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Moby Dick Captain Ahab Quotes

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I disagree with the statement Captain Ahab had positive character traits that were evident in his relationship with crew members in the book Moby Dick written by Herman Melville. In my opinion Captain Ahab had one mission in mind and that was to slay the beast that dismembered him. Captain Ahab had a vendetta and at times lost focus of what really mattered. Captain Ahab put the lives of his crew members in danger and spoke to them in a disrespectful manner.

The following example found in Chapter 28 of Moby Dick describes how the crew envisioned Captain Ahab and how he ruled his ship. “Not a word he spoke; nor did his officers say aught to him; though by all their minutest gestures and expressions, they plainly showed the uneasy, if not painful, consciousness of being under a troubled master-eye. And not only that, but moody stricken Ahab stood before them with a crucifixion in his face; in all the nameless regal overbearing dignity of some mighty woe. ” (Chapter 28, Melville) This …show more content…

“But if such an hypothesis be indeed exceptionable, there were still additional considerations which, though not so strictly according with the wildness of his ruling passion, yet were by no means incapable of swaying him.” (Chapter 46, Melvile) The words “wildness in his ruling passion” creates an image in my mind that there is absolutely no reasoning with Captain Ahab once he has an idea in his mind, specifically when he thinks of Moby Dick.

In conclusion, I feel that there were many examples in the book Moby Dick to show that Captain Ahab did not have positive character traits in his relationships with the crew members. Captain Ahab had one desire, to kill Moby Dick. The safety of the crew is at times jeopardized because of this one desire. Captain Ahab’s obsession with Moby Dick causes him to lash out at crew members and respect is

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