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.