In the novel, Moby-Dick, author Herman Melville is critiquing charismatic leaders through the character Captain Ahab, who represents the dangers of an influential leader that is filled with anger, vengeance, hubris, and a destructive obsession. This is seen throughout the novel with his ability to steer the crew members of the Pequod to have the same animosity towards Moby Dick, which in turn fuels both his and their need for vengeance against the whale. Captain Ahab’s ability to influence and disrupt the natural state of democracy on the ship shows how leaders like himself are dangerous and a threat to society.

In Chapter 36, titled “The Quarter-Deck,” Captain Ahab uses his charisma to take control over the Pequod, and establish himself as the de facto leader of the ship. This is seen when he offers the men a gold ounce to whoever spots Moby Dick: “[Ahab] advanced towards the main-mast with the hammer uplifted in one hand, exhibiting the gold with the other, and with a high raised voice exclaiming: ‘Whosoever of ye raises me a white-headed whale with a wrinkled brow and a crooked jaw; whosoever of ye raises me that white-headed whale, with three holes punctured in his starboard fluke – look ye, whosoever of ye raises that same white whale, he shall have this gold ounce my boys!’ ‘Huzza! huzza!’ cried the seamen” (Melville 176). This shows how easy it is for Captain Ahab to influence the men on the Pequod, and to put himself in a position in which they will do what he tells them to without second guessing it. What was originally supposed to be a normal whaling boat, has turned into a hunting boat by orders of Captain Ahab. What was originally supposed to be democracy on the ship, has turned into an attempt at tyranny because of the Captain’s desire to find and kill Moby Dick. The dangers of his charisma are shown very clearly. He uses it to gain control over the ship, and to enact a proposition that the man who finds the white whale will be rewarded with gold. This further divides the already diverse ship and creates a competitive environment amongst the men. Captain Ahab’s influence and leadership is a threat to democracy, and the men on the Pequod don’t even try to resist.

The men on the ship are all in for Captain Ahab’s plan, despite it disrupting what the original purpose of the trip was. Ahab is well aware of his influence, and knows that the crew members will have his back and follow his lead: “The crew, man, the crew! Are they not one and all with Ahab, in this matter of the whale?” (Melville 178). The awareness of his ability to control the men on the Pequod is what makes Ahab especially dangerous; he doesn’t care what happens to them so long as they do what he asks of them. It is strange but certainly not surprising to see the men be so on board with the Captain’s takeover. Once again in Chapter 36, Ahab is seen using his charisma to further establish his push for tyranny on the ship by involving the crew members in a toast to his leadership and their goal to kill Moby Dick. “Commend the murderous chalices! Bestow them, ye who are now made parties to this indissoluble league… Drink, ye harpooners! drink and swear, ye men that man the deathful whaleboat’s bow – Death to Moby Dick! God hunt us all, if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death!’ The long, barbed steel goblets were lifted; and to cries and maledictions against the white whale, the spirits were simultaneously quaffed down with a hiss” (Melville 181). The crew members fiercely and willingly drink to the fall of democracy on the Pequod, falling into the trap that has been set by Captain Ahab. The men relate with Ahab’s anger, his need for revenge seeps into their minds and overtakes their own thoughts, they feel what he feels, think what he thinks, and do what he tells them to do. As the narrator of the novel, Ishmael, puts it: “A wild, mystical, sympathetical feeling was in me; Ahab’s quenchless feud seemed mine… I learned the history of that murderous monster against whom I and all the others had taken our oaths of violence and revenge” (Melville 194). Captain Ahab has convinced the crew that his anger and need for vengeance is theirs as well. It leads to the question of what exactly is Captain Ahab’s obsession with the whale Moby Dick?

In Chapter 36, “The Quarter-Deck,” Captain Ahab is successful in convincing the men of the Pequod to submit to his leadership and join him in his journey for revenge against Moby Dick. However, there is one man that Ahab is unable to influence, that being the ship’s First Mate, Starbuck. Starbuck is left unconvinced by Ahab, and questions his pursuit of the white whale, to which Ahab begins to tell Starbuck about his unwavering need for vengeance on Moby Dick: “How can the prisoner reach outside except by thrusting through the wall? To me, the white whale is that wall, shoved near to me. Sometimes I think there’s naught beyond. But ‘tis enough. He tasks me; he heaps me; I see in him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him. Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me” (Melville 178). Ahab’s obsession for Moby Dick stems from the idea that all the wrongdoings in his life are because of the whale. Anything bad that happens to him is at the fault of Moby Dick, he cannot get live while that whale which has caused his life to spiral into madness is still out there. His life is intertwined with Moby Dick, and his obsession and hubris will certainly lead to the downfall of himself and the Pequod. 

Captain Ahab is a criticism of leaders who use their influence to take control of a nation and turn democracy into disorder. The men on board who cannot see past his charismatic speeches and nature will also perish because of their own willingness to take part in a madman’s journey to fulfill a prophecy by which an unknown force has forsaken him with. Melville wrote this novel to critique dangerous leaders, whose obsessions overtake their lives, and lead nations into dangerous waters in which those who were following blindly will finally see the disaster that they cheered for and toasted to. Captain Ahab is not just a character, but a warning to all those reading Moby-Dick.