Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

The Virtue of the Whale’s Strong Vitality

The narrator sees in the whale the rare virtues of strong individual vitality, thick walls, and interior spaciousness. He implores humanity to admire and model itself after the whale—to remain warm among ice, to live in the world without being of it, to stay cool at the equator and fluid at the Pole. Yet he acknowledges the futility of such instruction, since few erections are domed like St. Peter’s and few creatures are as vast as the whale.

第六十九章 The Funeral.

This chapter describes the aftermath of the whale’s death as its massive body is cut loose and drifts away into the sea. The chapter presents this as a grotesque funeral ceremony, with sharks and seabirds as mourners, and explores how superstitions arise from such scenes—sailors mistaking the floating corpse for dangerous shoals, creating false legends that persist for years. The chapter concludes by questioning whether readers believe in ghosts, suggesting that even rational men acknowledge deeper mysteries.

The Floating Carcass

The whale’s beheaded body, pale as marble, floats away from the ship while sharks tear at it beneath the surface and screaming seabirds attack from above. Despite its decapitation, the corpse remains colossal in size. For hours, the ship remains nearly stationary as observers watch this terrible spectacle unfold across the calm, sunny sea until the massive carcass disappears into the distance.

The Mock Funeral

The text describes a “most doleful and most mocking funeral” where the sea-vultures and air-sharks act as mourners in black and speckled plumage. Melville ironically notes that few of these creatures would have aided the living whale had it needed help, yet they piously descend upon its funeral feast. The author excoriates this “horrible vultureism of earth” from which not even the mightiest whale is exempt.