Character Analysis of Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick

Ahab is the central character in Melville’s Moby-Dick. He is an anti-hero whose actions are surrounded by symbolic magnificence and whose fight with the white whale becomes a fight against the dark and terrible forces of nature.

Author Herman Melville has orchestrated the character of Captain Ahab by the means of a wild adventure in the open sea. Keeping the great white whale as his arch-enemy throughout the story, Melville has portrayed Ahab sometimes as an egotistic and proud antagonist, while on some other occasions, a wise and long-lost man.

Ahab was the name of a wicked king in the Old Testament. Peleg relates that this name was given to him by his foolish and ignorant mother, of which an older woman had said that the name would somehow prove prophetic. Moreover, indeed, the woman’s prophecy proves to be true in the end. 

Ahab is a man of dictatorial nature, an egotist with an idiosyncratic mind. He gradually becomes a monomaniac as he pursues the white whale. He believes that he is invincible, and therefore, he defies even God and baptizes his harpoon in the name of the Devil. He is destroyed at the end by the white whale, aka Moby-Dick.

Captain Ahab’s Dictatorial And Determinant Nature

Captain Ahab’s dictatorial nature is clear from when he first appears on the deck and walks to and fro with his ivory leg; the sailors feel disturbed and cannot sleep soundly. Ahab demands implicit and instantaneous obedience from the crew members. 

There is certain “Sultanism” in Ahab’s behavior, and this Sultanism makes a dictator out of him. He always speaks in a peremptory tone. He does not talk much, and even at the dinner table, he sits like a mute sea lion surrounded by his brave but respectful cubs. 

Indeed, the mates sit before him as if they were little children. Ahab is a man of determination, and we witness an example of this determination when, in a mood of disgust with his habit of smoking, he throws his pipe into the sea, saying, “I’ll smoke no more.”

Captain Ahab’s Unfaltering Resolve to Hunt Moby Dick Down

Since his disastrous encounter with the white whale, Ahab harbors wild vindictiveness against the sea monster. The white whale swims before him as the “mono-maniac incarnation” of all the malicious agencies believed responsible for human suffering. 

Ahab has begun to believe that Moby Dick personifies the entire world’s evil and that this evil is practically assailable. Furthermore, he talks to himself about the task of assailing this evil and putting an end to it. 

There is no exaggerated idea of his heroism and valor. He baptizes the special harpoon, not in the name of God but the name of the Devil. Armed with this harpoon, he believes that nothing can prevent him from killing Moby Dick. 

Starbuck urges to hive up this mad resolve several times in the voyage, but Ahab does not relent. Then, after the sight of Moby Dick, Starbuck twice appeals to Ahab not to persist in his purpose and to order the crew to change the ship’s direction to return home. 

Nonetheless, Ahab still pays no heed to Starbuck. As the chase goes on to the second day, Ahab thus reiterates his resolve:

“I’ll ten times girdle the unmeasured globe; yea and dives straight through it, but I’ll slay him yet.”

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Ahab’s Extrospective And Introspective Characteristics

Ahab is undoubtedly a fearless and daring man. He is a dynamic person who never outruns his purpose. Although he is primarily a man of action, he is also a kind of philosopher. His mind is perpetually at work, and he often indulges in soliloquies and monologues. 

In his soliloquy, he says that he has lost the power to enjoy beauty and loveliness. He feels that he has been damned amid paradise. People like Starbuck think of him as mad, and he admits that he is demonic. 

Ahab describes himself as ‘madness maddened.’ He says that Moby Dick has dismembered him. He challenges the gods, mocks, and hoots at them; he describes them as cricket players and urges them to fight with someone of their own and not crush him.

Ahab says,

“What I’ve dared, I’ve willed; and what I’ve willed, I’ll do! They think me mad—Starbuck does; but I’m demoniac, I am madness maddened!”

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Ahab’s Satanic Attainment to Challenge God And Ahab’s Other Side

Ahab dies a martyr to his resolve, which may resemble a superhuman. Symbolically, Ahab is a seeker of truth or the mystery at the heart of this universe. Moby dick, the white whale, allegorically, represents that mystery and truth.

However, Ahab has also symbolized Satan in revolting God, whom the white whale represents. On the other hand, some critics regard Ahab as Christ, the “Redeemer.” 

Ahab is a tragic figure too. Pride is his ‘hubris,’ which proves to be his undoing. We sympathize with him even as Satan as Milton’s Paradise Lost wins our sympathy. Although Ahab’s motive depicts evil and destruction, we have to admit that he is a Titanic figure. 

Endnote

Captain Ahab compels our admiration by his gigantic venture and his superhuman resolve. He may not be as Prometheus as benefiting humanity. However, he is undoubtedly a Prometheus-like figure because of his towering personality and the heroic endurance of anguish and woe. 

Indeed, Ahab remains a cherishable character in the whole range of American Literature.

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