Queequeg’s Prophecy
While honing his harpoon in the raised boat, Queequeg tells Ishmael that when you see the squid, you will soon see the param whale. This prophecy connects to Starbuck’s earlier portents concerning the Squid, suggesting an inevitable encounter with the sperm whale lies ahead.
The Enchanted Atmosphere
The following day proves exceedingly still and sultry. The Indian Ocean proves a vacant stretch, offering few signs of marine life. With nothing to engage them, the crew succumbs to a spell of sleep induced by the tranquil sea. Ishmael, standing at the foremast-head, leans against the royal shrouds and idly sways in what seems enchanted air, losing all consciousness as his soul departs from his body while his body continues to swing like a pendulum.
The Masthead Watch
Before losing complete awareness, Ishmael notices the seamen at the main and mizzen-mast-heads have already become drowsy. All three men lifelessly swing from the spars while the slumbering helmsman below nods with each swing. The waves themselves nod their indolent crests, and across the wide trance of the sea, east nods to west with the sun presiding over all.
The Sperm Whale Sighting
Suddenly bursting bubbles beneath Ishmael’s closed eyes restore him to life. His hands grasp the shrouds as if by gracious agency, and he awakens to find a gigantic Sperm Whale not forty fathoms off, rolling in the water like a capsized frigate. The whale’s broad, glossy, Ethiopian-hued back glistens in the sun, and lazily spouting vapor, the whale resembles a portly burgher smoking his pipe—a pipe that proves to be his last. The entire ship and all sleepers start awake simultaneously, and voices cry out at the whale’s spouting.
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