I want to know, In Moby Dick the book, does Moby die?

[gotsmack]

so in the book at the end the whale kills everyone except the main character who is in a little harpooning boat. The resk of the crew is dead and Ahab harpoons the Moby and the rope is caught around his neck and drags him under water. Moby then rams the whaling ship and breaks it in half.


But Does the whale die. I don't want to hear about symbolish or anything else. I just want to know if Moby is dead at the end of the book.

 

[MAME]

no

 

[notfred]

Dead whales can't break ships in half. Whales that can break ships in half are highly unlikely to die after being struck with a single harpoon thrown by a person.

 

[Balt]

No. I believe he had already been struck with many harpoons before, and he survived those as well.

 

[CanOWorms]

he survives long enough to swim ashore onto a beach where he is packed with explosives and blown up on TV

 

[gotsmack]

Originally posted by: notfred
Dead whales can't break ships in half. Whales that can break ships in half are highly unlikely to die after being struck with a single harpoon thrown by a person.

Moby was already wounded from the hunt 3 days before where he was injured. I believe that he got harpooned 2 times the day he sunk Ahab's ship and the book says something about whales normally not ramming ships because it causes great injury to the whales or something.

 

[bradruth]

No, but his injuries caused tremendous weight loss. He now spends his days recording crappy techno music.

 

[Balt]

Originally posted by: bradruth
No, but his injuries caused tremendous weight loss. He now spends his days recording crappy techno music.

:beer:

 

[JoeKing]

Moby Dick died as soon as Ahab died. Moby Dick was Ahabs obsession/madness manifested.

 

[gotsmack]

Originally posted by: Joeyman
Moby Dick died as soon as Ahab died. Moby Dick was Ahabs obsession/madness manifested.

bs, I'll tell you what Moby Dick was really about.

It was about the unchanging state of society that trades dreams and desires for safety and comformity. It is about oppressing those who dare to follow their dreams and the selfish timidness of groups of men that creates unwillingnes to help another even if working together is the best way to accomplish a goal.

This is represented clearly by the two ships Ahab passes on his way to catch Moby. These ships are full of men who have suffered chasing their dreams and lack the courage to continue their journey and are unwilling to help Ahab, they even discourage him. If they had teamed up they would most likely have been able to destroy Moby.

Moby was Ahab's desire, the ship was Ahab's will. Having Moby charge the ship represents unificaton of his desire and will. The ocean is the pace where men go to fulfill their dreams and the disappearence of Moby and Ahab's ship represent the completion of goals. Thats why the ship and everyone disappears except Ishamel. Ishmael still has not yet fulfilled his desires.

 

[Mucho]

Moby is actually Ahab's mother who named him after an evil biblical king then abandoned him.

 

[JoeKing]

Originally posted by: gotsmack

Originally posted by: Joeyman
Moby Dick died as soon as Ahab died. Moby Dick was Ahabs obsession/madness manifested.

bs, I'll tell you what Moby Dick was really about.

It was about the unchanging state of society that trades dreams and desires for safety and comformity. It is about oppressing those who dare to follow their dreams and the selfish timidness of groups of men that creates unwillingnes to help another even if working together is the best way to accomplish a goal.

This is represented clearly by the two ships Ahab passes on his way to catch Moby. These ships are full of men who have suffered chasing their dreams and lack the courage to continue their journey and are unwilling to help Ahab, they even discourage him. If they had teamed up they would most likely have been able to destroy Moby.

Moby was Ahab's desire, the ship was Ahab's will. Having Moby charge the ship represents unificaton of his desire and will. The ocean is the pace where men go to fulfill their dreams and the disappearence of Moby and Ahab's ship represent the completion of goals. Thats why the ship and everyone disappears except Ishamel. Ishmael still has not yet fulfilled his desires.

So following your analysis of this High School required literature, Moby Dick died along with Ahab because Moby Dick is the manifestation of Ahabs obsession/madness.... hmm sounds like I've said this before somewhere

Moby Dick is open to huge amounts of interpretations, that's why it is such an important and widely used book in introducing the concept of allegory. You know you could even interpret the Ahab/Moby relationship as an allegory to the Gold Rush that just so happened to be going on at that time...

 

[gotsmack]

I said he disappeared. It is not the same as dead and desire is not the same as madness.

 

[badmouse]

No - it never comes out and says Moby actually dies. Not in so many words.

It's the "however" that keeps english teachers in business.

 

[XMan]

Good grief, can't a book just be about telling a story? Why does it have to have some deep meaning?

Did anybody ever ASK Melville what he was doing?

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: X-Man
Good grief, can't a book just be about telling a story? Why does it have to have some deep meaning?

Did anybody ever ASK Melville what he was doing?

Most good books have deeper meanings.

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: X-Man
Good grief, can't a book just be about telling a story? Why does it have to have some deep meaning?

Did anybody ever ASK Melville what he was doing?

Most good books have deeper meanings.

And some books are just stories. Just because some are allegories doesn't mean they're all allegories . . . sorry, guess I'm still bitter over my high school english teacher forcing to analyze everything we read to death looking for the "hidden meaning."

 

[HappyPuppy]

Moby Dick was transported onto the starship Enterprise and taken to a planet far far away where he could play with all the other dicks. :roll:

 

[OREOSpeedwagon]

moby dick is about a whale?

 

[DeadByDawn]

Originally posted by: bradruth
No, but his injuries caused tremendous weight loss. He now spends his days recording crappy techno music.

:laugh:

 

[JoeKing]

Originally posted by: gotsmack
I said he disappeared. It is not the same as dead and desire is not the same as madness.

Oh ok so I guess Ahab simply "desired" the whale. Desired it so much that he spent his entire life trying to kill it and avenge his loss. Inevitably letting his little desire kill him, his men, and his ship all the while keeping his sanity. Good thing he wasn't obsessed, then I wonder what he would have done.

And when I say die I'm answering in reference to the original question. Did Moby Dick Die? To me Moby Dick ceases to exist (dies, disppears, is no longer there) because Ahab is dead. Like god and the devil, good and evil, ying and yang, could one exists without the other?

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Moby Dick was transported onto the starship Enterprise and taken to a planet far far away where he could play with all the other dicks. :roll:

Ironic since Patrick Stewart played Ahab in the remake of Moby Dick. I like the tie-in with First Contact, where Lily goes off saying Picard is Ahab.

 

[gotsmack]

Originally posted by: Joeyman

Originally posted by: gotsmack
I said he disappeared. It is not the same as dead and desire is not the same as madness.

Oh ok so I guess Ahab simply "desired" the whale. Desired it so much that he spent his entire life trying to kill it and avenge his loss. Inevitably letting his little desire kill him, his men, and his ship all the while keeping his sanity. Good thing he wasn't obsessed, then I wonder what he would have done.

And when I say die I'm answering in reference to the original question. Did Moby Dick Die? To me Moby Dick ceases to exist (dies, disppears, is no longer there) because Ahab is dead. Like god and the devil, good and evil, ying and yang, could one exists without the other?

when a man's been out at sea he desires odd things...