Herman Melville was an unparalleled mid-eighteenth century writer. Melville started his career writing adventure stories. He later started writing allegories, or stories that contain symbolism. One of his literary masterpieces, Moby-Dick, is an allegory that is also very romantic and adventurous. At the time it was written, Moby-Dick was far from popular, but now it is considered to be among the greatest of American novels. In this book, a character named Ahab is the crazed captain of a whaling ship, the Pequod. He convinces his fellow shipmates to embark on a suicidal journey: chasing after a great white whale named Moby-Dick. Ahab is associated with evil in this novel.
The first connection between Ahab and evil is his obsession with getting revenge one Moby-Dick. Ahab wants to get even because the great white whale "dismasted" him (Melville 306) by biting off his leg. Certainly such a desire for revenge is evil in nature. Starbuck makes this idea clear when he says to Ahab," vengeance on a dumb brute that simply smote thee from blindest instinct seems blasphemous" (307). Ironically, Ahab confirms Starbuck's accusations saying," talk not to me of blasphemy man; I"d strike the sun if it insulted me" (307). What Ahab means is that he refuses to be treated harshly by anything or anyone, even if that includes God. The evilness of the captain's desire is intensified by the length he will go to in order to achieve satisfaction. For example, when the Pequod is marooned in the horse latitudes and Ahab is waiting to see Moby-Dick on the voyage, he goes 7 straight nights without sleep. Even stronger evidence of his obsession is the time and energy he puts into making a chart that tracks the migratory patterns of whales. Using this painstakingly crafted map, Ahab is able to predict where he can have his vengeful encounter with Moby-Dick. Furthermore, Ahab, through bribery and manipulation, convinces the crew to dedicate the Pequod's voyage to the sole purpose of getting his revenge.
