Tag Archives: the end.

Oneness: In Varieties and in Death

Posted on by
1

One of my favorite aspects of this novel is Melville’s attention to detail in his consistent descriptions of everything. We’ve spent a chapter on a singular rope, why Ishmael’s favorite whale is the sperm whale, and how to measure a whale skeleton if you happen upon one. A particular favorite fixation and talent that Melville expresses is the difference in each diverse character throughout the narrative. Based on dialogue, behaviors, and preferences, each character is clearly distinct from the others, able to firmly stand on their own in terms of personality and individual differences. It is for this reason that chapter 134’s description of the “oneness” of the crew is so wholly striking, setting this illustration of the Pequod and her inhabitants apart from any other moment in the entire narrative.

Melville describes how the crew aboard the ship was “one man, not thirty,” displaying a united sense of collective drive, in which “all varieties [of personality and ability] were welded into oneness” that “were all directed to that fatal goal which Ahab their one lord and keel did point to” (Melville 606). It is interestingly placed in the novel; this oneness appears when it is most necessary (in the ultimate deathly pursuit of Moby Dick). The moments previously, the chapters that covered the blacksmith or carpenter, or when Starbuck so wholly disagreed with Ahab that he held his musket in his palm and contemplated, melted away into this singular oneness that trumped all else. It is in this unity that the ship joins as one, later in the narrative as one, as one shipwreck, and as one death.

The Hivemind of many bodies – Chapter 134

Posted on by
2

“They were one man, not thirty. For as the one ship that held them all; thought it was put together of all contrasting things–oak, and maple, and pine wood; iron, and pitch, and hemp–yet all these ran into each other in the one concrete hull, which shot on its way, both balanced and directed by the long central keel; even so, all the individualities of the crew, this man’s valor, that man’s fear, guilt, and guiltlessness, all varieties were welded into oneness, and were all directed to that fatal goal which Ahab their one lord and keel did point to.” (606)

What a loaded chunk of a paragraph! I think what caught my eye was essentially the fact that the language of the chapter made everyone on the whaleboats like one functioning unit. Throughout the entire novel, we’ve had instances of descriptions like this, but it is only when chasing the titular whale Moby Dick does this language become stronger in my opinion. Pointing out the “individualities” of the crew, all of these components that make a human, only to then describe the fact that they bleed together to worship and keel down to Ahab, it’s honestly a little admirable yet scary. Working together as a unit seems like a no brainer when it comes to the whaling industry, as its perils and dangers are ever clear. The line “They were one man, not thirty.” doesn’t seem like it feels true, but the ship itself melds together because in that moment, everyone is focused on the singular “fatal goal” that spells doom.

They all agreed long long ago to pledge themselves to Ahab, their “one lord.” Additionally, being “welded”, that is combined to become a harmonious whole or actively melted by heat to be fused together emphasizes the idea that everyone is dead set on that singular goal. The unison is uncanny, as all walks of life on the ship join together. I think it sounds fairly poetic, as we all know it spells out the eventual fate of the Pequod by the fins of Moby Dick.