In the middle of chapter 87, Ishmael is directly telling readers to understand the importance of killing a sperm whale by saying: “Stick to the boat, Pip, or by the Lord, I won’t pick you up if you jump; mind that. We can’t afford to lose whales by the likes of you; a whale would sell for thirty times what you would, Pip, in Alabama. Bear that in mind, and don’t jump anymore. Hereby, perhaps Stubb indirectly hinted that though man loves his fellow, yet man is a money-making animal, which propensity too often interferes with his benevolence.” (Melville 452). 

This passage highlights how a sperm whale is such a rare creature, and by hunting it, humans are exploiting the very essence of a whale, which is oil, to gain profit from it. This also reflects on the problem of slavery, where Melville is creating an analogy between the hunt for the whales and the hunt for the escaped slaves to teach readers to think critically about how humans exploiting whales is similar to humans using slaves for labor. Through this connection, Melville points out the truth that whales were never enemies. It was the humans who did all the hunting, all the killing, and all of the exploitation that they could get their hands on, while reflecting the problem of slaves being captured and sold for labor during that time period.

The mirroring of the hunt between whales and slaves was to tell readers that it was always about money. In this passage, Stubb said: “We can’t afford to lose whales by the likes of you” (452). He is referring to Pip as ‘the likes of you’, meaning he is very much annoyed by the fact that Pip keeps messing up everything. This attitude of Stubb is influenced by money, and when money controls you, nothing matters anymore, including the lives of people on that boat. The reason why the hunt between whales in the sea and slaves on land mirror each other is that both were used for the purpose of capitalism. Think about it, when people sell whales, they usually extract gallons of oil and sell it for consumers to use. When it comes to fugitive slaves, there are markets that people use for the slave trade. They use the auction block as a way to sell slaves to the wealthy for labor. In this case, the consumers and the wealthy are mirroring each other because they were meant to exploit, while whales and slaves are considered to be objects, things to be sold for the purpose of money. This is peak capitalism because businesses were meant to operate and make profits, while exploiting more and more valuable resources. 

Stubb was referred to as specifically a ‘money-making animal’ because he lost the human nature of showing his emotional side to others. In the passage, we get a glimpse of Stubb through Ishmael, where he said: “Hereby, perhaps Stubb indirectly hinted that though man loves his fellow, yet man is a money-making animal.” (Melville 452). The sea plays a huge factor here because it influenced Stubb, while using the values of a whale in order to lure Stubb in and show him the importance of money. Because money is power, and when power rises, that is when greed plays into hands. Humans will do whatever it takes to exploit their own resources. To them, nothing is ever enough, and they will keep talking until there is no resource left. In this passage, when Ishmael refers to Stubb, a human being to an animal, it means Stubb blindly follows money, like an animal blindly hunting its prey. He does not think meticulously like a human; instead, he seeks what he sees. In this case, a whale is all that Stubb sees, and when Pip interferes with him, Stubb literally threatens Pip that he is going to leave him behind because he is being too clumsy. Stubb only sees whales, which is why human lives do not matter to him. Stubb could leave a hundred Pip behind with no problem. The real problem here is that capitalism is what changed Stubb, and it made him into a money-making animal with no thinking at all.

With the analogy between the hunt for whales and the hunt for fugitive slaves, Melville is showing readers the truth of how whales were never the enemies. Humans are the reason why whales are being hunted. They are also the reason why slaves were captured and sold for labor. In the passage, Stubb told Pip: “We can’t afford to lose whales by the likes of you; a whale would sell for thirty times what you would, Pip, in Alabama. Bear that in mind, and don’t jump anymore.” (Melville 452). This particular phrase shows how undervalued a human life is when it is being compared to whales. However, a fugitive slave is different because they are worth being purchased over. You see, the humans, alongside their curiosity, led them to hunt, to explore, and to exploit everything that they could lay their hands on. This is important because all actions have consequences, and every action that they took, such as hunting whales, capturing slaves, led to exploitation and inequality among themselves. Nothing good comes out of it, and money is what influences all of them to do these things. Melville is letting readers know the danger behind these specific circumstances because he wants us to learn from it. It’s insane how Melville sees this happening way longer before we do, and we are too blinded by the fact that money is what empowers us when the truth is it’s been controlling us this whole time.

The whales did not do anything to us; it was we humans who endangered them first, and we are the threat to them. If we think about it, the whales were out in the sea, enjoying their own company and their own home, and all of a sudden, these aliens came out of nowhere, attacking them face-on. What would their response be? To fight back. They will fight back to defend themselves and their homes. This applies to the slaves on land as well because slaves are normal human beings, but because of their skin color, it made them turn into something that inferior to others, hence it was the assumption that those who are lesser are not considered to be a human being, and that makes them view slaves as less than a human and more than an object. But money plays the real game because both the whales and slaves are worth something, and humans did what they could, which is to exploit and deceive in order to get more money. Greed, selfishness, and assumption are what influence humans. 

This is why it has come to the conclusion that humans were different due to these factors. I do believe that Melville succeeded in letting people know the importance of it because humans do learn from their mistakes. In today’s society, we have learned that racism stems mainly from slavery, and we have moved away from it. We learned about sustainability and how resources have been exploited for a really long time. We came up with alternatives in order to hunt and farm more sustainably. This tells readers that humans can be changed for the better, and we should have done it a long time ago if we all understood what Melville is trying to say through this novel. But I am glad we saw this mistake beforehand and are trying to fix it.

What is one’s true purpose in life? There are many questions that pop into my head while reading Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, and I can not help but wonder about this particular question: Is there a purpose in life? Or we just keep chasing one thing after another, like our lives depend on it. This novel not only gives me the confusion of the story and its characters, but it also makes me question the true purpose of life. I keep asking myself why on earth someone would be ready to throw away their precious lives just to hunt whales? And the question is obvious because hunting a whale is the golden ticket to heaven, because of the recognition and the admiration one desires that led them to this decision. In this novel, we are going on an adventure with our main character, Ishmael, as we explore the stories of the sea and its people. We are looking through the lens of Ishmael’s perspective, the novel prompts us with the question: Why does it have to be through Ishmael of all people? And to answer this question, it is particularly because just like Ishmael, readers are born with questions about things in life. In this case, the novel is teaching us how to look at things from a different perspective while interpreting their own ideology, thoughts, and feelings. While Ishmael’s identity is questionable, by looking from his and other captains’ perspectives, it points out the god-like nature that Captain Ahab retains, and through the hatred for white whales, revenge has blinded him to the point that he himself is so odd, bizarre, and god-like to the other whalemen.

Captain Ahab’s unpredictable nature is the reason why other captains and whalemen saw him as a god-like figure. Throughout the many chapters that we have read, there are a few points that I would like readers to ponder as we are going to deduce the meanings behind them. The first point came from the other captain’s perspective, where Captain Peleg states: “He’s a grand, ungodly, god-like man, Captain Ahab; doesn’t speak much; but, when he does speak, then you might as well listen. Mark ye, be forewarned; Ahab’s above the common; Ahab’s been in colleges, as well as ‘mong the cannibals; been used to deeper wonders than the waves; fixed his fiery lance in mightier, stranger foes than whales.” (Melville 88). This quote perfectly describes who Ahab is as a person. In Captain Peleg’s perspective, he is a strong man who has faced many challenges to get to where he is today. Ahab is knowledgeable about the whales; he is associated with the cannibals while going to college to gain more knowledge about the world. The way Peleg described him as an ‘ungodly, god-like man’ was a way to tell readers that Ahab did a lot of amazing things while he was one of the whalers. He believes everything Ahab did is impossible, which implies things only a god can do, yet Ahab is still a human being made out of flesh, which is why he is described that way. But while looking at this explanation, readers might wonder what amazing things Ahab did that made him a considerable god-like figure. It is when Captain Peleg told one of the stories to Ishmael, about how Ahab is: “a very vile one…that ever since he lost his leg last voyage by that accursed whale, he’s been kind of moody—desperate moody, and savage sometimes.” (Melville 89). This is the second point that I would like to make because readers can see that Ahab had fought a whale and was actually alive while losing his leg. Furthermore, Peleg adds in: “When that wicked king was slain, the dogs, did they not lick his blood?” (Melville 88). This proves how Ahab is essentially a god-like figure in Captain Peleg’s eyes because he slew a whale while he managed to keep himself alive. This connects with the metaphor of mysteriousness that Ahab offers because when we listen to this story, we can see a vivid image of Ahab standing with his back arched, and his missing leg oozing blood like a warrior who has just defeated an army, while the dogs act as his loyal pets that are following his orders and serving him dutifully. This explains why Ahab, his unpredictable nature, and his stories are so bizarre that people could not believe it until they actually saw it with their own eyes. It almost seems like he is not a real human being, but a deity who just happens to be slaying whales occasionally. 

Captain Ahab’s state of mind, his quietness, and composure match the energy of a warrior, which comes off as oddly strange to other people. When I read these chapters, one thing I noticed was that Ahab rarely speaks. He is so quiet that his actions are being read by people, and by Ishmael, who is excellent at reading him. The passage states: “Over his ivory-inlaid table, Ahab presided like a mute, maned sea-lion on the white coral beach, surrounded by his war-like but still deferential cubs. In his own proper turn, each officer waited to be served. They were as little children before Ahab, and yet, in Ahab, there seemed not to lurk the smallest social arrogance.” (Melville 162). I noticed how the officers are being compared to children, as it is the opposite of Ahab, whose energy is so strong and formidable that it terrifies the people in front of him, and it gives the officers the idea of not messing with Ahab because they also heard the bizarre stories that he once created. Perhaps readers might ask why nobody wants to speak to Ahab since he does not show any social arrogance to them? When we look at Ahab from many different perspectives, we are not afraid of him because we understand his characteristics as a human being. But on a realistic side, if we face Ahab directly in real life, like the officers in the passage, we can see that Ahab is an authoritative figure. He does not want to mess around with or be friendly with others. His job as a captain is to guide people well and to do his job. That explains why everyone seems to be uneasy in front of Ahab because only Ahab can do his job well and effectively. This connects to how Ahab is so odd to others because his presence is so terrifyingly strange that people just rather not talk to him at all.

Captain Ahab’s sense of revenge is the reason why he’s been acting odd to others. In chapter 36, the crew mentions Moby Dick as they refer to every white whale they see. However, Starbucks asks: “Captain Ahab, I have heard of Moby Dick—but it was not Moby Dick that took off thy leg?” (Melville 177). While Captain Ahab: “shouted with a terrific, loud, animal sob, like that of a heart-stricken moose; Aye, Aye! It was that accursed white whale that razeed me; made a poor pegging lubber of me forever and a day…and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom…And this is what ye have shipped for, men! to chase that white whale on both sides of land, and all over sides of earth, till he spouts black blood and rolls fin out.” (Melville 177). This passage is one of my favorites because we are now diving into Ahab’s emotions. There is this strong hatred that Captain Ahab has harbored for a long time, ever since one of the white whales took away his leg. This explains why Captain Ahab always seems to detach from people. He isolated himself from others because his thoughts were too occupied with the white whales, and that pushed him further down to the deep sea, a place where he is just alone, a place where he can be busy with thoughts and emotions. In class, we also talked about how Ahab is on the verge of extinction because there is no one like him. He is his own version, and no one could ever imitate that.Not only does this novel teach us how to understand the characters to the fullest extent, but it also teaches us to know the realistic side of the whalemen who once hunted whales. The novel reveals the mysteriousness that the people and the sea offer while it feeds us with curiosity for us to engage with the meanings behind it, to know what it feels like to be in the position of a whale man. Moby Dick is not just a story of hunting whales; it is a story about humanity, a story of the anatomy of a whale, a story of the ship and the sea. Everything we see in the novel has its own story that will continue to expand infinitely. As we are halfway through the novel, one takeaway for me is to expect the unexpected. There will always be something to learn in this novel, and I hope I will be able to understand all of the meanings that Melville offers.