August 7, 2019 - Chapter One Hundred


In this chapter, the Pequod encounters the Samuel Enderby, another whaling ship, the captain of which is an interested counterpart to Ahab, having lost an arm to the white whale. This captain says he won’t hunt Moby Dick anymore and find’s Ahab crazy for wanting to.

The actual Samuel Enderby was a whaler himself, who was instrumental in the introduction of the industry to Australia. His father and son, both also named Samuel, also worked in whaling. Other than the Enderbys being a “colorful” family, I can’t find any other resonance in Melville’s choice of this name for this whaling ship, although I suppose it’s relevant that the Samuel Enderby is a British whaler.

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