Captain Ahab's Obsession Of Hate In Moby Dick

The Passionate Obsession of Hate
Just like any unknown being, Moby Dick creates a good amount of awe and terror. Herman Melville created a masterpiece, many thought he was a lunatic and that after he wrote and published Moby Dick that he had completely gone mental. This is not the case however, the story that was created by Melville was a work of genius, and the beauty of the work itself is in the writing. The greatest aspect of the plot in its entirety was Captain Ahab’s distinct, passionate need for revenge, and how he was willing to sacrifice life and crew in order to finally catch and kill the enigmatic white whale that has plagued him since the loss of his leg.
Many people believe that to be considered a masterpiece a great piece of writing must be amazing all around, in style, plot, and characters. Melville creates a story that fully meets these requirements, while meeting these requirements he has his own tenacious way of doing so. Moby Dick was ahead of its time in many ways, like the relationship between Queequeg and Ishmael which, is a very accepting one in a time when this notion was not generally accepted. They were bosom buddies, one a white man the

other a “cannibal” from an island, at first Ishmael was fearful and then after they lay together in the same bed there became a sort of understanding. What really enable the connection between the two is when Ishmael see’s Queequeg in the church, and when he sees him giving an offering to his own idol, “And what do I wish that this Queequeg would do to me? Why, unite with me in my particular Presbyterian from of worship. Consequently, I must then unite with him in his; ergo, I must turn idolator” (Melville, 2003). Even though Ishmael makes sentiments against religion, this is what truly resolves the feelings against Queequeg and his savage ways. In the end Queequeg becomes teacher to Ishmael because he has never been whaling, and Ishmael uses Queequeg’s body as a life raft until he is rescued which represents trust even in death.
The most triumphant aspect of Moby Dick that truly allows it to be a masterpiece is Ahab and his incessant need for revenge, his all-consuming obsession.

This revenge which also kills not only him but his entire crew minus Ishmael, “Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but un-conquering whale; 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” (Melville, 2003). Even though he was true to his aim he did not think to make sure he was clear of his line, and so in the end his own harpoon takes the great Captain Ahab down to his watery death. The harpoon of course represents Ahab’s revenge and hate, so in the end Ahab was killed by his own hatred whilst the whale still lives in the open-ended ending, which would be the ultimate ironic

twist.
In the end it was Ahab’s all-consuming obsession that obliterated the crew, Ahab and his ship. Melville creates Moby Dick as a phantom of the sea, the greatest terror in life is the unknown and that’s what the whale is. The whale is intelligent and the oceanic version of death, any whom seek the whale out find themselves with the loss of limb, crews, ships, or even their own lives. The brilliance of Melville’s story is in the obsession that is so drilled into Ahab and his mission, the passion of hatred leaks into the entirety of the story and fuels the crew, and they take it on as their own hatred, which is their undoing in the end.