If we are to see in the Pequod under Ahab a symbol of the teleocratic state, of the state conceived as a mechanism for achieving a substantive purpose [note oakeshott phrase earlier], we first need to identify precisely what distinguishes the hunting of Moby-Dick from the hunting of sperm whales generally, and why this difference points towards two essentially different visions of the state. ... Similarly, Starbuck does not see whaling as an end in itself, but merely as a means to his own ends-quite conventionally domestic ones, if we give weight to his wistful imagination of his homecoming,...

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• Grade Level: Graduate