Moby Dick Q&A

Ahab seeks to elevate the mission of seeking revenge on the white whale by tying the mission with religious sentiment. The sailors all drink from the same cup, a ritual reminiscent of the sacrament of communion in Christianity. He has the mates cross their lances and stand before him, a powerful image that inevitably creates an impact on the minds of the present sailors. The addition of this almost sacred ritual leaves little room for the sailors to voice their objections, and even displaces reservation among some of the sailors. By means of this ritual, Ahab is able to tie the whole crew to the mission of chasing and killing the whale, and ends the pledge by the wild statement “God hunt us all if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death!”

Queequeg and Ishmael spend a lot of time abed together, and the first night that Ishmael wakes up besides Queequeg, he finds his arm wrapped around him in a most matrimonial way. The author means to convey the depth of their bond in these first few chapters by inciting homoerotic themes. Later onwards, similar language continues to be applied as the ship sails into the ocean devoid of any woman aboard the vessel. Heterosexual relations are an extremely important part of life on land but on the sea where there are no women, the crew take on all other roles of each other's lives, they are brothers, friends, and even parents to one another.

There are notable examples of individuals who the narrator or other characters in the novel label as crazy or insane. The most important of which are Pip, Ahab, and Gabriel. Ishmael himself calls Ahab mad, and his goal of exacting revenge on an animal that seems more like a force of nature does indeed seem insane. His monomania and obsession are particularly evident in the closing stages of the book, for despite his continued defeat at the hands of the whale, he still refuses to abate his attack.

Pip, on the other hand, seems to have been made insane by the realization of his insignificance both in comparison to the vast ocean and perhaps as a young black man in 19th century America.

Lastly, Gabriel concocts lies and makes his peers believe that he is an archangel incarnate. It is important to note, that Gabriel doesn't quite use this belief for any significant personal gain but rather endeavors to improve the lives of those aboard his ship. His opposition to the hunting of the whale is actually in favor of keeping his crew and ship safe. In this light, it could be argued that Gabriel may not indeed be insane but merely using the garb of insanity for a greater good.