Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Fedallah Observes Right Whale Head Near Ahab

Fedallah calmly examines the right whale’s head while glancing between its wrinkles and the lines in his own hand. He stands in Ahab’s shadow, his own shadow blending with and lengthening the captain’s.

Crew Speculates On Right Whale And Fedallah

While toiling at their work, the crew bandies speculations about all these strange occurrences.

第七十四章 The Sperm Whale’s Head—Contrasted View.

This chapter examines two whale heads hanging from the Pequod’s side—the Sperm Whale and the Right Whale. These represent the two extremes of whale varieties and the only species regularly hunted by man. The chapter invites readers to study practical cetology by stepping across the deck to compare these specimens, as their differences are mainly observable in their heads.

Sperm and Right Whale as Key Hunted Leviathans

The Sperm Whale and the Right Whale stand as the most noteworthy of the grand order of folio leviathans. To the Nantucketer, these two species present the extreme ends of all known whale varieties. Crucially, they are the only whales regularly hunted by mankind, making them essential subjects for cetological study.

General Head Contrast of Sperm and Right Whales

The heads of both whales are notably massive, yet a striking contrast emerges between them. The Sperm Whale’s head possesses a certain mathematical symmetry that the Right Whale’s head notably lacks. The Sperm Whale’s head shows more character and conveys an air of “pervading dignity,” further enhanced by its pepper-and-salt coloring at the summit—signs of advanced age that earn this whale the technical designation of a “grey-headed whale.”