NCHS AP English Language

Part 2 "The Mark of Cain"

In the Biblical story, Cain was the son of Adam and Eve along wiht his brother Abel. When Cain offered grain to the Lord as a sacrifice, the Lord was angry and preffered hsi brother's sacrifice of sheep more. Cain became angered and decided to do his brother harm by killing him, commiting fratricide. When the Lord heard of this he became enraged and put a mark upon Cain and sent him into exile. This mark was supposed to protect Cain from those who wished to do him harm and if he was killed the Lord woudl avenge him. He was also put into exile. The mark of Cain was most likely a sign that was not a visible mark upon the body, but more of a curse upon his person.

In Moby Dick, Captain Ahab, the obsessivive, diabolical captain of the Pequod, also bears a mark of a strife that he has experienced. This mark, unlike Cain's, is a bodily visible mark that "threads it's way among his grey hairs, and continues right down one side of his tawny scorched face and neck, till it dissapears in his clothing; a slender rod-like mark, lividly, whitish." This is a very distinctive mark that one of the harpooners says arose from an "elemental strife at sea." Later, one learns that Ahab had recieved this mark from Moby Dick, the great white whale that he was determined to capture. Just like Cain's mark was a sign to others, this mark to is a defninite sign to the men of the ship that tells them Captain Ahab is a dangerous man who will do anything to capture the whale.

One could go even further to say that Moby dick actually represents God, and the mark that he recieves in his strife with the whale, as well as the loss of his leg, well represents and parallels the anger of God wiht Cain and the permanent mark that Cain recieves. As with all members of the archetype that Ahab shares, they all have a distinctive mark that separaes them from others and carry some sort of burden or grudge with them and are obsessed with attaining power or certain other goals. The mark also says that they have been in some sort of dangerous situation and would nto be afraid to put other in dangerous situations to obtain their goals.

-Emily Rew-

posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 8:49 AM