June 24, 2019 - Chapter Forty


This is another dramatic chapter, like the preceding ones, except now it is multiple characters rather than soliloquies. The action of the chapter concerns first some dancing among the crew on the ship’s deck, after which the wind kicks up, and the men disperse to prepare the ship for a storm. Finally, there are no main characters in the chapter – no Ahab, no Ishmael, no Queequeg, and none of the mates.

The sole conflict in the chapter is between Tashtego, another of the harpooners, and a Spanish sailor. (The chapter has sailors from several nations – which does raise the question of why none of them speaks with an accent.) The conflict is racial in origin, although the insult to which Tashtego rises gave me a laugh: “Aye, harpooneer, thy race is the undeniable dark side of mankind—devilish dark at that. No offence.” The absurdity of the last line kills me.

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