Moby Dick Premonitions
Herman Melville employs numerous motifs in the novel Moby Dick that all serve some purpose, though that purpose is oftentimes somewhat ambiguous. One of the more peculiar motifs that I traced throughout the novel was Melville's strange tendency to foreshadow events to come. Normally, most novels attempt to maintain a certain amount of suspense until the climax, which usually contains some sort of surprise for the reader. But before getting even halfway through Moby Dick, the reader knows that when Ahab encounters Moby Dick, he will die. One would think that knowing the end to a novel would spoil it, but the methodology behind Melville's hints and the fashion in which they are presented only contribute to the excitement of the climax, and ultimately to the purpose of the novel itself. The hints are absolutely everywhere in the novel; they are sometimes hidden, sometimes blatant, and sometimes confusing. And with every sign that Melville drops for the reader, the excitement builds up until the hopeless battle with Moby Dick. One of the first signs in the novel of the impending doom Ishmael will face is the name of the owner of the Spouter Inn: "Coffin? - Spouter? - Rather ominous in that particular connexion, thought I" (1
As the chase for Moby Dick progresses, the signs become more and more obvious that the mission was doomed from the start. Ishmael's authoring of his own will, the encounter with a giant squid, the warning from Gabriel, the construction of Queequeg's coffin, and many other signs all begin to accumulate. The effects of the speech that Ahab used to fire up the sailors are wearing off, and the sailors are truly beginning to fear for their lives. At one point near the end of their pursuit of Moby Dick, Starbuck, a man of morals and of God, actually seriously considers murdering Ahab: "If, then, he were this instant - put aside, that crime would not be his."" (422). It also becomes increasingly evident that the signs being given to the Pequod are sent from heaven. The best example would probably be when Ahab climbs the crow's nest, and has his hat plucked off his head by a hawk. The imagery of a man climbing towards the heavens searching for a God, only to have his hat knocked off is somewhat reminiscent of the Greek myth of Theseus. Theseus attempted to reach Olympus and the Gods by flying on Pegasus towards the heavens, but he was struck down and killed. Ahab receives a warning from heaven, and luckily has only his hat removed. Unfortunately, he pays it no heed. These strategically placed warni
Some common words found in the essay are:
Olympus Gods, Moby Dick, Dick Starbuck, Ishmael Ishmael, Coffin Spouter, moby dick, Herman Melville, Try-Pots Inn, Theseus Theseus, towards heavens,
Approximate Word count = 883
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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