ipl-logo

The Role Of Fate In Moby Dick

764 Words4 Pages

Tragedies depict humanity’s worst fears. Man may commence a course of events, but like a domino effect, the end result is inevitable. Humanity has always and will always face tragedies at the hands of fate. There is no way to prevent tragedies of fate or for man to comprehend the whole truth. One will either accommodate to it or let it. After tragedies of fate, it’s best for one to keep a positive perspective and mentality as being consumed by anger will only be detrimental and predetermines the level at which our lives are affected. The world-renowned classic, Moby Dick written by Herman Melville, explores the tragic tale of Ahab and his crew as revenge is proven to be a bringer of death and the role of fate is woven throughout the novel. Captain Ahab is able to convince the others to join him on his self-motivated quest for revenge as Moby Dick seems to have been blamed for all the calamities to befall on whalers. However, Moby Dick remains a mystery as only a small portion of him has been seen, “The living whale, in his full majesty and significance, is only to be seen at sea unfathomable waters; and afloat the vast bulk of him is out of sight…a thing eternally impossible for mortal man to hoist him bodily into the air, so as to preserve all his mighty swells and undulations.” Moby Dick is also believed by many whalers to be immortal and invincible “-that through groves of spears should be planted in his flanks, he would still swim away unharmed.” These descriptions

Show More
Related

  • Night, By Elie Wiesel: Literary Analysis

    814 Words  | 4 Pages

    During World War ll, a very well known man, Adolf Hitler, chose to kill himself when he was put in crisis, leaving his country in ruins, as well as revealing that he was very much selfish, cowardly, and scared. As shown in the novel Night written by Elie Wiesel, during the Jewish Holocaust, when put in testing situations, many people act poorly towards the Jews, and the Jews show hatred towards the Germans. Also, in the short story ¨The in Group¨ by Eve Shale, a young girl by the name of Eve chooses between popularity and rightfulness. In both Night and ¨The in Group¨ it is demonstrated that crisis brings out the worst in people, because challenging situations put more pressure on people, resulting in poorer choices, and crisis additionally causes people to show selfishness.

    Read More

  • Herman Melville Constructed Ahab In Shakespeare's King Lear

    621 Words  | 3 Pages

    Melville’s idea of Ahab as a tragic character was made feasible by this immersion in Shakespearean catastrophe. Shakespearean tragic heroes, for instance Lear and Macbeth from the novel called ‘Macbeth’ are confused by pride or arrogance. They are tragic because of their inaccuracy in judgment. Captain Ahab also becomes tragic because of the error in judgment. Ahab’s adversity is brought upon him not by wickedness and deviance, but by some error of judgment, like Lear or Macbeth.

    Read More

  • Allusions In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

    800 Words  | 4 Pages

    To some this in an unneeded, extraneous line in the story that adds no real substance. To others, this provides insight into the characters of Nurse Ratched and Mr. McMurphy. The white whale refers to Moby Dick by Herman Melville. In Moby Dick, the whale wreaks havoc and is relentlessly pursued by Captain Ahab. In the end it can be argued that Moby, the whale, and the Captain are both defeated, paralleling the story with Nurse Ratched and Mr. McMurphy.

    Read More

  • Moby Dick And As I Lay Dying Comparison Essay

    1047 Words  | 5 Pages

    Within the cultures of each of humanity's greatest civilizations, similar concepts of life and its essence can be seen. This occurs despite geographical isolation and surpasses even linguistic barriers. Which results in the creation of similarities in topics that range from birth to death and the difficulties of the experience that lies between those two points. In Herman Melville’s seafaring novel, Moby Dick, each chapter not only explore the dangers of whaling and the life of a sailor. But also scrutinizes deep into the underlying mindsets of each crew member on the diverse whaling ship, the Pequod.

    Read More

  • Leonard Pitts Response To The Earthquake

    910 Words  | 4 Pages

    "If you're going through hell, keep going," -Winston Churchill After witnessing the Haitian people's response to the earthquake that destroyed their homes in 2010, journalist Leonard Pitts wrote an essay about his observations. Although many different conclusions can be reached after reading the essay, one message stood out. The main point of the essay is that sometimes, the earth is cruel, but human beings are strong. Pitts proves his point by describing three things: the disasters that fill our world today, the people who suffer through these disasters, and the hopelessness of the situation. First, Pitts explains that the earth is cruel by describing the disasters that fill our world today.

    Read More

  • Ishmael And Queequod Sparknotes

    457 Words  | 2 Pages

    The ship’s commander, Captain Ahab, keeps himself hidden in his cabin and never shows up to the crew. The group organize the beginning of the voyage because there were no captain. Just when Ishmael’s curiosity about Ahab has increased, Ahab appears on deck, and they find out that he’s missing one leg. When Starbuck asked if it was Moby Dick, the famous White Whale which took off his leg, Ahab admits that it was, and forces the entire crew to swear that they will help him hunt Moby Dick until the end of the earth if it’s necessary so he can take revenge for his leg. They all swore to help him.

    Read More

  • Octavia Butler Quotes

    738 Words  | 3 Pages

    In our daily lives, we as modern individuals can be seen drifting through each day, determined to make it past the dreaded 24 hours of school, work, or anything within our daily lives. And as omniscient threats linger in the back, law enforcement brutality, political injustices, world war tensions, and large business corporations growth, we simply ignore them. Why? Because we are so determined to reach the end of each minute of the day, worrying about our appearances, our relationships status, and whether or not we will fail our next midterm. And as all those “small things” become background noise to our own selfish worries, they continue to collide and create deeper friction, allowing enough potential for a catastrophe, something that we

    Read More

  • Suffering In The Masque Of The Red Death

    1290 Words  | 6 Pages

    There are days when the world feels like it 's falling down in fiery bits and pieces on top of one’s head, and then there are the days when the world is actually falling to pieces. Humans have often constructed their own protective barriers, and carried on amidst what would be deemed apocalyptic circumstances. These circumstances are viewed as having no other purpose other than making life extraordinarily hard and discouraging humanity to continue their existence. Instead, tragedy and suffering through it serves to unite all of the human race by tugging on the heartstrings. Compassion and empathy makes suffering a continually melding experience of humanity.

    Read More

  • Herman Melville's Impact On American Literature

    975 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the twentieth century on, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick has been considered a masterpiece of literature and a landmark in

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson And Ahab Analysis

    874 Words  | 4 Pages

    Melville displays allusions to Andrew Jackson in various instances throughout Moby Dick and certainly for good measure. The significance itself, though lies in the fact that Andrew Jackson and Ahab, the infamous ship captain, are both merciless towards the minorities. With an imagination, arguments can be proposed that Andrew Jackson and Ahab are the same person. In order to back up the argument one must understand Andrew Jackson’s presidency, the two’s personalities, Ahab’s role in the novel, and the hickory pole. Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, possesses the reputation of being a ruthless, barbarous, and ignorant man.

    Read More

  • Bull Whale's Suicide Research Paper

    193 Words  | 1 Pages

    The bull whale’s suicide was a sign for us to remember our culture. I felt worried about the future of my people since, the ancient whale meant everything to us. If he dies, we die and if he lived we live. He is our strength. If we are able to return it back it will proof that the oneness is still with us and if not, it means we became weak.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Scarlet Letter And Moby Dick

    506 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, when Ahab is on the trail to kill Moby Dick he almost destroys the ship in the process. The effect of the evil doing can help show the end result and who it will

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies And The Most Dangerous Game Analysis

    812 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the end, these stories prove that human beings need to do whatever is necessary to keep their lives from being in

    Read More

  • Herman Melville's Influence In Moby Dick

    886 Words  | 4 Pages

    Melville’s life had a great impact on the story Moby Dick. In the same way, he had a bad leg on one of his journeys, he creates Captain Ahab with a broken leg. Primarily, by reading Shakespeare’s plays he creates the setting and language of the novel. In the same manner, he uses his dramatic technique in creating Ahab as a tragic hero villain.

    Read More

  • The Symbolism Of The Whale In Moby Dick

    1731 Words  | 7 Pages

    There are many whales in the sea, but this particular whale called Moby Dick is the desirable catch for the whalers and captain due to its legendary proportions. In the novel, Moby Dick, it offers an allegorical story of humanity’s dangerous search for meaning. The monstrous, white whale represents that “meaning” humans have been hunting for their entire lives, but at the end one will discover that one can do so much but still end up not finding their answer. The entire plot to Moby Dick is directed towards the final confrontation between Ahab, his crewman and the White whale. At the end, the whale wins the fight and the rest of the crew on ship all die, demonstrating the fact that the whale cannot be defeated, hence signaling how the laws

    Read More

More about The Role Of Fate In Moby Dick

Open Document