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.
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