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The Heroic in Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick is an enigmatic work from which to begin deciphering heroic
qualities. Familiarity with the tragic heroes of drama ranging from Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra to Othello to the more modern adaptation of the tragic figure found in Willy Loman
demonstrates the potential for viewing Ahab as heroic despite unfavorable responses to him by
the reader. Realizing that this is not a distinctly American definition of a hero, it is nevertheless
a beginning point in a journey to define the heroic in American literature.
In the original formula coming from the Greeks, the tragic hero had to be an high-born
individual of elevated status possessed of a fatal flaw which resulted in their downfall. With
Othello Shakespeare redefined elevated status to include position alone rather than being
linked to societal or birth status. In this way it was possible for Othello as the military leader to
be the tragic hero despite being an outsider in the composition of the society. Melville follows
this example in Moby-Dick. On board the Pequod, Ahab as the ship's captain
assumes the role of king or dictator which gives him the elevated status to fit this traditional view
of the hero (Millhauser 76). Melville himself wrote:
Men may seem detestable . . . ; men may have mean and meagre faces; but
man, in the ideal, is so noble and so sparkling, such a grand and glowing creature, that over any
ignominious blemish in him all his fellows should run to throw their costliest robes . . . . If, then,
to meanest mariners, and renegades and castaways, I shall hereafter ascribe high qualities, though
dark; weave round them tragic graces; . . . then against all mortal critics bear me out in it, thou
just Spirit of Equality, which has spread one royal mantle of humanity over all my kind! . . . .
Thou who, in all Thy mighty, earthly marchings, ever cullest Thy selectest champions from the
kingly commons; bear me out in it, O God! (444-445)
Melville takes the traditional heroic view and reinterprets it from the American viewpoint of
equality to open the door for a further defining of the hero.
The other requirement from the Greeks, the fatal flaw, is clearly evident in Ahab.
"The flaw itself [is] a pride that challenges the very nature of things . . ." (Millhauser 76). Ahab,
deluded by the prophecies of Fedallah, comes to view himself as immortal, able to overcome
anything. Within the dramatic tradition, the heroic idea of being above everything else is a
recurring theme. Ahab's "flaw, akin to madness . . . involves equally Ahab's imposing spiritual
stature and his inexorable fate" (Millhauser 76). Ahab is blinded by his pride which prevents
him from seeing any other path of action or alternative meanings for events that occur other than
the one he chooses to fit with his monomaniacal pursuit of Moby Dick.
These two areas of elevated position and a fatal character flaw as outlined by
Millhauser and Melville, within the novel itself, distinctly set Ahab off as a potentially heroic
character. Ahab is driven to a confrontation with his adversary by a force never clearly spelled
out for the reader. However, much is made of the loomings of fate in the lives of men. Further
reference is made to the prophecy of Fedallah. Because we pick up the story near the end (from
Ahab's perspective), it is difficult to ascertain his full motivations. Along with this fact, it
becomes difficult to determine whether Ahab is shaping or controlling his own destiny or not.
Moby Dick is Ahab's nemesis. Again Melville is never clear in spelling out how the white whale
is to be interpreted. Some of the confusion with regards to Ahab as well as Moby Dick arises
from the manner in which Melville is constantly revealing the multi-faceted nature of men and
objects. Whatever Moby Dick represents ultimately, however, he is for Ahab an evil force,
possibly fate itself, driving Ahab to his doom.
In facing Moby Dick, Ahab shows many of the qualities that make him a leader. He is
able to command and control. He captures the respect of his crew even though at times is
appears to be grudgingly given. As Chapter XLI opens Ishmael acknowledges that "Ahab's
quenchless feud seemed mine" (482). From references within the text, there is no reason to
believe that possibly Ahab was not always as he appears within the confines of Melville's novel.
There is reason to believe he was a good and successful whaling captain which leads to his
continuing to be given command even after the debilitating injury received from Moby Dick. In
his interactions with Pip and Starbuck, the reader is allowed very brief glimpses of a man who
once had feelings that have been submerged in the driving force which has become all
encompassing in his life--the pursuit of Moby Dick. Although ultimately Ahab's madness in
pursuing Moby Dick leads to the death and destruction of the Pequod and all on board,
with the exception of Ishmael, their destruction is never Ahab's intent. In ordering Starbuck to
stay on board the Pequod rather than boarding one of the whaling boats as he normally
would, Ahab's intent is to spare Starbuck's life. Ahab, believing in the prophecy of Fedallah, has
deluded himself into believing something different from what actually occurs to the very end.
Finally, recognizing that he has been deceived in his belief, he is grudgingly resigned to his fate.
Melville wrote "there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by
contrast. Nothing exists in itself (408)." If applied to the concept of the hero, this fits in with
Melville's apparent destruction of his own heroic model in Ahab wherein Ahab is reduced to his
fallen end. "Long exile from Christendom and civilization inevitably restores a man to that
condition in which God placed him, i.e. what is called savagery" (Melville 538). With these
words, Melville necessitates viewing the double-sidedness of man wherein the same individual
can appear good or evil although the individual remains the same with only his circumstance or
situation changed. Failure to see more in Ahab than the negative qualities so obvious in
Moby-Dick constitutes failure on the part of the reader to apply Melville's method of
examining an object or person from all angles so as to find the balance of good and bad qualities.
Perception is a key to Melville's work in the continuous efforts to view the same object or event
from all sides.
"All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks;
but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle,
ever-present perils of life" (Melville 545). With these words, Ahab's fate is linked with a
universal fate of mankind. Through this common denominator, Ahab's struggle becomes that of
all men everywhere.
In Ahab, Melville developed an unlikely hero. He is not always appealing, but he does
seek within his own realm of knowledge and experience to overcome what he perceives as a
major evil force. Ultimately, Ahab gives his life in pursuit of a betterment for everyone.
Works Cited
Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick. 8 Classic American Novels. Ed. David Madden.
San Diego: Harcourt, 1990.
Millhauser, Milton. "The Form of Moby-Dick." Critics on Melville. Ed.
Thomas J. Rountree. Coral Gables: U of Miami P, 1972. 76-80.
© 1993, 1998--Faye Kiryakakis
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