Boat Steering Customs
The whale-boat’s steering oar projects behind the standing captain, repeatedly striking him in the small of his back, while the after-oar raps his knees in front. He becomes wedged between these constraints and can only expand sideways by settling down on his stretched legs. Yet a sudden pitch threatens to topple him, since a narrow foundation offers little stability. Additionally, he must not be seen steadying himself by holding anything – he typically carries his hands in his pockets as a token of self-command, though Melville admits that well-authenticated instances exist where a captain, in sudden squalls, has seized an oarsman’s hair and held on like grim death.
第五十四章 The Town-Ho’s Story.
The chapter is framed as a story told at Lima’s Golden Inn to Spanish friends, recounting the Town-Ho’s encounter with Moby Dick and the resulting tragedy between the mate Radney and the Lakeman Steelkilt. The Town-Ho’s Story, told through a nested narrative by the Lakeman, recounts a mutiny aboard the whaling ship Town-Ho, where Steelkilt, a Canaller boatswain, leads a rebellion against the captain’s cruelty. After his allies betray him, Steelkilt is locked in the hold, but ultimately engineers a patient, vengeful plot against Chief Mate Radney, who had earlier violently struck him. The chapter weaves together commentary on the corrupt, picturesque life of the Canallers, a sharp satirical exchange with Lima gentlemen about corruption, and a slow-building tragedy of betrayal, punishment, and retribution at sea. This is the full account of the whaling ship Town-Ho’s voyage, centered on the conflict between crew member Steelkilt and the ship’s first mate Radney, the appearance and attack of the white whale Moby Dick, the crew’s desertion at a remote island, and the subsequent questioning of the story’s truth.
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