NCHS AP English Language

Nantucket market! Hoot! (Chris Fitzer)

"forks out at the serpent-snapping eye" This statement arises in Ahab's speech attempting to arose the spirits of the sailors. He calls upon their vicious and devilish desires to seek the same revenge he seeks on Moby Dick. He calls on their energy and determination to be focused on his same goal.

"St. Vitus' imp"... St Vitus is the patron saint of dancing and comedy, and he protects against oversleeping. The festival honoring him involved ritual dancing which was trembling and seizure-like. This was taken to such an extent that he is also the patron saint of epileptics. an imp is either an evil spirit or demon, or it is a mischievous child or offspring. In that sense St Vitus' imp is most likely a devilish person unable to control their own movements.

"there is ever a sort of fair play herein, jealousy presiding over all creations" In this passage Ahab describes the nature over jealousy and revenge. If one thing is capable of injuring someone, that someone is equally capable of getting revenge of the same kind. Ahab claims that if the sun ever insulted him, he would strike it in response. According to that philosophy, because Moby Dick attacked Ahab, Ahab has the full right and capability of attacking him back and getting full revenge.

"Oh, my sweet cardinals! your own condescension, that shall bend ye to it." In this passage Ahab is using reverse psychology to get the sailors to help his mission. He tells them that it is by their own choice whether they should help him, because he will not force them to do it. But he makes the mission so appealing that it is hard for the naive sailors to refute. With flattery and charisma Ahab is able to persuade the crew to become as heated about killing MobyDick as he is.

Overall Ahab is using his orator-skills to motivate the crew into becoming as enthused about the voyage as he is. He uses various ploys and schemes, and thusly is able to persuaded them into following almost blindly. His transfixing charisma and charm drawn the crew into a mindless group of followers. In a sense he is creating an army of clones, slaves, or droids. This army of whalemen has been brainwashed into having the same malevolent feeling towards the whale and the same desire to see him dead. [I feel his tactics appear to have a Hitler-like quality, in that he uses his oratory skills to fool a group into blindly following him, because he has tricked them into believing what he wants is what is right: to kill the Jews or Moby Dick].

posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 10:59 PM