NCHS AP English Language

#2 Ahab's marks

A “Mark of Cain” is something that reminds a person of his or her humiliation, something that should not be acted upon necessarily. Captain Ahab’s “Mark of Cain” is his lost leg, replaced by the jaw of another whale. This mark signifies his pain, suffering, and humiliation endured because of the whale Moby Dick. But the whale was only trying to survive, not cause Ahab any pain. The same goes for the Biblical Cain and his twin brother Abel. God chose Abel’s sacrifice over Cain’s, but Abel was not trying to spite Cain. He was just trying to serve his God and do his best. Cain did not like this, so out of rage and jealousy he killed his brother, which certainly did not do any good. Captain Ahab seeks this same kind of revenge over Moby Dick. Trying to seek out one whale in the vast ocean instead of practically sailing and searching for any kind of whale does not seem to be the best idea, because of course a whaling vessel needs to harvest numerous whales. Moving on to Ahab’s other bodily marks, the sun has scorched his face and left it even more wrinkly and blotched. Ahab’s body scar, or perhaps a birth mark, signifies his split personality, not necessarily meaning he is schizophrenic. He just has two sides to him that his crew does not always see. He is enigmatic but then also direct with just how he wants to go about proceeding on his ship.

posted by Caroline Ward @ 8:57 AM