The concept of revenge is only present in human nature. When a zebra is killed by a lion, the zebra’s family does not attempt to kill the lion. Instead, they accept the loss and move on to protect themselves. But as humans, we are critically flawed by our need to seek revenge, and at times, this need to seek revenge can get us killed.

Ahab seeks revenge on Moby Dick, not only because the White Wale stole his leg, but because Moby Dick, to Ahab, represents all that is wrong with the world.

“All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. He piled upon the whale’s white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart’s shell upon it.” (Melville 156)

Ahab feels that if he can kill Moby Dick, he can rid the world, or his world, of evil. His almost maniacal obsession with Moby Dick as a symbol of evil is the key into Ahab’s character flaw; he is unrealistic and unable to understand the world in which he lives. Moby Dick, as a symbol and from a standpoint of agency, represents our inability to fully understand the world.

Ahab’s attempt to kill Moby Dick is motivated by revenge, but also by his need to destroy the things he cannot understand. Ahab sees Moby Dick as evil because he does not understand the creature or his motives. Fear of the unknown is not a physical presence that someone can conquer, and thus Ahab applies this fear to Moby Dick. Ahab feels that if he can conquer Moby Dick, he can conquer his fears and the evil of the world.

Revenge is the theme of my absolute favorite nautically themed song; The Mariner’s Revenge Song by The Decemberists. I have always praised the Decemberists for their incredibly poetic lyrics and their ability to tell a magnificent story. The Mariner’s Revenge Song is nothing short of amazing and I am thrilled to share it with the class.

– Jamie Buscher