When I was reading the final chapters of Moby-Dick, I
noticed a significant change in Melville’s use of certain literary elements. In
these last chapters, we have seen Melville take a step back from the scenes of
high fantasy that were repeatedly used previously. For example, in Chapter 119,
“The Candles,” the ship’s three masts were struck by lightning and began
lighting up with “white flames.” Ahab’s harpoon, which he had just forged of
the blood of the three harpooneers, was also struck by lightning, and caught
fire, despite being made of metal. The sheer fantasy that Melville wrote into
these chapters gives the reader a sense of escalating tension, and the idea
that the ship was traveling further and further away from the comfort zone of
reality. However, there is none of this to be found in the later chapters.
Instead, we see characters going on long, drawn out asides, and the Pequod
encounters two ships. Repeated symbols including the black hawk which stole
Ahab’s hat and the use of Queequeg’s coffin as a life raft seem to indicate
impending doom.
Chapter 123, "The Musket," intrigued me. It was
the first time in the novel that Melville seemed to poise fate against free
will. Starbuck wrestled with the idea of shooting Ahab and taking command of
the ship. Another example is the dramatic change in Ahab’s mentality throughout
these chapters. He began to question his commitment to killing Moby Dick for
the first time in the novel. He acknowledged his obsession and mental
instability. He began pondering the idea of giving up the chase. In Chapter
132, Ahab explicated the doubts he was beginning to feel, “I so keep pushing, and
crowding, and jamming myself on all the time; recklessly making me ready to do
what in my own proper, natural heart, I durst not so much as dare? Is Ahab,
Ahab?”
Towards the end
of the novel, Melville cut down on his use of high fantasy and began
introducing the concept of fate vs. free will. Although ultimately, he decided
that prophecy would hold its course.
This is an interesting point that Mike has made about the changes in Melville's use of literary techniques in the transition to the novel's conclusion. I had not recognized that the symbols used by Melville became based in reality rather than extravagant, almost mystical occurrences aboard the Pequod. Perhaps Melville thought that this transition was necessary in order to began posing the question of fate vs free will to the readers. The idea of free will is based in reality, whereas fate can be a metaphysical idea. It would have been difficult to create a scene in which a character's free will comes into play using objects and symbols metaphysical and almost magical properties.
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