I believe this is one of the first chapters that addresses the idea of Ahab being aware of his tyrannical tendencies and near insane quest to solely focus on Moby Dick. Ishmael himself observes that Captain Ahab hasn’t entirely lost his mind, but it doesn’t change the fact that he has to ensure that the crew remain all for his idea, lest the boredom of the sea change their minds. There’s a clear fear of a mutiny, but the line that centralized Ahab’s command over the Pequod out of the entire chapter were the lines connecting the pages.

“Starbuck’s body and Strabuck’s coerced will were Ahab’s, so long as Ahab kept his magnet at Starbuck’s brain; still he knew that for all this the chief mate, in his soul, abhorred his captain’s quest, and could he, would joyfully disintegrate himself from it, or even frustrate it.” (230-231)

Ishmael mentions that Ahab “must use tools” (230) in order to complete his quest for vengeance, but Ishmael himself points out that Men are most prone to breaking the order on the ship. I think what primarily makes me ponder this specific line though is the idea that even if Starbuck opposes Ahab so greatly, he’s still under his command. Even if there is clear defiance, who in their right mind (with how early we are within the novel) would defy such a maniacal yet clear-sighted man? He might not be clear-sighted in a means of rational thought, but he is clear sided in what he wants, in this quest to hunt down the very whale that took his leg. Another thing to mention is the way Ishmael observes “coerced.” Starbuck here is clearly forced to do Ahab’s bidding. Whether by force or a threat, Ahab himself is a man of loaded language and even greater force, he’s full of charisma, and is able to continue using the crew as tools, no matter the position. While we have discussed in class that the Pequod is like a nation, I’m starting to see them as a toolbox. Ahab can pick what he needs to use for whatever purpose it is, and as diverse as the sailors may be, the hysteria (or potential languor) all melds them together into one hive-mind of a crew to be used under Ahab.