Moby-Dick ch. 107-109

ch. 107:
The way that the carpenter is described in this chapter makes me think that he is a man that all of the other whalers might want to be like, even if they might not realize it. He seems to be pretty decent at everything he does, and if he isn't at first, he works at it and eventually gets good at it. He doesn't get too attached to his fellow shipmates, which is a lesson they could all learn considering the danger the whalemen face every day. And, while he doesn't get too attached, he still has a pretty good time with the rest of the men.

ch. 108:
It is strange that Ahab is different than most people who lose a leg in the sense that he wants his to be made out of whale bone. Most people on land get a fake leg that they can put products on and care for like a normal leg. It would make sense for them to think like this, wanting everything to stay like normal. But, Ahab's choice of legs serves him 2 purposes. It is sturdy enough to keep him out and about on a whaling ship, and it is a constant reminder to him that he must catch the white whale.

ch. 109:
Ahab says, "the only real owner of anything is its commander." I don't think that he has realized that he is no longer his own commander, but that he is being commanded by his obsession to catch Moby Dick. Later in the chapter, Starbuck tells Ahab to beware of Ahab. I think that he is telling him to not let his obsession get the better of him to the point that it clouds his judgement on what is best for the ship and the people on it. Ahab needs to beware of the part of him that is becoming more and more crazy at the thought of catching the white whale.

Moby-Dick ch. 104-106

ch. 104:
"they have a Temple, the Rafters and Beams of which are made of whale bones." This part of the chapter reinforces the theme of whaling as a religion. The bones of the whale symbolize the strength and power of religion, and could even be what is holding this religion together by making the people feel protected by such a sturdy temple.

ch. 105:
"we will account the whale immortal in his species" This also could fit into the theme of whaling as a religion. The idea that the whale (and no other animals) has stayed the same throughout time could be connected with a kind of god-like figure. The whale is something that will never change, so for the whalemen whaling is one of the few things that they can count on. Their methods for catching whales might change and get more sophistocated, but the whales will be the same as they always have been.

ch. 106:
It really says something about Ahab's obsession with the white whale that, when he first got his leg bitten off, he immediately started thinking of ways to replace the leg and continue to hunt it. He wanted his leg made out of the sturdiest whale ivory in order to be able to keep sailing and chasing after Moby Dick. All Ahab wants is revenge and he will stop at nothing to get it, not even the loss of his own leg.

Moby-Dick ch. 101-103

ch. 101:
In this chapter, Ishmael tells us a little more about how he feels about the Nantucketers and their connection with whaling. To him, they are like the priests or the ones who first started spreading the religion of whaling. He credits them with being the first "civilized" sperm whale hunters. Throughout the book Ishmael is telling us about how the Nantucketers are superior in their whaling, and how he won't go on any other ship than one from Nantucket.

ch. 102:
When talking about the sperm whale skeleton and the vines that are growing over it, he compares it to Life and Death and how the two are intertwined. This could represent the hunting of the sperm whale and how the whalers don't know what will happen to them while they are hunting it. There is an equal chance for life and death for them. Even if there isn't an actual death, they could still live a life like Ahab's that is like a death. He is only living for one thing, to hunt and kill the white whale.

ch. 103:
In this chapter, Ishmael compares the whale and its skeleton to things that men would use to hold many people, like houses or Gothic buildings. These comparisons show us how huge the whale is and also could even be a reference to the whalers' connection with the whale. They all give up a normal house to live on a ship and pursue an animal that could be used to build their houses, but they never use it for that. These men can never be tied down to land, but they will always be tied to the whale.

Moby-Dick ch. 98-100

ch. 98:
"this is man killing! Yet this is life." This fits into the theme of whaling as a religion. These men are chasing after something that they maybe shouldn't be (the whales and the danger that comes with them). It could be argued that by giving up their lives to whaling, they have decided to give up christianity as their religion and take on whaling.

ch. 99:
In this chapter, Ahab compares himself with Lucifer, or Satan. He is heard to be talking about how he thinks himself to be firm, courageous, undaunted, and victorious. This is a small foreshadow of the things that are to come for Ahab. At this point he is just starting to become a little more crazed about the idea of catching the white whale. The foreshadow lies in his comaparison with Lucifer (an archangel who fell from heaven). It could represent Ahab's fall from power.

ch. 100:
In this chapter there is a contrast between the English captain and Ahab. Both men have lost a limb to Moby Dick, but the English captain doesn't have the same feelings of revenge towards the whale. He feels that if he tries to catch the white whale, that it will cost him his other arm, or his life. For him that is too high a price. Ahab is the complete opposite. He wants to find the whale and to destroy it because of what he did to his leg.

Moby-Dich ch. 94-97

ch. 94:
This chapter fits into the idea of queer theory when Ishmael is talking about squeezing the lumps out of the spermaceti. He talks about the aroma of the sperm and how it feels to be squeezing the hands of his fellow whalemen. He talks about how he is "looking into their eyes sentimentally" almost like he gets a little drunk from the sperm.

ch. 95:
At the end of this chapter, Ishmael refers to the mincer as being like an orator. It fits into the theme of whaling being a religion to these men when Melville tells us about how the whale fat has to be cut as thin as the pages in a bible in order to get the most oil out of them.

ch. 96:
Later in this chapter, the whaleship is alluded to being like a war ship. The whalers are the soldiers who are fighting a constant battle against the whales, but also against socitey, which rejects them at the same time that it accepts what comes from their hard work.

ch. 97:
Again, at the beginning of this chapter, there is the theme of whaling as a religion. Ishmael says, "the whaleman, as he seeks the food of light, so he lives in light." This could be compared to what is called the light of God, and how those who are serving him are always in his light and recieving gifts from him.

Moby-Dick ch. 90-93

ch. 90:
Ishmael tells us in this chapter about how the profit from the whaling works in England. The tone of this chapter shows us his disapproval when he reveals that only the whales that are actually worth anything are claimed by the king and queen.

ch. 91:
When Stubb is talking to the mate of the Rose Bud about the Rose Bud's captain, there is some similarities that can be seen between that captain and Ahab. The other mate says that their captain is an "ignoramus who had brought them all into so unsavory and unprofitable a pickle." While at this point the Pequod is making money from the sperm whales, it is possible that after a while that Ahab will get so caught up in the pursuit of Moby Dick that he will bring his crew into more danger than usual and they wouldn't make a profit because all he wants to do is chase the white whale.

ch. 92:
It is ironic that something that smells so good can be associated with something that is usually associated with rotting and bad smells. Usually any animals that are dead and are starting to decay smell really bad and that is not a scent that most men and women would brag about wearing. Most likely if these people knew where this scent actually came from, they wouldn't wear it, much less brag about wearing it.

ch.93:
"it will then be seen what like abandonment befell myself." This foreshadows that Ishmael will be left behind like Pip was. Either because his fellow whalers are chasing a whale, or because they are so scared of one that they are running away, and if he happens to fall out of the boat, it is his own fault and they aren't going to risk stopping to pick him up.

Moby-Dick ch. 86-89

ch. 86:

The tail of the whale is described as one of its best weapons against men and even against other whales. Ishmael says that, for the most part, the whale uses its tail to come up on the whalers from underneath the water and hitting the boat, which he calls "child's play." He also tells us about the whale coming down on the boat with his tail from the air ("No ribs of man or boat can withstand it"). This could be a foreshadow to Moby Dick using his tail in this way and killing some of the crew of the Pequod.



ch. 87:
"Yes the long calm was departing." This chapter seems to take place in the height of the whaling season when the whales are all grouped together. The sentence could be a foreshadow that Ahab will start getting more anxious to catch Moby Dick from all of the whales that are around him.


ch. 88:

In this chapter, it talks about when the "schoolmaster" whale gets older and decides to go off by himself. This stage in the whale's life could be compared with Ahab and his obsession with the white whale. Nothing else seems to have any meaning and they pursue the one thing they want without needing any others.

ch. 89:

The loose fish in this chapter is compared with Columbus "discovering" the new world. This could suggest that Ishmael doesn't feel that a "loose fish" is fair game like many others seem to think. He seems to be one of the whalers who would back off if he found out that someone else had been fighting for a certain whale.

Moby-Dick 82-85

ch. 82:
At the end of this chapter, it says, "the whale caught him, if he did not catch the whale." This sentence might be a symbol of Ahab's life and how all he wants to do is catch Moby Dick. He didn't do what he wanted to all those years ago and catch the great white whale, and he has been obsessed with catching him ever since. In a sense, Moby Dick did catch Ahab because, unless he catches the whale, Ahab will be forever trying to catch it.

ch. 83:
It is ironic that this chapter talks about a lamp in a Turkish Mosque that burns without any oil. The oil from the whale is the whole reason why they are hunted. This mosque was built because of the miracle of Jonah being delivered by the whale, so I guess in a sense that this lamp could be saving the life of that whale by not needing to burn it's oil.

ch. 84:
"Stubb whistlingly gathers up the coil of the warp in one hand..." This chapter shows us just how calm and collected a whaleman can be when he is preparing for his role in catching the whale. Stubb seems to be completely undisturbed by the fact that his boat is being dragged quickly through the water by the whale. He is standing calmly at the head of the boat being drenched by foam and his mind is completely on his task.

ch. 85:
We are shown, in this chapter, another tactic that can be used to catch a sperm whale. Ishmael tells us that the whale has to take his full "seventy breaths" before he can return all the way back to the bottom of the ocean. He tells us that if the whale is scared before it gets all of its breaths, it has to keep coming up until it gets all of them. This could be a foreshadow that the whale men on the Pequod might try to use this tactic to catch Moby Dick.

Moby-Dick 78-81

ch. 78:
In this chapter, when Tashtego is on top of the whale's head, he is compared to a Turkish Muezzin calling people to prayer. This comparison reinforces the theme of whaling as a religion. It could be interpreted that whaling is the true religion to these men because many of them give up their actual religions to go whaling. They still keep some of the customs that they have, but they still choose to devote their lives to whaling.

ch. 79:
This chapter also reinforces the theme of whaling as a religion when it compares the sperm whale to a god. Possibly whaling could be interpreted as a religion that follows the devil because the whales that the whalers try so hard to catch never want to be caught and the true "god" of this religion, Moby Dick, only causes destruction when the whalers get close enough to capture him.

ch. 80:
It is ironic in this chapter to find out how small a whale's brain is ("ten inches in length and as many in depth") when it has been compared to Plato, a philosopher, so many times. You would think that the whale would have a brain of a bigger size considering its seeming smartness and also the size of the whale. You would think that it would take a bigger brain to even be able to control all the large aspects of the whale's body.

ch. 81:
When it mentions in this chapter that "it is not customary for such venerable leviathans to be at all social" you could compare the older solitary whales with Ahab. The old whales choose to isolate themselves from the crowd and whatever socialization that they do do with the others of their kind is only for their own personal gain.

Moby-Dick 74-77

ch. 74:
This chapter talks a lot about how the sperm whale's eyes are on the side of its head so it can't see directly in front of itself or directly behind itself. This could be a foreshadow to someone figuring out that when they are in the water they can be in just the right position and harpoon the whale without it knowing what is coming, or it could be a foreshadow that the sperm whale will run into one of the boats because it can't see it.

ch. 75:
The end of this chapter compares the sperm whale to a Platonian (Plato the philosopher) which could suggest that the sperm whale has an unusual amount of intelligence for a whale. Since Moby Dick is a sperm whale this reference to Plato could reflect the smartness that the whale seems to show in always getting away.

ch. 76:
In this chapter, Ishmael talks about how the whale's head is made perfectly for ramming things. The features of its head are arranged and they have a hard enough head that they won't be hurt even if they ran into a ship. This could be a foreshadow to a whale hitting the Pequod and possibly causing some major damage.

ch. 77:
The Heidelberg tun in this chapter could represent the whaling industry. Like the tun, there is a lot of money in whaling, but it is a very dangerous (and possibly fatal) thing to do. The spermaceti that is leaked from the tun could be a symbol of the leaking away of men's lives while they are on a whaling ship.