Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Digression on the Dignity of Common Men and Democratic Equality

The chapter contains an impassioned digression on the dignity of common men and democratic equality. The narrator expresses that while men may seem detestable, foolish, or mean, the ideal of man is noble and grand. When witnessing the fall of valor in any soul, one should feel keen anguish and rush to cover such weakness with dignity. This dignity, the narrator argues, is not the dignity of kings and robes but the democratic dignity radiating from God Himself—the center and circumference of all democracy. The narrator invokes the Spirit of Equality, declaring that the divine has always chosen champions from among common men: Bunyan, Cervantes, Andrew Jackson, all raised from humble or broken circumstances to greatness. The passage serves as a philosophical justification for the narrator’s intent to portray high qualities in even the meanest mariners and outcasts.

Knights and Squires

This chapter introduces the principal officers and harpooneers of the Pequod, drawing an extended analogy between whaling crews and medieval knights and their squires. The three mates—Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask—command the ship’s boats as “headsmen,” while dedicated harpooneers serve as their “squires.” The chapter details the distinctive characters of the second and third mates, profiles the three harpooneers, and concludes with observations about the multinational composition of whaling crews.

Second Mate Stubb: Character and Demeanor

Stubb, a native of Cape Cod, is described as a “happy-go-lucky” individual who is neither craven nor valiant. He approaches danger with an indifferent air, remaining calm and collected even during the most critical moments of the whale chase. His demeanor is compared to that of a journeyman joiner going about his daily work, and he presides over his whale-boat as though a deadly encounter were merely a dinner party. Stubb is particular about the comfortable arrangement of his part of the boat, similar to how a stage-driver values the snugness of his box. When confronting whales, he handles his lance coolly and off-handedly, often humming tunes while engaged in the fight. The text suggests he rarely contemplates death, viewing it, if at all, as merely another duty to be performed when the time comes.

Stubb’s Pipe and Disposition

The chapter attributes Stubb’s easy-going, fearless temperament largely to his constant smoking. His pipe is described as one of the regular features of his face, alongside his nose. He keeps a row of pipes ready loaded in a rack and smokes them in succession before sleeping, then reloads them for the next night. This habitual smoking is presented as a “disinfecting agent” against the “nameless miseries” of the world, much like how people use camphorated handkerchiefs during cholera outbreaks. The chapter suggests that his pipe helped create his “almost impious good-humor” and enabled him to cheerfully bear life’s burdens.

Third Mate Flask

Flask, a native of Tisbury in Martha’s Vineyard, is described as a short, stout, ruddy young fellow who is highly pugnacious concerning whales. He seems to take personal offense at the great leviathans, viewing it as a point of honor to destroy them. Unlike the more reverent sailors, Flask displays an “ignorant, unconscious fearlessness” that makes him treat whales as merely a species of magnified mouse or water-rat requiring minimal effort to kill. He pursued the fishery “for the fun of it,” viewing three years’ voyage around Cape Horn as merely a “jolly joke.” His nickname aboard the Pequod is “King-Post,” comparing him to the short, square timber used in Arctic whaling ships to brace against ice.

Headsmen and Knight-Squire Analogy

The three mates of the Pequod are described as “momentous men” who command the ship’s boats as headsmen. In Captain Ahab’s anticipated battle against the whales, these headsmen would serve as captains of companies. Armed with their long whaling spears, they are compared to “a picked trio of lancers,” while the harpooneers serve as javelin-throwers. The chapter establishes the knight-squire relationship that exists in whaling: each headsman is accompanied by a boat-steerer or harpooneer who provides fresh lances when needed and maintains a close intimacy with his commander. This parallel to Gothic knights of old provides the framework for introducing the harpooneers that follow.