Throughout this class, us as students have not only been brushing up on our analyzing skills but ultimately have been pushed to back up our interpretations for the chapters of Moby Dick. Now that this class has ended, I’ve realized that chapter 100 of Moby Dick where we are introduced to Captain Boomer who also lost a limb from the infamous whale, connects to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s The American Scholar. Emerson pushed on the idea that student’s individual thoughts and ideas stem from our authentic self not to copy or repeat ideas from others. Thus reaching to a conclusion that our own interpretation of a text while different is respectable. Much like Ahab’s own interpretation of his loss of a limb was a personal attack whereas Captain Boomer’s interpretation was that the bite he endured was from an animal, which is something animals do. This reassures the idea that no text or experience will be interpreted the same by each individual. Two people can go through the same experiences yet the mindset they have will determine how they feel they were affected by that experience or text.
In this chapter, Melville introduces another captain, Captain Boomer, as a man who also lost a limb from the Moby Dick as well. However for this character, the lost limb is from the upper half of the body. Losing an arm is different from losing a leg, both tragic of course, but yet one of them lost more stability than the other. That is exactly what Ahab lost, stability, not only physically but mentally. During the discussion of the capturing of the sperm whale he asks the captain boomer if he was able to catch him the second time he saw him, to which he responds, “Didn’t want to try to; ain’t one limb enough? What should I do without this other arm?”(481) Captain Boomer cannot fathom why he would want to try again because he could risk losing another arm and to be without one arm is already bad enough. He emphasizes this to Ahab as if it is something that he can relate to and begins wondering why he should jeopardize himself like that again for he knows that in comparison to the bite of a whale, he simply cannot compete. In Emerson’s The American Scholar, Emerson speaks not the past stating “The next great influence into the spirit of the scholar, is, the mind of the Past,–in whatever form, whether of literature, of art, of institutions, that mind is inscribed. Books are the best type of the influence of the past, and perhaps we shall get at the truth,–learn the amount of this influence more conveniently,–by considering their value alone.” While Emerson is talking about learning from the past from different forms, ultimately to reach the truth. The truth being the “value” that the info outlet had at the time, during what time it was written, etc. All the details that can sometimes be brushed over are important to gain an honest interpretation and perspective of what one might be learning about. Much like this interaction between Captain Boomer and Ahab, Ahab is learning the details of what happened to Boomer and he is attentive to the value of this information. They are their own books, waiting to be read and understood.
Captain Boomer continues his discussion with Ahab stating, “And I’m thinking Moby Dick doesn’t bite so much as he swallows.” (481) Boomer believes that the bite form the whale is not within the same context of satisfactory as it might be for other animals and as it is for humans when eating their favorite food. If the whale had wanted to hurt a human with intention it would have gone in for a second bite, it could have easily devoured the human considering the difference in size. With the back up of his crewmate Bunger saying “…it is quite impossible for him to completely digest even a man’s arm? And he knows it too. So that what you take for the White Whale’s malice is only his awkwardness.”(481) Bunger further attests to the belief that the whale’s bites are not ill intended, for his “awkwardness” is just being a whale. It is part of being a whale and should have been taken into consideration when whaling. Apart from adapting to the ocean, whalers are to consider the living beings in their home. The ocean is the home of the whale and the men on the boat are invading their boundary by not only being there but in their attempt to capture them for human benefit. Boomer and Bungers beliefs come from their time dealing with whales. As Emerson takes on wisdom he explains “Of course, he who has put forth his total strength in fit actions, has the richest return of wisdom.” The time spent understanding the whale and knowing that the animal is just doing what an animal does has been beneficial to their whaling journey. As they do not try to continue to poke at the whale and instead just respect it from a distance.
The difference between these men and Ahab’s beliefs is evident through their conversation and during the end of the conversation Ahab still insists that “But he will still be hunted, for all that. What is best alone, that accursed thing is not always what least allures.”(482) Ahab feels a huge amount of anger towards “thing” and is compelling him like a magnet to find him and punish the whale. For Ahab to say “still be hunted, for all that.” Even after the other captain shared his experience with the whale it shows that the conversation did not have any affect on him. Amplifying his revenge, Ahab decided to add the loss of limb from another captain to the mental list of reasons why is seeking this whale. His anger is so strong that Bunger even points out, “this man’s blood—bring the thermometer!—it’s at the boiling point!—his pulse makes these planks beat!—sir!”(482) During this discussion of the infamous sperm whale, it becomes evident to the other captain and outsiders that Ahab’s anger towards the whale is very irrational and crazed. These men are terrified to even see the anger vibrating off Ahab just from talking about the creature. The captains do not see eye to eye in regard to this situation and while one of them shares compassion for the whale and is at peace with not pursuing the capture of Moby Dick, Ahab is not on the same page. Melville captures the feelings on paper in a way to make the readers understand just how much of a difference the circumstance can be for each individual regardless of a shared experience. Much like Ahab’s mentality in this situation, Emerson states “In this distribution of functions, the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men’s thinking” Emerson believed to think that the right way of thinking is to think for yourself, or as he puts it “man thinking” doing so you avoid becoming a “mere thinker/parrot of other men’s thinking” Even after Ahab had a discussion with the other captain who had a similar experience to him, he did not change his mind about how he felt. He was still angry and wanted to seek out revenge. Ahab is a perfect example of a man who thinks for himself, as his opinion did not falter and continued the same even after hearing others opinions.
Closing off, Melville’s choice to write about Ahab and Boomer’s expereince being similar yet have different reactions towards the whale shows that sometimes two people cannot feel the same about the same situation. Much like Emerson’s The American Scholar who pushes the idea of individuality coming from our own interpretation of books, film, etc. Ahab chose to exemplify this in the chapter, he did not change his mind about how he felt despite the wisdom from Boomer. He interpreted the whale attack as a personal attack, thus seeking out revenge whereas Boomer had no ill intention for the whale.
Works Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Emerson–“The American Scholar”, archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/essays/amscholar.html. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
Melville, Herman. Moby Dick. Penguin Books, 2020.