Childbirth, Midwifery, and Gendered Labor

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In Chapter 78: Cistern and Buckets, Tashtego falls into the tun of the whale while collecting Spermacetti. Ishmael describes his being rescued by Queequeg as a delivery, and thus the men of the Pequod are privy to the feminine line of work involved in birth, which men are often excluded from witnessing. This rare presence of femininity and work associated with women draws comparison between the difficulty of whaling and birth and delivery, two lines of work famously undervalued and yet foundations to society, one providing life, the other providing light. 

In this chapter, where Midwifery and the whaling industry meet, the comparisons of the difficulty between these two professions create a moment of solidarity between feminine work, childbirth and the dangerous work of whale harvesting at sea, traditionally done by men. Tashtego is placed in his position due to negligence but is blamed for his falling into the tun “Whether it was that Tashtego, that wild Indian, was so heedless and reckless as to let go for a moment his one-handed hold on the great cabled tackles suspending the head; or whether the place where he stood was so treacherous and oozy; or whether the Evil One himself would have it to fall out so, without stating his particular reasons;(374)” Much like in childbirth, the fault of a difficult pregnancy or delivery is placed not first on chance, but on the negligence of the mother. Ishmaels blames Tashtego, when infact Stubbs, Starbuck, And Ahab, those in charge of the industry and work on the boat, are responsible for endangering and not securing their crewmen.

Queequeg, of all characters, who is symbolic of the defiance of all presuppositions of the intelligence, bravery and capability of non-westerners (non-Europeans), is the one to perform this act of assisted birth and rescue. Not only is he special for the connection he forms with Ishmael, or of his selfless acts of bravery, but he is also a midwife; assisting in Tashtego’s watery rebirth from the Tun:

“He averred, that upon first thrusting in for him, a leg was presented; but well knowing that that was not as it ought to be, and might occasion great trouble;—he had thrust back the leg, and by a dexterous heave and toss, had wrought a somerset upon the Indian; so that with the next trial, he came forth in the good old way—head foremost. As for the great head itself, that was doing as well as could be expected (p.376).”

The way that Tashtego was first positioned at the entrance of the Tun/womb, feet first, is called a breech position, in which the baby is usually in danger of injury or death by suffocation. Even in modern medicine this is considered a difficult birthing position for the fetus and mother, often resulting in the injury of the mother and tearing of the cervix. A skilled midwife, or obstetrician, is capable of either carefully following through with this birth position, or helping to turn the baby. In other words, Queequeg’s delivery of Tashtego was a feat of obstetrics even for what is possible on land (and with human babies). This feat of a delivery is acknowledged: 

“And thus, through the courage and great skill in obstetrics of Queequeg, the deliverance, or rather, delivery of Tashtego, was successfully accomplished, in the teeth, too, of the most untoward and apparently hopeless impediments; which is a lesson by no means to be forgotten. Midwifery should be taught in the same course with fencing and boxing, riding and rowing(176).”

Midwifes, who hold a gendered job, done in seclusion with mothers in birth, and the difficulty of assisting in labor with the chance of two deaths looming over their heads, is acknowledged by Ishmael as a profession requiring as much bravery and braun as “fencing, boxing, riding, rowing” the lauded professions and past times of men. Queequegs delivery introduces the men onboard to the quick wit, and bravery required of a widwife, and for a moment, as they observe this wonder, the border between gendered labor, and those skills required in each are blurred, and the solidarity between these two professions is secured by the knowledge that both jobs are deserving of acknowledgment as heroic and legendary.

Chapter 135

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This novel went by so much faster than I ever expected and I am both relieved and sad to be done with it. It was such a wonderful time reading through this book and being able to close read together in class, it is definitely a unique experience that I am extremely grateful for! Reading through the last three chapters, I did not know what to expect, but it was much better than I could have imagined. Truthfully, I found it shocking how little of an appearance Moby-Dick makes throughout the entire novel. However, it also makes sense that these moments between Ahab and Moby-Dick only lasted three chapters and three days. Ahab’s obsession with vengeance against the white whale has been one of the main focuses throughout this novel. It would be expected to have this crazy adventure book ending, but Ahab being killed in the matter of one sentence was something unexpected but perfectly written. The last sentence of chapter 135, shows the power of nature, “then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago” (Melville 624). Melville points out the power of nature and shows how insignificant this moment is compared to the long history of the ocean. Ahab spent such a large amount of his life preparing for this moment, we even see this obsession to kill Moby-Dick completely take over Ahab throughout the chapters. However, the sea is a powerful and vast thing that will keep rolling, even after the crew is lost and Ahab’s vengeful journey fails. All of it meant nothing when looked at from the lens of nature because the sea will carry on as it always has. Melville ends this novel in just three chapters and it is brilliant. After hours and hours of us reading through this book, the build up ends after only three chapters with Moby-Dick. Giving readers the same experience as Ahab of this long awaited anticipation all for it to come to a quick end.

Essay 2: “The Ramadan”

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Near the end of chapter 17 titled “The Ramadan”, Ishmael takes a large step back from his accepting behavior and falls into his judgmental ways once again. Within this chapter, Queequeg participates in Ramadan, throughout the duration of Ramadan, Ishmael tries many things to get Queequeg to quit. However, once the sun rises, so does Ishmael’s hypocrisy. Through Ishmael’s use of condescending and hypocritical language, Melville uses Ishmael as a vessel to push forward a critique of Christianity. 

The struggle of acceptance is prominent in Ishmael throughout the novel, however these pages push further into Melville’s use of language to drive this critique of Christianity. Ishmael begins his thoughts with “I have no objection to any person’s religion” (94). But he then follows that with “so long as that person does not kill or insult any other person, because that other person don’t believe it also” (94). Melville begins Ishmael’s thoughts with a strong declaration of “no objection”, these words are phrased confidently and imply that he is accepting of all religions. The main focus is on the word “no” here, because that would mean that nothing, no matter how different, could make Ishmael object to another religion. Melville creates this moment of open-mindedness to set a reasonable tone to begin this passage, which then makes Ishmael’s condescension even more striking. Directly after his first claim, he follows up with a complete contradiction, stating “so long as” (94). This makes Ishmael’s first claim useless, as this shows that he will be open-minded and respectful of another person’s religion, but only if it follows the guidelines to what he believes to be mortal and right. For Melville, Ishmael is the representation of Christianity here and when the phrase “So long as” is shared it decides that there are conditions and limits to Christian acceptance. This moment also puts Ishmael in the position of someone who gets to decide what is acceptable within a religion. With this small phrase Melville highlights Christians ideas that will claim they are inviting of all religions, until they encounter one that does not fit into their worldview. While he also pushes how comfortable they are with the idea that they get to make decisions that are seen as the only correct way. Within these words the idea of acceptance completely collapses into judgment, revealing how Melville uses Ishmael and his contradictory language to critique Christianity. 

As Ishmael begins his attempt to put conditions on his acceptance of religion, his hypocritical and condescending language becomes even more obvious, as he says, “that person does not kill or insult any other person, because that other person don’t believe it also. But when a man’s religion becomes really frantic” (Melville 94). The use of the word “kill” here introduces Ishmael taking his thoughts to the extreme. By using this dramatic term, Ishmael is imagining the worst of others and puts out this idea of non Christian religions being dangerous. This word holds importance in Melville’s critique because it shows Ishmael, the representation of Christianity, being falsely accepting of other religions and casting his own biases onto those that he does not understand. Within these lines, the word “But” is the turning point that drives Ishmael’s hypocrisy completely over the edge. With this word alone, Melville is telling us that everything before it is unstable and now holds little to no meaning. When Ishmael says “But” it becomes apparent that he never meant his original claim of “no objection” and that he has completely hypocritical thoughts, as well as a feeling of superiority over the idea that he gets the right to judge for the simple reason that this is not something he would have done. Through this single word Melville, shows how quickly Ishmael’s accepting words fall into condescension that perfectly demonstrates the novel’s critique of Christianity. 

The final part of this passage is where Ishmael’s true thoughts are completely released  and the condescending language is the most prominent, “But when a man’s religion becomes really frantic; when it is a positive torment to him: and, in fine, makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable inn to lodge in: this I think it high time to take that individual aside and argue the point with him” (94). The line right before has Ishmael saying that he does not object to another’s religion and that one of the only reasons he would is if they were to insult someone else for the simple reason of not believing the same thing. With this Melville highlights Ishmael’s hypocritical nature, as he does exactly what he says should not be done by insulting Queequeg’s religion. The words “really frantic” are powerful in showing that right after he expresses that one should not judge another’s religion for the sole reason of not having the same beliefs, Ishmael describes Queequeg’s religion with a word that means wild, extreme, and uncontrolled. Through Ishmael’s words, Melville critiques the ways that Christianity can be seen imposing their own standards and actions on others while claiming that they are accepting of everything. As he continues Ishmael reflects on Ramadan as a “torment”, with this he is describing Queequeg’s devotion to his religion as something that is too extreme and punishing. With the use of this word, Ishmael creates his own reality where Queequeg’s faith is excessive and irrational, even though his friend was extremely happy after he had completed Ramadan. This word choice by Melville perfectly illustrates Ishmael’s hypocrisy and condescension by having him heavily criticize something that he earlier claimed to have “no objection” towards. By saying that Queequeg’s devotion to his religion is a “torment”, he is placing himself higher above Queequeg and giving himself the entitlement to judge something that he does not understand. Another phrase in this passage that holds such a powerful showing of Ishmael’s hypocrisy is, “makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable” (94). When reflecting on the words he uses together, the hypocrisy is extremely evident, the word “ours” implies that this earth is for everyone and once again brings up the feeling of acceptance for everyone. However he once again shows this idea that he has a superior idea of what is correct when he uses the word “uncomfortable”. Who would find this practice to be uncomfortable? The people of “our” earth? While that could not be true because that statement extends to many people that are also devoted to Ramadan and other religious practices. The practice of other religions here does not “makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable” (94) place to be, it feels that way to Ishmael because his religion has been seen as superior and he stands in the belief that his standards are correct. Melville uses Ishmael’s condescending language to demonstrate this idea of a conditional acceptance from Christianity. 

In this passage, Melville shows how quickly Ishmael’s words of acceptance turn into judgment. The use of Ishmael’s language reveals that he is not truly open-minded, but that he believes he has the right to decide what is seen as wrong and right in someone else’s religion. Through Ishmael’s hypocritical and condescending language in this passage, Melville is able to push forward his critique of Christianity. 

Ahab’s power, an illusion

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In chapter 133, our crew finally comes face to face with Moby Dick, their deadly foe. In the skirmish that ensues with him, Ahab and other mariners fall into the sea after Moby Dick bites their boat in half, and then he starts circling them. In page 599, Melville writes, “Meanwhile Ahab half smothered in the foam of the whale’s insolent tail, and too much of a cripple to swim,–though he could still keep afloat, even in the heart of such a whirlpool as that; helpless Ahab’s head was seen, like a tossed bubble which the least chance shock might burst.” Our captain, this indomitable force of revenge and hate, seems fragile. In this passage, Melville brings to our attention two important points: Ahab is old and he is missing a leg. While these things have been discussed in the story before, they were really never liabilities, but now they have completely humanized Ahab for us and even made him seem weak. The picture Melville paints for us of old Ahab struggling to stay afloat in the water undercuts the image of the powerful and maniacal sea captain we have been getting up until now. Ahab’s element is sailing the sea, but being in the water itself has made him vulnerable like never before. He is tragically unequipped for this environment although he has spent his life in it. Not only do we realize that Ahab’s greatness has limits because of his physical condition, but because he is a mere human. The phrase, “helpless Ahab’s head was seen, like a tossed bubble which the least chance shock might burst” prompts us to think about the littleness and inadequacy of man in the face of nature. Even great Ahab is helpless in the sea and his head in the water is compared to a bubble. What is a bubble in the vastness of the ocean? This moment is prompting us to juxtapose the previous idea we had of Ahab, of supernatural power, with his current helplessness brought about by nature. The indomitable spirit of man (or his obsessive hatred) is nothing in the face of the natural world. Our power is an illusion that bursts like a bubble as soon as we touch the water. Melville destroys our previous perception of Ahab and uses imagery to illustrate a larger truth about humanity, that when faced with the savageness of nature, our greatness and power are revealed to be constructs of our own creation, and that though it might be easy for us to forget, nobody can tame the sea.

Ch 133: The Chase, but first the doubloon

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In Chapter 133: The Chase–First Day, Ahab sights Moby Dick at the same time as all three lookouts, and yet claims the doubloon for himself, robbing Tashtego of a victory that all aboard the pequad were motivated to claim from the start of the voyage: 

“‘I saw him almost that same instant, sir, that Captain Ahab did, and I cried out,’ said Tashtego. ‘Not the same instant; not the same—no, the doubloon is mine, Fate reserved the doubloon for me. I only; none of ye could have raised the White Whale first(p.595).” 

This comes as no surprise, as at this time Ishmael has gone over the concept of Fast-Fish loose fish and the seedy legal territory of ownership. Ahab has weaponized the promise of the doubloon as treasure, as a promise of wealth and accomplishment, and after having taken advantage of the labor and loyalty of the men on board, shown again that no one matters aboard the pequad, no one own the right to ownership, but him.

At the same time, this moment in which Ahab made a pact with the men on board, which he himself dishonored, is a call to the way the United States has a history of using agreements as a way to take advantage of Indigenous American tribes, and disregard treaties in favor of capitalism and industry. This isn’t a new occurance, a man in power taking advantage of the people he has made promise too, and Melville is reminding his readers of our nation founded on lies and land grants.

Besides Ahab has no need for the promise of wealth, when what he means is to become legend, and the men on the ship are not men, but a means to an end in killing Moby Dick, and attaining his glory. He reminds them once again of their place as he pursues the whale, and with it death, threatening his men: the first thing that but offers to jump from this boat I stand in, that thing I harpoon. Ye are not other men, but my arms and my legs; and so obey me.— Where’s the whale? gone down again.”

Following this vein of thought, Melville using the Pequod as a means to talk about the nation state discusses the foundations of American history, and our legacy, one frought with the bodies of sacrificial lambs, or of those deemed expendable or standing in the way of the government and manifest destiny.

Essay 2: Short essay

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In chapter 113,” The Forge”, Melville transforms Ahab’s pursuit towards Moby Dick into a haunting, obsessive and desire of defying the divine. In this chapter, Ahab’s newly forged harpoon is his last solution to everything that’s become of his obsession, he makes it a symbol of both his vengeance and doom. In the quote, “ This done, pole, iron, and rope-like the Three Fates-…” Melville depicts the harpoon with the myth of “The Three Fates” who represent life and death, but also Ahab’s demise. Through the mythic imagery, sound, tone, and madness, Melville reveals Ahab’s madness and defiance against the divine and transforms him into the victim, but also the pursuer of his own consequences of his actions towards desire of wanting to control something that is beyond the realism of human nature. Melville wants us, the audience, to know the obsession and the definition of rage.

The connection towards the “pole, iron, and rope” to “the Three Fates” connects Ahab’s weapon to Greek Mythology, the story of the three goddesses, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, who are known as the deciders of the past, present, and future, they cut the thread of life, the human life they decide on how long you get to live. The pole is the beginning that holds everything together, this is the moment where Ahab’s journey begins. The iron represents giving the weapon its shape, length, and the purpose of the weapon’s destination. And the rope presents us the connection between the whale and the ship, which it also demonstrates on how rope kills whalers like snapping, entangles and drags men under the sea. It represents the thread of life and how it easily can snap you in an instant. This whole thing is a cycle for Ahab, his destiny has been already fulfilled and he sealed his doom and the crew’s.

“Ivory log, and the sound of the hickory pole, both hollowly ringing along every plank,”(533),  the sounds of the leg echoing through the ship creates an eerie, echoing soundscape. His presence is eerie and hollow like a ghost roaming the ship he’s pavemented to. Its sounds symbolize emptiness and death. Ahab’s movements are dominant and doom which gives us a reminder on who he is and his whole concept of revenge in the story. He makes the ship feel melancholic, empty and dark. Melville is already giving us hints, “ piteous” “wretched” and “melancholy” using a tone of tone which it obviously gives us a foreshadowing of the ship’s doom. It slowly becomes the sound of destruction of the ship and of Ahab too. Melville demonstrates in this quote,” Oh Pip! Thy wretched laugh ….”, it shows how the laugh of Pip is a mockery towards everything around mimicking Ahab like a mirror reflecting on his doom and slowly uncontrollable madness. 

Ultimately, Melville’s portrayal of Ahab in Chapter 113, reveals about a man who’s beyond the limits of reality and seeking the imagery of a realm beyond the human limits, by sealing his destiny long before the final battle between him and Moby Dick. Through these images, Melville demonstrates Ahab’s attempt of command by taking the role of a God, who’s untouchable and in control of everything around him. Melville demonstrates to us the consequences of men who pursue the urge of power, control and rage.

Ahab’s final soliloquy

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Few passages carry more force than Ahab’s final declaration: “Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.” As the Pequod collapses and the chase reaches its violent end, the language suddenly swells to a near-Shakespearean pitch. The moment demands it. Ahab is confronting the creature that has defined his entire existence, and instead of retreating into fear or resignation, he meets death. His words read like both a challenge and an expression of defiance so absolute that it becomes his final identity.

The heart of the passage lies in Ahab’s description of the whale as “all-destroying but unconquering.” Physically, Moby Dick has prevailed. The ship is splintered, the crew overwhelmed, and Ahab himself is moments from being pulled under. And yet Ahab insists this does not amount to true defeat. The whale may obliterate his body, but it cannot claim his spirit or bend his will. Even as he acknowledges his own doom, speaking as one already positioned in “hell’s heart,” he refuses to fold. His “last breath” becomes an act of resistance, a final attempt to assert meaning in a universe that has repeatedly confronted him with indifference.

This moment solidifies Ahab’s role within the novel. He dies as he has lived: consumed by purpose, unwilling to compromise, and tragically aware of the cost. Melville allows him no softening, no moment of clarity, no reconsideration of the obsession that has driven him. Instead, Ahab’s last words amplify his defining traits, his perseverance, his rage, and his unwavering intensity, before the ocean closes over him. The abrupt silence that follows, as the whale slips away and all but Ishmael are dragged beneath the surface, underscores the finality of that defiance. Ahab’s voice vanishes, but its force reverberates through the novel’s closing pages.

Essay two

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In page 532 of chapter 113, The Forge, we see the full manifestation of Ahab’s obsession for revenge and the lengths that he is willing to go to assuage his madness. The text says of Ahab, “No, No–no water for that, I want it of the true death-temper…Three punctures were made in the heathen flesh, and the White Whale’s barbs were even tempered. ‘Ergo non Baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli!’ Deliriously howled Ahab, as the malignant iron scorchingly devoured the baptismal blood.” There is a very overt subversion of Christian tradition that critiques the institution of power. Its effect is that it calls out the institution of christianity as self righteous. This is a valuable commentary especially in a moment in time in which christianity is being used both to argue against the practice of slavery and for the continuation of slavery.

It is significant that Ahab opposes the tempering of the harpoon with water. Water is symbol of cleansing and purifying, in the tradition of baptism it symbolizes the cleansing of a persons sins. Ahab, however, is not interested in having a weapon clean of sin; that is not the purpose of the weapon. Instead he wants a pact of violence symbolized in blood. This could have been the full extent of the act but Ahab does not want the harpoon tempered with his blood. He wants it done so with pagan blood. This could be a deliberate affront to the institution of christianity which automatically see inherent evil in paganism but the book makes it clear that this is not necessarily Melville’s stance on the subject. Though Ishmael considers himself a Christian man, his best friend on the ship is the pagan Queequeg. What we have seen throughout the text is that these three harpooners come from distinct cultures that are not inherently evil, they are simply different. It is Ahab’s direct action of tempering the harpoon in pagan blood that ascribes malice to the whole act. The reader could also read this as an act of exploitation. Ahab picks them out because they are the best harpooners in the ship and he wants his instrument imbued with the blood of the most gifted and so he makes a demand of their blood. In fact, the text says “the malignant iron schorchingly devoured the baptismal blood.” Blood is also a symbol for life or the soul so in a sense, Ahab is devouring these men for their bodily skill in whale hunting. Similarly, the black and brown body is being exploited and devoured in American land for the thirst of wealth and power.


Essay 2: Forged in Blood

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In Chapter 113, “The Forge”, Ahab uses the blood of the harpooners to forge his harpoon, claiming that he is baptising the weapon in the name of the devil. He creates this harpoon specifically for Moby Dick, intent on killing the whale with it. Through the bloody baptism of the harpoon by Ahab, a binary model of religion is created, bringing into question how religion is used to create ideas of good and evil. 

The blacksmith creates Ahab’s harpoon, and then tells Ahab to grab the water to temper the barbs, but Ahab refuses, insisting on using blood as the temper liquid. From everyone on the ship, Ahab chooses to use the blood of the three harpooners, whom he calls the pagans: “‘No, no–no water for that; I want it of the true death temper… Tashtego, Queequeg, Daggoo! What say ye, pagans! Will ye give me as much blood as will cover this barb?’… a cluster of dark nods replied, Yes” (p.532). In this passage, Ahab calls out the harpooners, who do not conform to the Christian religion and have their own beliefs, to become part of his religion of Moby Dick. Ahab continues on to say: “‘Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli’” (p.532), which means ‘I do not baptize you in the name of the father, but in the name of the devil’. With this verse, Ahab makes the harpooners the sacred liquid of his religion, as they are the ones who take the first strikes at the whales. Since they are the initial point of contact, they are the most important in Ahab’s hunt for Moby Dick. By choosing the harpooners, who are considered to be on the lower part of the hierarchy of the ship, Ahab creates a group of saints in his religion from the lower rank pagans. 

Another way that this binary model is created is through the use of blood in a baptism. Baptism is usually a sacred ritual in the Christian faith used to signify entry of a person into the religion. In addition, water is used for baptism, not blood. Ahab clearly states his intention to baptize the harpoon intended for Moby Dick in blood, as he cries his verse in Latin, followed by: “Deliriously howled Ahab, as the malignant iron scorchingly devoured the baptismal blood” (p.532). In this scene, Ahab takes the blood of the harpooners to forge his weapon, and the language used creates an uneasy, evil feeling. Ahab and the weapon transform into different entities—as Ahab howls he becomes animal-like, monstrous, and the harpoon becomes anthropomorphized as it scorchingly devours the blood offered by Ahab. In this scene, Ahab is submitting to the weapon in a baptismal worship, surrounded by malevolent connotations, such as ‘malignant’ and ‘devoured’. This tone implies an evil nature around Ahab’s ritual, and creates a bootleg version of Christianity. 

In addition, the choice to use blood separates Ahab’s religion from the natural world, providing further implication of evil. We are born in water, we are made of water, and this boat is, quite literally, surrounded by water. However, instead of making use of this natural element, Ahab restricts his ritual to humans, sealing himself and his practice away from nature. 

By using the structure of Christianity to create his harpoon, Ahab fabricates an evil religion, but it is only one that seems this way because of the binary model it fits into opposed to Christianity. Had there not been replications of Christianity and malevolent connotations, this scene would not have held such defiance toward the Christian faith and ideals. 

The use of Latin in this scene further draws a direct parallel to Christianity. Latin holds historical importance in the Christian faith, and by using Latin, Ahab creates a mockery of the religion. Not only is he using a holy language, but he is also using it to worship the Devil, a symbol of evil in Christianity. Ahab chooses to use the Devil as his instrument of worship because he perceives what he is doing as evil and chooses to defile Christianity. This further shows the ability of religion to be used in a binary sense of good and evil, as certain words can evoke feelings of evil or wrongdoing, like ‘the Devil’. 

This scene draws attention to the structures that religion, especially Christianity, builds. In this passage, Ahab’s religion is contrasted to Christianity, and becomes the evil half because of the binary nature created in their similarities. With the use of pagan saints, blood baptism, and Latin, Ahab assumes multiple dimensions of Christianity and purposefully bends the faith to fit his own goals. This creates a dualistic nature with Christianity being good and Ahab’s religion being malevolent. This is important because Ahab’s religion only appears in this negative light because of the contrast with Christianity. Without this original structure, this scene would not seem religious, or perhaps not necessarily evil, but driven by other intentions. 

Expanding on Week 11’s Blog Post for Essay #2

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Chapter 96 of Moby Dick, has one of my favorite quotes from the novel thus far. With the fires of the try-works flickering behind him, Ishmael snaps out of a near-hypnotic state and turns immediately from the physical scene to its spiritual implications, “There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar” (465). The imagery of the eagle that both descends into darkness and rises into blinding light becomes Ishmael’s way of contemplating what separates ordinary minds from those capable of confronting psychological extremes. Through the tension between height and depth, insight and insanity, Melville reveals that the ability to face profound inner scrutiny is itself a mark of greatness, a vision that surveys both Ahab’s tragic grandeur and the novel’s broader claim that genuine wisdom emerges not from comfort but from the dangerous willingness to engage the abyss.

The first line, “There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness,” presents the paradox of Melville’s vision. Wisdom traditionally implies clarity and stability, while woe implies suffering and mental burden. Yet by Melville’s definition, insight does not arise from comfort; rather, suffering becomes a vehicle through which wisdom is acquired. This is deeply consistent with the novel’s theme, where understanding the universe requires confronting an abyss. Ishmael’s earlier reflections on fate and the inscrutability of the whale already suggest that knowledge is bound up with darkness. But he pushes further here: there is yet “a woe that is madness,” implying that suffering can slip into a mental state beyond rationality. Madness, according to Ishmael, is not simply delusion; it is an intensified version of woe, a psychological extreme that mirrors the extremity of the sea itself. Madness becomes an existential territory rather than merely a defect.

The metaphor of the “Catskill eagle” plays a huge role in Ishmael’s insight. The eagle “can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces.” This image conveys an inconsistent freedom: the ability both to descend into darkness and to ascend into light. In the metaphor, the person that possesses this eagle-like quality is one that inhabits extremes. These extremes are not accidental; they are a reflection of our natural state of mind. Like the bird whose range includes both gorge and sky, a great mind moves fluidly between uncomfortable psychological depths and the brightest imaginative heights. Though, the passage also suggests that such mobility is not common; it is an attribute of exceptional individuals. Most people cannot plunge into darkness without being consumed by it. Most cannot rise high enough into the sunlit spaces to “become invisible,” transcending ordinary perception. This dual capability becomes central to Melville’s exploration of human greatness, a greatness that is both admirable and frightening.

Ishmael’s interpretation that “even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain” reinforces the hierarchical structure of his metaphor. What matters is not where the eagle flies at any given moment but the elevation of the terrain itself. Even in decline, even in madness, the “mountain” soul remains above the “plain.” That is, the psychological territory occupied by the great soul, no matter how dark, is itself located on a higher plane than the ordinary emotional landscape of most people. Suffering, madness, and ruin are recontextualized: they belong to the geography of greatness.

This metaphor resonates more when read with Ahab in mind. Ishmael does not name him here, but the allusion is unmistakable. Ahab is, in Ishmael’s words earlier in the novel, “a grand, ungodly, god-like man,” a figure who is both enthralling and terrifying. He is undeniably “in the gorge,” he lives in a state of obsession, consumed by a great desire for revenge against the whale. His woe has crossed into madness. Yet, according to Ishmael’s logic, Ahab’s very madness situates him among the mountain eagles: individuals whose passions and intellects place them on a plane above the norm. His destruction, then, is not simply the destruction of a deluded sailor; it is the fall of someone whose psychological altitude gives his tragedy an exaggerated scale. Melville’s project, in part, is precisely to explore how a character can be both monstrous and exalted, both deranged and inspiring. This passage provides the theoretical basis for that exploration.

But the passage does more than shed light on Ahab; it also helps explain Ishmael’s own survival and narrative nature. Ishmael, too, is capable of “diving” into philosophical darkness, his reflections on death, fate, and the whale often carry him into an abyssal intellectual territory. The hypnotic stare into the try-works’ flames reveals his vulnerability to such depths; he almost loses himself in the very act of contemplating them. Yet he, unlike Ahab, can “soar out of them again.” His imagination is elastic enough to stretch into darkness but resilient enough to withdraw when necessary. This flexibility is part of what enables him to survive the wreck of the Pequod. Ahab remains locked in the gorge; Ishmael escapes it. The “Catskill eagle” metaphor thus distinguishes between two kinds of greatness: the tragic, self-consuming grandeur of Ahab, and the adaptive, contemplative resilience of Ishmael.

The broader significance of the passage, therefore, lies in its claim that confronting darkness, psychological or existential, is an essential component of human understanding. Escapism, Ishmael warns, is itself a form of danger. The try-works nearly seduce him into a kind of mental hypnosis, and he realizes that turning away from reality, whether through fantasy or obsessive thought, can entrap the mind in its own illusions. Yet on the other hand the alternative should not be to avoid darkness entirely; it is to navigate it with awareness. The “Catskill eagle” represents the ideal of the mind that is both courageous and self-regulating. Such a soul can confront the abyss without succumbing to it. The insight here is that greatness lies not in the avoidance of suffering but in the ability to endure its depths while still retaining the capacity for ascent.

On a larger scale, this passage encapsulates the novel’s philosophical ambition. Moby Dick consistently rejects the standard moral boundaries. Wisdom and woe are intertwined; madness can be both destructive and illuminating; greatness can elevate and annihilate. Melville’s world is one where the human mind’s relationship to suffering defines the limits of both knowledge and character. The passage’s final assertion, that even a soul doomed to fly forever in the gorge remains “higher” than others, suggests a worldview in which greatness is measured not by safety or happiness but by the magnitude of one’s engagement with life’s profound questions. Ahab embodies the danger of this worldview; Ishmael embodies its possibility. Ultimately, the “Catskill eagle” metaphor serves as the genesis of Moby Dick’s exploration of the human condition. It acknowledges the allure of the abyss while warning against the loss of self within it. It affirms that suffering and madness can yield profound insight, but it also insists that such insight comes at a price. The passage echos throughout the novel, shaping how we understand Ahab’s tragedy, Ishmael’s survival, and the deeper philosophical terrain of Melville’s narrative. By linking wisdom with woe and woe with madness, Melville charts the balance between understanding and destruction, offering a vision of human experience that is as sublime as it is terrifying.