“I came to hunt whales, not my commander’s vengeance” (177)
Ahab is very hungry; he is hungry for revenge, which is hilarious because he thinks he will find “Moby Dick,” but he won’t. He might find a big white whale, but he isn’t going to find thee whale. It shows how this isn’t business for Ahab, it’s a personal trip. He isn’t here to make friends or family; this is his lifeline, finding Moby Dick to have his revenge. He is too hungry, he is a dictator, he is mean and so rude to everyone but himself but when it comes down to it, he needs the shipmates help, because of his legacy, he think he deserves this hierarchy. Everyone is sacred of him including Ishmael, even if doesn’t say it. instead of Ahad leading and being apart of a team, he is by himself, he has changed the mission and has bribed the crew to gain “trust”. Ahad is overly obsessed with finding and killing Moby dick, its pathetic. Ishmael is the only one who can see it, to me, sees how Ahad isn’t a nobel leader but a whale king. I guess not all things nobel are melancholy.
I wonder if Ahab is lonely and hates himself?
I am also curious about Ahab’s villain arc that makes him want to kill this big white whale. Ishmael seems to be very aware of the ridiculous mission, but sees whaling as a passion. I think this dynamic and thinking about Ahab this way gives Ishmael individual agency despite being seen as one of the many ‘machines’ that generates production in the nation. Melville uses Ishmael to call out the nation’s greed on capitalism and social hierarchy overall. But, you bring up a good point because I wonder if Melville will use Ahab’s origin narrative in a more unexpected way than him just being petty about a whale. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sam. I do think that Ahab hates himself. I’m not sure if it is because he is lonely. I think he hates what the whale has turned him into: “a peg legging lubber”. His hate for himself is turned outward onto the whale. There is a reason he can’t soothe himself anymore, he just hates himself.