and among humans for conquest and criticizes the power ideology embodied in the crises. Vanessa casually describes Piquette’s tuberculosis...
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...Respect for Nature: An Eco-critical Read of Moby-Dick Abstract There are many conflicting ideas concerning Moby-Dick. One of the major themes in Moby-Dick is alienation between man and man, man and society, and man and nature. Melville in Moby-Dick deals with the fight between man and nature, specifically speaking, the fight between Captain Ahab together with the crew on the whaling ship Pequod and the white whale Moby Dick. The book is an allegorical tragedy. Melville forewarned that if man relentlessly exploited and challenged nature like Captain Ahab, nature would punish us human beings. Man’s conquest and control on nature will leads to crisis. The harmonious relationship in ecosystem should be built. Human beings should respect nature and take proper advantage of nature, which could help avoid the ruin of the entire human beings. Introduction Moby-Dick, one of the greatest symbolic novels, is the masterpiece of Herman Melville. It displays the severe struggle between man and nature in American literature. And also there are many conflicting ideas concerning it. Moby-Dick is a vivid description of man’s encroachment on nature. The novel is generally regarded as an encyclopedia of many things: cetology, history, philosophy, religion and so on. Because of this, many reviews on this book from different points of view appear, such as from the point of view of psychology to reveal man’s psychic confusion as Ahab’s monomaniac syndrome; of the problems of identity...
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...In the novel Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, a microcosm lives in the Pequod. Throughout the story, the microcosm is apparent in the control and superiority of Captain Ahab, friendship, religion, and the struggles of good and evil. The Pequod symbolizes the views, actions, thoughts, and the various types of people in the world. Ahab’s power and authority show that he is the leader in this small world. He conjures allegiance and fear out of the crew. Dagoo, Tashtego, and Queequeg are the minorities on the ship(for obvious reasons) and represent the minorities of the world. They band together when one is in danger. Starbuck is very religious and portrays the devout of the world. His faith and reverence keep him sane during the long journey. The rest of the crew depicts the average people of the world. They show how gullible and vulnerable we can be sometimes. To win over the crew, Ahab uses his knowledge of human nature to coax them into helping him with his vengeance. The first thing he does is nails the gold doubloon to the mast and promises it to the first man to see Moby Dick. By doing so, he makes them remember what their reward will be when they see the whale. Next he gives them rum to reach the gluttonous side of man. This shows that we are weak and give in to pleasure. After that he cuts his palm, squeezes the blood out, drips it in the rum and tells them to drink it. This shows Ahab trying to get to the religious aspect of man by having them drink his blood...
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...reproduction within our humanity. Children of Adam gives our lives true purpose and sheds light on the importance of love and procreation. After reading his poetry, it resurrected a thought I had during our class discussions. We live an endless paradox where life cannot hope to exist without death, good without evil, day without night, and so on. “The oath of procreation I have sworn, my Adamic and fresh daughters, The greed that eats me day and night with hungry gnaw, till I saturate what shall produce boys to fill my place when I am through” (p.2208). Compared to our vast universe, a human being may seem insignificant, yet we hold the key to restoration and preservation of our societal life cycle. Whitman’s poems paralleled the bible when he referred to God’s love for Adam and Eve that was so great, it drove to their creation for his Garden of Eden. “Ages and ages, returning at intervals, Undestroy’d, wandering immortal, Lusty phallic, with the potent original loins, perfectly sweet, I chanter of Adamic songs” (Bartleby). Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s only wish, which led to the first sin of mankind. As a result, they were cast out of paradise for their betrayal. From a religious standpoint, admitting their sin was a step towards...
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...Pequod's. Long before his first appearance, there is an air of mystery about him. When the narrator Ishmael inquires about the captain, he is told that Ahab is a man of few words but deep meaning. From this we can see clearly that Ahab is a complicated character. When Ahab speaks, others will easily listen to him and be moved by his powerful persuasion. When the time he gathers the crewmen and requests their support in the purpose for the voyage: to hunt down and kill the White Whale, he asks a series of questions that call for collective responses, and then the crewmen are increasingly excited. In the end, all of the crewmen except for the first mate, Starbuck, are all in the monomaniacal goal of pursuing the White Whale. • Ahab vs. Moby-Dick When the first mate, Starbuck, accuses Ahab of blasphemy for seeking revenge against the White Whale, Ahab doesn’t consider it a vice. He once says that he would “strike the sun if it insulted me.” Ahab wants to take control of the nature. To him, the White Whale is the evil force which is his true enemy, and he believes that the evil force wants to injure him, to limit his role in the world. Ahab refuses to submit to any higher power. He does not worship or even acknowledge the superiority of forces beyond himself. Ahab is ungodly but god-like; perhaps he even wants to be God. • Ahab’s Fate But we can see a different side of Ahab when the day before the Pequod's first encounter with the White Whale...
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...100 Best First Lines from famous Novels 1. Call me Ishmael. —Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851) 2. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813) 3. A screaming comes across the sky. —Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow (1973) 4. Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. —Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967; trans. Gregory Rabassa) 5. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. —Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955) 6. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. —Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877; trans. Constance Garnett) 7. riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs. —James Joyce, Finnegans Wake (1939) 8. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. —George Orwell, 1984 (1949) 9. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) 10. I am an invisible man. —Ralph Ellison...
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...The Scars of War Lou Hampton United States History 1763-1877 September 18, 2012 During the 1840s and 1850s, great change was coming to America. Northerners lived in a world of change in which they hardly understood. Their confusions and anxieties of that world made them ready for conflict. However, it was not completely clear what they were fighting for. The war wiped away their confusions and revealed to them where they stood and defined what kind of people they might be. Social and economic changes were happening as the North headed toward war. The economy accelerated, increased output, generated more wealth, moved products and people at faster speeds, transmitted information more rapidly and linked distant places by rail, telegraph and newspapers. New inventions, industries and products had sprung to life. The population multiplied six fold and the amount and size of cities were continuing their growth. There were 400 places with over 2,500 people. Swelling its possibilities, the nation expanded in size when in 1845 Texas joined the Union. Another factor in the nation’s growth was in 1846 when the Oregon territorial boundary was settled. The sudden economic growth was not as beneficial as it seemed. Per capita wealth was growing but there was a decline in actual wages. The North controlled about 92 percent of the wealth. This helped fuel sectionalism because the Southerners became afraid that they would lose their own culture and power in Congress. This...
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...NORTH AMERICAN FICTION BRIEF INTRODUCTION: Before starting our study of American Fiction we must understand what American Literature is in itself and which pieces of writing we can include within this label. It is believed that when a piece is written in North America, more precisely in the USA, it would automatically be given this epithet. But it should be taken into account that this idea is quite broad and doesn’t reflect the real essence of the term. However, there is also another definition that gathers this essence: American Literature is the one that represents the Americanism, the singularity of the USA philosophy and culture. This way, instead of focusing on who the author is, it is focused on the content of the writing. In that which concerns Fiction, the following documents are the ones considered as narrative: Speeches Letters Short Stories Essays Political Documents Sermons Novels Diaries 1 FIRST LITERARY EXPRESSIONS The first documents in which the idea of Americanism is very present are the Sermons. They respond to the strict Protestantism settled in the New Continent after the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers and Puritans in the Mayflower (1620) and the Arabella (1630). They established a theocratic community whose main and only point of reference was the Bible. That is why the idea of the ‘city upon a hill’ is still very present in American mentality. As we all know...
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