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.