While Chapter 74 was based off the sperm whale’s head, the part that stood out to me the most was the ending of this chapter, when Ishmael talks about the teeth of the whale. Ishmael states “There are generally forty-two teeth in all; in old whales, much worn down, but undecayed…”(363) Pointing out that naturally the whales teeth wear down just like humans but yet they are still strong enough to not decay. In humans, decay on a tooth can be fixed with a filling which Ishmael critiques “nor filled after our artificial fashion.”(363) Ishmael uses tooth fillings as a critique of humans dependency for artificial attachment. By saying “our artificial fashion” Ishmael makes the reader aware that he is talking about humans and acknowledging the reoccurring obsession that humans have in terms of our form of fixations.

Finishing off his thought, he brings up the contrast of the use of the whales jaw that is cut into slabs “and piled away like joists for building houses.” Strong material is needed to build houses or else they would collapse. Ishmael points out this contrast, stating that even in the whales most natural and unaltered form it is still much stronger than humans with the help of artificial alterations.

Even though this was book was written so long ago, this is relevant today especially with the alterations humans make currently from surface body level such as injections/ supplements to create the desired body, leading up the use of AI. Ishmael critiques the way humans can be stripped away from their natural beings and indulge into the artificial obsession, all while still being at a disadvantage to the natural world.