Ch. 126-130
In these chapters, we find a surprise twist to the storyline: the forming relationship between Ahab and Pip. It’s surprising, a little sketchy, and also completely unwarranted… I did not see this coming.
The two represents two different extremes. One is a black cabin boy (the lowest ring of the social ladder on the ship) and the other is the all-powerful Captain Ahab (the mightiest of all the crew). It’s weird that these two would suddenly become companions. In a way, I guess this does show the compassionate side of Ahab, since he’s befriending this young boy (in the most non-sketchy way possible). We were talking about Ahab’s family today in class, and this side of the captain does remind the reader that Ahab is human and reinforces the fact that he is both a husband and a father.
This really makes me wonder about Ahab’s family and how he acted before he met Moby Dick, and before he was consumed by revenge for his lost leg. If Ishmael was the annoying little nerd in school who always raised his hand and asked the most random questions, who would Ahab be? Would he be the quiet kid in the back of the room, plotting against the bully who took his lunch money? I don’t know, but either way, his pride must have always been extremely important to him, because he’s willing to risk everything to redeem himself. Although, really, he’s not proving anything to anyone else… He’s doing all this just to make himself feel better. All sailors know the great story of the white whale, and everyone who’s faced him has either died or been traumatized. So no one would really care if, after Ahab’s incident, he just gave up like all the others. I feel that that could possibly be another reason why he’s risking everything: because he doesn’t want to be like all the others. After all, how awesome would it be to be known as the man who battled Moby Dick and lived? And then have enough courage to go back and search for him again? We all speak about Ahab’s thirst for revenge, but (I could be totally off here) could it be a search for fame as well?
