#6 Starbuck
Trope: A figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a metaphor; a word or phrase interpolated as an embellishment in the sung parts of certain medieval liturgies.
In chapter 38, Starbuck is leaning against the Mainmast and soliloquizing how Ahab is a “madman” and how he “blasted all my reasons out of me {him}.” Starbuck tried to reason with Ahab and the crew earlier, but Ahab persuaded everyone that finding Moby Dick was the best course of action. Starbuck seems sick of his “miserable office” of obeying Ahab. He does say that there is hope because Moby Dick could be anywhere in the vast ocean, so there is a good chance he is nowhere near the Pequod. I think that the central trope is: “The white whale is their demogorgon.” Starbuck claims that the crew is fixated on the white whale, the demogorgon, “a vague, mysterious, infernal power or divinity.” This metaphor sums up how everyone feels about the enigmatic and powerful whale. The metaphor is appropriate because it makes the whale seem almost god-like; it creates a reason to believe that the whale is worth searching for and killing. Because realistically and to a practical whaler, trying to find one particular whale is stupid and a waste of time.
Written by Caroline Ward
posted by Caroline Ward @ 8:01 AM
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