In Chapter 35, “The Mast-Head,” Ishmael reflects on the uncanny stillness and spiritual isolation that comes from the high above the ship as a whale lookout. He starts turn the tone very philosophical and more about the consciousness of the human mind. In the quote, “but lulled into such such an opium-like listlessness of vacant, unconscious reverie is this absent-minded youth by the blending cadence of waves with thought, that at last he loses his identity…” (172) , he’s describing on how the watcher drifts away from its own consciousness and starts to separate from himself, basically losing his identity. Melville starts to use poetic imagery and philosophical views for us to see on how isolation can mirror the human struggle of awareness and illusions. It demonstrates on how Ishmael’s calm yet warning tone can see the meaning of searching for whales, but how it can lead to excellence or destruction.
It’s scary on how it can be easy to disconnect yourself and others in moments where you start feeling vulnerable. I’ve felt like when life starts getting hard and so my mind starts to wonder off to those thoughts, but then I start to reflect on the positives in order for me to seek the good things I have encountered in my life.
“I came to hunt whales, not my commander’s vengeance” (177)
Ahab is very hungry; he is hungry for revenge, which is hilarious because he thinks he will find “Moby Dick,” but he won’t. He might find a big white whale, but he isn’t going to find thee whale. It shows how this isn’t business for Ahab, it’s a personal trip. He isn’t here to make friends or family; this is his lifeline, finding Moby Dick to have his revenge. He is too hungry, he is a dictator, he is mean and so rude to everyone but himself but when it comes down to it, he needs the shipmates help, because of his legacy, he think he deserves this hierarchy. Everyone is sacred of him including Ishmael, even if doesn’t say it. instead of Ahad leading and being apart of a team, he is by himself, he has changed the mission and has bribed the crew to gain “trust”. Ahad is overly obsessed with finding and killing Moby dick, its pathetic. Ishmael is the only one who can see it, to me, sees how Ahad isn’t a nobel leader but a whale king. I guess not all things nobel are melancholy.
In chapter 35, the ship can be seen as a space that is isolating which then results in a loss of self identity. Ishmael mentions that being on top of the mast-head, which is at the highest point of a ship where men stand watch, stands at “a hundred feet above the silent decks.” The mast-head is physically and mentally isolated from everyone, leaving the sailor no other choice but to be alone with his thoughts. The sailors go through a routine every couple hours to switch out the mast-head watchers. During these shifts, these men are by themselves for hours at a time, so there is no room for socializing with the other men and building relationships- a reality that heightens their sense of isolation. Ishmael goes on to say, “There you stand, lost in the infinite series of the sea, which nothing ruffled but the waves” (Melville 169). The ocean may be captivating, but there is no one in sight and the stillness of the ocean and sound of the waves causes solitude and loneliness to creep up. Due to the solitude, it contributes to the loss of self identity. Ishmael says, “unconscious reverie is this absent-minded youth by the blending cadence of waves with thought, that at last he loses his identity” (Melville 172). The waves are hypnotizing young men, including Ishmael, and causing them to get lost in their own thoughts and ultimately leading to a detachment from reality so greatly that their identities also fade away. By being so absorbed in one’s thoughts can bring up existential questions, which overall leads to curiosity and uncertainty, and of course eventually leads to identity issues. Ishmael even brings up that he was a “sorry guard” due to the fact that he was left completely alone with his thoughts so high up. His self reflection showed how isolation has a great impact on the human psyche, showing that having your thoughts overpower you to the point where you detach from the physical world can lead to a loss of self.
In Chapter 35, Ishmael is standing on the mast-head to keep lookout while admitting that “…I kept but sorry guard”(171) because he is too emerged into his thoughts. Reflecting back on early class discussions regarding the type of services the ocean provided for people— travel and a form of clarity, Melville demonstrates the impact the ocean has on Ishmael by diverting his attention from the job in front of him to being drowned in a state of reflection while simultaneously being distracted.
During this state of mind, Ishmael reflects on the young philosophers who lack interest and ambition while whaling and then continues to emphasize the importance of not been distracted while observing “But while this sleep, this dream is on ye, move your foot or hand an inch, slip your hold at all; and your identity comes back in horror.”(173) Ishmael seems to realize the influence he has on his own life—the delicacy of life while on the boat.
As I open my book to chapter 34, The Cabin Table (after reading and learning more information on whales than I ever wanted or expected), I thought to myself, “Here we go again, an overdescriptive nonsensical chapter of the dining arrangements on the Pequod.” I was wrong. I don’t like being wrong, but this was a rare occasion.
“Back when I was in the Navy…” Yes, it’s story time. On a navy ship, enlisted and officers are separated when it comes to meal hours. The officers dine in a more ceremonious manner and with luxurious dining utensils and china. I use the word luxurious lightly, but when you’re an enlisted person eating off a plastic tray that has separate compartments for your entrees and sides, the thought of having a ceramic soup bowl does feel a tad opulent. In the officer’s ward room, the lower-ranking person may sit at the table without asking if they are the first to arrive. If there’s a higher-ranking person at that table and a lower-ranking person arrives, they must receive permission to sit by that higher-ranking official. If the lower-ranking person were to finish their meal first, they must ask the highest-ranking individual there to be excused. If the highest ranking person arrives (the captain), they have a designated chair they sit in, and the atmosphere in the room immediately becomes erect with utmost posture and well-behaved manners that a southern mother would even appreciate. While reading this chapter I could understand and feel the intense aura and presence that Ahab is giving off.
“But ere stepping into the cabin doorway below, he pauses, ships a new face altogether, and, then, independent, hilarious little Flask enters King Ahab’s presence, in the character of Abjectus, or the Slave.” The family table is the American symbol of open conversation, where a group gathers to just “let it all out.” Ahab is borne out by his actions. He is there to do a job and not there to be social or experience joy. The last joy he had was in his tobacco pipe that he threw out to sea because even that was too much of a conundrum for his monomania. Ahab has such power in his silence that it’s deafening to the crew around him. Ahab is a master of his ship, and his leadership and implicit power are not once reinforced. It is known without a shadow of a doubt that the standard Ahab has set up. Ahab is not there to run a successful crew and ship; he already has well-trained personnel to do that for him. Ahabs’ internal strife is what keeps him going.
Back to my Navy story, sometimes, and this isn’t often allowed, some Navy officers would slip down to the mess decks, where we enlisted peasants eat, to enjoy a meal. They, too, would rather be peeling the eggshell of a hard-boiled egg instead of walking on one. In the mess decks, just like the harpooners, is where the heart of the ship is. This is the area where all those petty social games are played, and a little bit of stress and anxiety can somehow vanish for a quarter of an hour. Just like in the Pequod, this is where cultures come together or clash, but lessons are learned, friendships are formed, and values are established. That’s one of the beauties of being a sailor. If I had a ship, I would title her USS Carrabba’s because when you’re here, you’re family.
p.s. I know that last line was cheesy, but I couldn’t “pasta” up the opportunity.
p.s.s. and yes I did catch that grape directly in my mouth. Fruits must be washed before ingesting.
Ahab is searching for God. Chapters 36, 37, and 38 were interesting to me because not only does Ahab confront the crew and have them sign a pact (or a deal with the devil), but Starbuck publicly questions the madness of his captain and voices the doubts that others are more than willing to ignore in favor of peace. What interested me was the fragile peace maintained on the ship, and how Ahab is almost daring Starbuck to challenge him, and inspire rebellion. This instability is revealed to us in Chapter 37, Sunset, where we get insight into Ahab’s inner thoughts. What I found there proves to me without a doubt that this quest, for the whale, is the quest of a fallen man, a quest for God.
Ahab has lost all connection and appreciation of nature: “ Oh! Time was when the sunrise nobly spurred me, so the sunset soothed me. No more. This lovely light, it lights not me; all loveliness is anguish to me, since I can ne’er enjoy it. Gifted with the high perception, I lack the low, enjoying power; damned, most subtly and most malignantly! Damned in the midst of Paradise! (182)”
Like Starbuck, I feel such immense pity for Ahab. Surrounded by the beauty and splendor of the open ocean, which seems to have been his heaven on earth, his paradise, but he can enjoy none of it. Ahab is like a dead man walking. He is completely disconnected from God and fueled only by anger and rage, which is focused on Moby Dick. But why has his disillusion with god become funneled into this Whale? I look to these passages where he acknowledges the accident:
“it was Moby Dick that dismasted me, Moby Dick that brought me to this dead stump I stand on now(177).”
“The prophecy was that I should be dismembered; and – Aye! I lost this leg. I now prophecy that I will dismember my dismemberer. Now then, be the prophet and the fulfiller one. That’s more than ye, ye great gods, ever were(183).”
By describing his losing his leg to the whale as ‘dismasting’ and ‘dismembering,’ we understand that this act by the whale, or by god, threatened his masculinity. His acts of madness, his exertion of force amongst the crew, and intimidation of Starbuck, feel like attempts by him to restore his masculinity and power through his position at the top of the hierarchy. Furthermore, he numerously attempts to scorn God by enlisting pagan harpooners, making them swear an oath to him (to hunt and kill Moby Dick), and describing himself as a prophet and fulfiller, greater than “ye great gods ever were.” This path Ahab is intent on paving has a biblical mirror, and like the fallen angel Lucifer, he has joined forces with his crew to wage war on God and his creatures.
I really found chapter 35 interesting because there were several allusions to the conscious and unconscious that Ishmael channels from when explaining the experience of the mast with the high winds. In consciousness, he realizes that, and to paraphrase, uneventfulness is witnessed when there is no news, or extras’, indicating entertainment and consumerism that feeds off of people’s souls. There is one particular text he says, which is: “…it is much deplored that the place which you devote so considerable a portion of…your natural life, should be so sadly destitute of anything approaching to a cosy inhabitiveness… a comfortable localness of feeling…a bed, a hammock, a hearse, a sentry box, a pulpit….” This text in particular is critical because it challenges artificial, man-made transcendence through these mediums of vanity and how we as humans are wired to find comfort in sedentary life fascinated by consumerism. In this way, the author warns us that we become too comfortable to actually be our full potential as we isolate and hide in these mediums for comfort. ‘Cosy inhabitiveness’ contradicts itself as both words are nothing alike, juxtaposing themselves and working against. This is written into the line in order to convey “otherness” to the medium, making readers realize that the comfort we often resort to in society is almost always consumed in media to make us feel elated and transcended. By doing so, we do ourselves the disservice of breaking free from toxic consumerism/ advertisements telling people how to live their lives in order to gain money out of people’s worldviews. This becomes dangerous as we breath in media and make it a social propaganda that divides instead of reframes conceptual ideas and infrastructure.
This week’s chapters of Moby-Dick were some of the most challenging, but exciting chapters for me. As we finally dive into life on the Pequod, I have found it exciting to learn more about sailing, whaling, and even discovering the ways I have formed opinions on certain aspects of life at sea without ever realizing. The chapter that I found myself constantly being pulled back to was “The Quarter-Deck” where readers finally get a closer look at Ahab, including his intention and motivation for this voyage. This chapter made me think deeper on nature and the influence that humans have on something that is rather innocent. Ahab hypes up the men for their voyage of getting his revenge on the whale that took his leg, he states “And this is what ye have shipped for, men! To chase that white whale on both sides of land, and over all sides of earth, till he spouts black blood and rolls fin out” (177). Within Ahab’s long winded speech Melville turns the white whale into a symbol of vengeance, taking something of nature and demonstrating how humans often create their own meaning that turns violence onto something rather innocent. It feels that Melville is proving a point to readers by showing us how humans can turn nature into a reflection of their own fears and need for control by creating this thought process that justifies their actions. The white whale is simply in its home and is constantly being chased and hunted, later we find out that Ahab was going after the whale with a knife which is when his leg gets taken. However, through this speech Ahab makes it seem as though the whale had done this horrific thing, when in reality it has been hunted by countless humans and seemed it might be tired and pissed off over constantly being on the lookout. Later in that section, Starbuck has another quote that stuck out to me, stating “Vengeance on a dumb brute!… that simply thee from blindest instinct! Madness!” (178). Melville adding this demonstrates how quickly people are to follow one another without critically thinking for themselves. Starbuck points out that the white whale is simply a “dumb brute” that is acting out of pure instinct and not attempting to be violent. His reaction to Ahab calls out both the captain but also the reader on how insane it sounds to seek destruction against nature. With this chapter it felt that Melville was challenging readers to think deeper on the effect that we have on nature and to take a step back to reflect on how quick humans are to destroy something they can’t understand.
In chapter 36, “The Quarter-Deck,” Melville almost literalizes the phrase “speak of the devil.” After Ahab said that he would reward the sailor who saw a white whale matching Moby Dick’s description, Ahab commanded, “Skin your eyes for him, men; look sharp for white water; if ye see but a bubble, sing out.” Shortly thereafter, the harpooners Tashtego, Daggoo, and Queequeg spotted the white whale Ahab had described. Ahab’s phrasing also felt as if he were summoning the whale itself, like he knew it was there. The sequence of events mirrors the phrase “speak of the devil” because almost immediately after Ahab described it, Moby Dick appeared. In other words, Melville turned a familiar phrase into a narrative device.
This week, when reading, the following few lines on page 169 stood out to me: “There you stand, lost on the infinite series of the sea, with nothing ruffled but the waves. The tranced ship indolently rolls; the drowsy trade winds blow; everything resolves you into languor.” This passage immediately caught my attention because of how calm and dreamlike it feels. It evokes a sense of peace and surrender, which contrasts sharply with the restless energy Ishmael displays at the start of the novel. On the opening he admits that he often finds himself overcome by feelings of gloom and isolation, and when he feels that way he runs away to sea.
By the time we reach this scene, though, there’s a noticeable change in tone. The sea, once a vast and potentially threatening force, now acts as healing for Ishmael. The stillness of the water and the gentle rhythm of the waves mirror an inner calm that he tends to find while away at sea- and that’s going to be interrupted very soon by Ahab.
In particular, the phrase “everything resolves you into languor” suggests a sort of peaceful surrender. A letting go of tension and restlessness that he feels while on land. It feels like he’s finally learning to be at ease with himself and his surroundings.
I would argue that this passage represents Ishmael emerging from his depression through his time spent at sea. The ocean becomes a space of restoration and reconciliation for him, allowing him to detach from the pressures and anxieties of life on land. This moment feels like a rare glimpse of tranquility, a moment where Ishmael’s soul seems to align with the rhythm of the world around him as he describes life at sea to the reader.
