NCHS AP English Language

Question #5 Kate Pennebaker

Question #5 “Sunset”

Monomania is a disorder in which a person lets one thing control their life; it controls everything they think and everything they do. It is obvious that Captain Ahab has a severe case of monomania. His behavior is obsessive. He only cares about one thing, which is the capture and destruction of Moby Dick. This is a very unhealthy behavior because when someone only thinks about one particular thing, that thought controls everything else and it impairs their judgment because they do things that they normally would not. It is one thing to have goals but Ahab does not have a goal; he has something much more than that. He ultimately believes his life will be a failure if he does not avenge Moby Dick. This behavior would be categorized as highly monomaniac without a doubt. The soliloquy is in some way a foreshadowing of events to come because either Moby Dick will be defeated or Captain Ahab will ultimately defeat himself.

posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 8:22 AM