Captain Ahab Character Analysis

Captain Ahab character analysis

Meet the captain whose name is synonymous with revenge. Captain Ahab of the Pequod has a fiery vengeance burning deep in his soul because Moby dick, a terrifyingly large white whale that took off his right leg in a fierce battle between man and nature. Captain Ahab has a thirst for vengeance and he is determined to quench it no matter what it cost him and his crew. I guess with that you could say he's gone completely mad trying to kill this whale.

Ahab shows vengeance towards the whale and he once said “aye, aye I’d strike the sun if it insulted me”(Melville). This quote proves that he is extremely vengeful and would do anything to kill the whale or anything that double-crossed him. Ahab is a very messed up man with a terrifying vengeance for Moby Dick. He would trade his life for the whale’s death as explained in "...To the last, I grapple with thee; from hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee"(Roddam), and then Ahab got caught in his line and he perished along with the rest of his crew except ishmael.

Which leads me to his second trait.

Complete insanity, or madness, as proven when Melville was saying that Ahab was gradually realizing what he was doing wrong and in the end he blames his faults on the whale and he gets re-engaged in his hunt for Moby Dick. Ahab once said "Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli!"(Melville).which roughly translates to “I baptize thee not in the name of the Father, but of the Devil!” in this simple one line statement he pretty much proved that his whole hunt is a sacrilegious fight for vengeance he also says “Sleep? That bed is a coffin, and those are winding sheets. I do not sleep, I

die.”(Roddam).
last but not least captain ahab showed extreme determination and “drive” on his sacrilegious hunt. At one point, he even says "Aye, aye! and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up”(Melville). and he also said “Mr. Starbuck, until this be done, my boy's face is to me as the palm of my hand, an unfeatured blank”(Melville)
Over the course of this paper I have told you of Ahab’s traits of madness, insanity, determination, and vengeance. Ahab has and always will be known as an ungodly god-like man.