Background - Campbellsville High School

1 358 A Growing Nation (1800 1870)BackgroundMoby- dick is the story of a man s obsession with the dangerous and mysterious white whale that years before had taken off one of his legs. The man, Captain Ahab, guides the Pequod, a whaling ship, and its crew in relentless pursuit of this whale, Moby- dick . Among the more important members of the crew are Starbuck, the first mate; Stubb, the second mate; Flask, the third mate; Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo, the harpooners; and Ishmael, the young sailor who narrates the the crew signed aboard the Pequod, the voyage was to be nothing more than a business venture.

2 However, in the following excerpt, Ahab makes clear to the crew that his purpose is to seek revenge against The Quarter-DeckOne morning shortly after breakfast, Ahab, as was his wont, ascended the cabin gangway to the deck. There most sea captains usually walk at that hour, as country gentlemen, after the same meal, take a few turns in the his steady, ivory stride was heard, as to and fro he paced his old rounds, upon planks so familiar to his tread, that they were all over dented, like geological stones, with the peculiar mark of his walk. Did you fixedly gaze, too, upon that ribbed and dented brow; Learning ModalitiesIntrapersonal LearnersTo pro-mote active reading, invite studentsto keep a reader s response them to focus their observa-tions about Ahab s desire for revengeand on Starbuck s responses to them to record their ownopinions of Ahab s quest and thereactions of the other the SelectionWidely regarded as one of the finestAmerican novels ever written, Moby-Dickexpresses the view that, despitepeople s desire to do so, they willnever be able to control nature orunderstand it completely.

3 In TheQuarter-Deck, one of the novel s keyearly chapters, Ahab becomes thenovel s dominant character, andMelville reveals Ahab s vengeful,obsessive personality and his conflictwith Moby- dick . At this turningpoint, readers and sailors alike learnthe true purpose of the Pequod svoy-age. The Chase Third Day is thebook s last chapter. There the novelreaches its climax in the final cata-strophic contest with Melville s day, the captain of a shiphad unlimited authority and allaboard ship knew this to be the to follow orders broughtharsh and perhaps arbitrary punish-ment, and most crew members werecareful not to challenge the at a GlanceContextNineteenth-century whaling voyageLanguageChallenging (similes and metaphors; whaling/seamen slanguage and vocabulary.)

4 Long compound andcomplex sentencesConcept LevelChallenging (Moby- dick as a symbol of nature sbeauty, power, and immortality)Literary MeritClassic, influential American novelLexile970 OtherPowerful struggle between humankind and natureOverall RatingMore challengingfromMoby- dick 123lt11_tena07_u3_p2-355-359 5/17/05 7:29 AM Page 358**admin **209:PQ1126:grade11-U3-p2:EQAL iterary AnalysisSymbol Have a student volunteer readaloud the paragraph beginning Soon his steady, ivory stride washeard. Make sure students under-stand the cause of the dents mentioned by Melville s narrator;these are the dents in the woodenplanks of the ship s deck caused byAhab s peg leg.

5 Point out that the repetition of theimage of dents indicates the pres-ence of a symbol. Draw students attention to the language Melvilleuses the footprints of his oneunsleeping, ever-pacing thought to describe the wrinkles in Ahab sbrow. In addition, point out the connec-tion Melville draws between Ahab sdented brow and the deeper marksleft by Ahab s nervous steps. Askstudents the Literary Analysisquestion: What might the dents on Ahab s furrowed brow symbolize?Answer:The dents might symbol-ize psychological injuries Ahab hassuffered in his battle with the CheckAnswer:Ahab has dented themwalking back and forth with his bone leg.

6 433594fromMoby- dick 359there also, you would see still stranger footprints the footprints of his one unsleeping, ever-pacing on the occasion in question, those dents looked deeper, even as his nervous step that morning left a deeper mark. And, so full of his thought was Ahab, that at every uniform turn that he made, now at the mainmast and now at the binnacle,1 you could almost see that thought turn in him as he turned, and pace in him as he paced; so completely possessing him, indeed, that it all but seemed the inward mold of every outer movement. D ye mark him, Flask? whispered Stubb; the chick that s in him pecks the shell.

7 Twill soon be out. The hours wore on Ahab now shut up within his cabin; anon, pacing the deck, with the same intense bigotry of purpose2 in his drew near the close of day. Suddenly he came to a halt by the bulwarks, and inserting his bone leg into the auger hole there, and with one hand grasping a shroud, he ordered Starbuck to send everybody aft. Sir! said the mate, astonished at an order seldom or never given on shipboard except in some extraordinary case. Send everybody aft, repeated Ahab. Mastheads, there! come down! When the entire ship s company were assembled, and with curious and not wholly unapprehensive faces, were eyeing him, for he looked not unlike the weather horizon when a storm is coming up, Ahab, after rapidly glancing over the bulwarks, and then darting his eyes among the crew, started from his standpoint; and as though not a soul were nigh him resumed his heavy turns upon the deck.

8 With bent head and half-slouched hat he continued to pace, unmindful of the wondering whispering among the men; till Stubb cautiously whispered to Flask, that Ahab must have summoned them there for the purpose of witness-ing a pedestrian feat. But this did not last long. Vehemently pausing, he cried: What do ye do when ye see a whale, men? Sing out for him! was the impulsive rejoinder from a score of clubbed voices. Good! cried Ahab, with a wild approval in his tones; observing the hearty animation into which his unexpected question had so magneti-cally thrown them. And what do ye next, men? Lower away, and after him!

9 And what tune is it ye pull to, men? A dead whale or a stove3 boat! More and more strangely and fiercely glad and approving, grew the countenance of the old man at every shout; while the mariners began to 1. binnacle (bin k l)n. case enclosing a ship s bigotry of purposecomplete ; AnalysisSymbol What might the dents on Ahab s furrowed brow symbolize? Why are the Pequod s planks dented?4 Support for Less Proficient ReadersDiscuss with students why the men are curiousand apprehensive. The reasons include that it isunusual for the men to be gathered on thisparticular deck (the aft deck at the stern, orrear, of the ship).

10 Also, the men are wary ofAhab s peculiar behavior as he continues topace about as if not noticing out how Melville establishes early on anatmosphere of psychological tension, togetherwith the idea that Ahab is a man with for English LearnersDraw students attention to Melville s use ofmetaphor and simile to describe Ahab s grow-ing tension (a chick pecking the shell, a stormyhorizon). Also draw their attention to possiblyconfusing descriptive phrasing in the text ( notwholly unapprehensive ). Explain that thesewriting techniques were common in the nine-teenth century. Encourage students to readslowly and carefully and to paraphrase thestory whenever possible.