The Mystery of Fedallah
Fedallah, a figure wrapped in a hair turban, remains an unexplained mystery throughout the chapter. None of the crew knows where he came from or by what connection he has linked himself to Ahab’s fortunes. He appears to hold some mysterious influence over the captain, perhaps even authority over him. Described as a creature from the East, he seems more at home among the unchanging Asiatic communities than among Western sailors.
Ahab’s Modified Whaleboat
Ahab meticulously modifies the spare whaleboat to accommodate his physical condition. He carefully shapes the thigh board or cleat in the bow where he can brace his knee when darting at whales. He repeatedly stands in the boat with his solitary knee fitted into the semi-circular depression, using a carpenter’s chisel to refine and adjust it until it fits perfectly.
The Maimed Captain’s Dilemma
The chapter ultimately poses the question of whether a maimed man should enter a whale-boat during the hunt, given the constant dangers involved. While the joint-owners likely thought it unwise, Ahab’s determination to personally pursue Moby Dick overrides these considerations.
第五十一章 The Spirit-Spout.
Under easy sail, the Pequod slowly traversed several cruising grounds before one serene moonlight night revealed a silvery jet far ahead, first descried by the Oriental Fedallah perched aloft at the main-mast head; his unearthly announcement of the spout startled every reclining mariner to his feet, and though Ahab commanded the ship to pursue it, the jet disappeared and would continue to reappear mysteriously night after night, luring the crew onward while some sailors swore it was cast by none other than Moby Dick himself. As the ship turned eastward and encountered the howling Cape winds and troubled seas, the atmosphere grew bleak with strange birds clinging to the rigging and a black conscience-like sea heaving unrestingly, yet throughout this tempest Ahab manifested the gloomiest reserve, standing dead to windward for hours gripping a shroud with his ivory leg, and one night Starbuck found him sitting motionless in his chair with closed eyes, his lantern swinging from his tightly clenched hand—still, despite appearances, fixated on his relentless purpose.
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