Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

The Darting Process

The darting process requires the exhausted harpooneer to quickly abandon his oar, pivot his body, retrieve his weapon, and execute the throw with whatever diminished strength remains after the demanding chase.

The Harpooneer’s Struggle

The harpooneer must maintain intense physical exertion through rowing, shouting, and emotional intensity while simultaneously preparing for the sudden moment when he must drop everything and cast his harpoon. This combination of activities—bawling at the top of one’s compass while straining every muscle—creates an impossible burden.

The Change of Places

When the whale begins its desperate run after being struck, both the boatheader and harpooneer scramble fore and aft in the dangerous chaos of the moment. Only then do they change places, with the headsman finally assuming his proper station at the bow, where he should have been positioned from the start.

CHAPITRE 63. The Crotch.

The chapter introduces the “crotch,” a crucial piece of whaling equipment—a notched stick inserted into the ship’s bow that serves as a rest for harpoons. It explains the tactical purpose of keeping two harpoons ready simultaneously and describes the dangerous scenarios that can unfold when multiple boats hunt a single whale.

The Crotch

The crotch is a notched wooden device, approximately two feet long, perpendicularly inserted into the starboard gunwale near the bow of the whaling boat. Its purpose is to provide a readily accessible rest for harpoons, allowing the harpooneer to grab the weapon as quickly as a backwoodsman would swing a rifle from the wall.

The Two Harpoons

Two harpoons typically rest in the crotch, called the first and second irons. Both are connected to the same line by their own separate cords. The strategic advantage is that if one harpoon draws out during the violent drag of a caught whale, the other may still maintain a hold—effectively doubling the chances of successfully retaining the whale.

The Second Iron Overboard

When a whale moves with such sudden, violent convulsions upon receiving the first harpoon that the harpooneer cannot pitch the second iron, the connected weapon must be tossed overboard to prevent fatal danger to the crew. This loose second iron becomes a dangerous, skittish object that tangles and cuts lines around both boat and whale, and generally cannot be secured again until the whale is captured.

Four Boats Engaging One Whale

In scenarios where four boats engage an unusually strong, active, and cunning whale, numerous loose second irons may be simultaneously dangling about. Since each boat carries several harpoons as backup, ten or more loose irons may be creating chaos—an intricate and perilous situation that the narrative promises to illuminate in subsequent scenes.

CHAPITRE 64. Stubb’s Supper.

This chapter follows the aftermath of Stubb’s successful whale kill, covering the labor to tow the massive carcass to the Pequod, the crew’s work to moor the whale alongside the ship for the night, Stubb’s celebratory whale-steak supper, his humorous exchange with the elderly ship’s cook Fleece, and the chaotic shark feast surrounding the dead leviathan.

Towing the Whale

Stubb’s freshly killed whale lies some distance from the Pequod, so under calm conditions, three boats form a tandem to slowly tow the massive, sluggish carcass back to the ship. Eighteen men labor for hours to move the enormous mass, with the effort underscoring the whale’s staggering size. As darkness falls, three lights in the Pequod’s main rigging guide the towing boats back toward the vessel.

Securing the Whale

Captain Ahab briefly appears on deck to issue standard orders to secure the dead whale for the night, then retires to his cabin until morning, still preoccupied with his monomaniacal quest to kill Moby Dick. The crew moors the whale to the Pequod by tying its head to the ship’s stern and its tail to the bows, so the two vessels appear yoked together like colossal bullocks in the darkness. A footnote explains the clever method the crew uses to fasten a chain around the whale’s heavy, flexible tail that would otherwise sink below the surface out of reach.