Response Journal Week 3 - Kalil

In these chapters, a strange duality about Captain Ahab emerges. He is extremely charismatic, as is seen in the way that he manages to entangle the crew in his own quest. Even Starbuck, skeptical of their crusade for vengeance, is unable to resist Ahab’s je ne sais quoi. However, Ahab is also incredibly mysterious to the crew. He is self-centered, and alien, as though he exists in a parallel universe. This primarily occurs when they are eating in the cabin, for, “…in the cabin was no companionship; socially, Ahab was inaccessible” (131). Somehow, the same Captain who manages to get the support of the entire crew for his insane desire to hunt the mythical whale, Moby Dick, is utterly unapproachable.
Before this section, we were only privy to Ishmael’s beliefs, specifically his fatalism. Now, due to the shifting narrators that Caleb mentioned, it becomes clear that he is in no way alone in his outlook on the world. Ahab, in his chapter, informs us that it was prophesied by Elijah (who we dismissed as crazy, though certainly one with a purpose) that he would be dismembered by Moby Dick, but now swears to “dismember my dismemberer” (143). Ahab in this same monologue, claims, “The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run…” (143). In chapter 38, Starbuck, foresees that their expedition is doomed, yet is incapable of changing his path. All of them, like Ishmael, seem resigned to their fate, though Ahab seems to be the only character willing to take charge of his.
This again draws on the idea of the tragic hero, whom Ishmael asserts will be deeply morbid. Secondly, the tragic hero has to suffer because of their hamartia, or their fatal flaw. For Ahab, this could be simply his single mindedness in seeking out the destruction of the whale, or the blasphemy behind it. First, he elevates himself above the gods, saying, “Now, then, be the prophet and the fulfiller one. That’s more than ye, ye great gods, ever were” (143). Then he, as Gabriel suggested, paints Moby Dick to be the source of all misfortune in the world. While he acknowledges that the idea of actually striking God is impossible, he wants to kill Moby Dick as an extension of God, and the source of his woes. “...all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick” (156).