Ahab is obviously driven by the Fates. He may be able to decide how he goes after the whale but the fact that he must chase the whale has been predetermined and he cannot change that.
I believe fate and free will are intertwined. The fact that Ahab's leg was eaten away by Moby Dick, which led to his anger and fuel for vegence; is all fate. Ahab's free will was wether or not to chase Moby Dick and fullfill his revenge, or aviod Moby, like the captain of Samuel Enderby, in fear of losing another limb. Pequod
I believe that Captain Ahab is driven by freewill. It is Ahab who has decided to go onto this hunt. This idea didn't just magically occur to him. Just think, if Moby Dick had never taken Ahab's leg, would Ahab have any reason to risk his life and hunt for the most dangerous whale ever. Captain Ahab has chosen to take revenge for his own loss, it is not fate's responsibility.
All of Ahab's actions are dtermined by his own free will. Even to say that his leg being taken is fate is not really true. At some point Ahab decided to become a whaler and he accepted the risks of the dangerous occupation.
To me, I see AHab's quest as driven by free will. We all face adversity in our lives; however, it's not the adversity that defines us, but rather how we deal with the adversity. It is our choice to overcome it and move on, like Captain Boomer, or dwell on it and become obsessed, like Ahab. If Ahab chooses to chase Moby but dies due to this pursuit, then it is free will that killed him, not fate. After all, Moby wouldn't be able to kill Ahab if he stayed behind in Nantucket with his young wife and child...
Give away the ending why doncha? I think that "fates" don't control our characters but the specific choices they make set up their future. Free will becomes predicatble and becomes character, a character such as Ahab is "fated" to die fighting the whale because his own choices hae set him up for it. He decides his own fate and then becomes powerless to change it. Thus destiny is not a boat picked out for you. It's the boat you choose to get on.
I think I'll be the spoilsport here to point out that Ahab, being a fictional character, has no free will of his own. His fate is what Melville wills it to be. Thus, his destiny is predetermined external to himself, and is not controlled by the Fates but rather by a mere mortal man armed not with the powers of the divine but with a pen.
I give nothing away--I am a sphinx! My operative word was "If". Let me pose another hypothetical: If Ahab successfully hunts down and kills Moby Dick, will that give him peace of mind? What answers would MOby's death provide Ahab?
I think it's more likely to pose new questions. What Now? Ahab has his life ahead of him(well he's old but some life), should he survive the whale. He might look back at all those years lost and be so dejected he kills himself(only hemp right?). AeolusEast
I think Ahab will not be able to kill Moby because I already finished the book. But if he was able to I believe he would feel he accomplished his life goal. Melville would be tired after writing such an ungodly amount of pages and would end as quickly as possible, with closure.
11 comments:
Ahab is obviously driven by the Fates. He may be able to decide how he goes after the whale but the fact that he must chase the whale has been predetermined and he cannot change that.
Billybob31
I believe fate and free will are intertwined. The fact that Ahab's leg was eaten away by Moby Dick, which led to his anger and fuel for vegence; is all fate. Ahab's free will was wether or not to chase Moby Dick and fullfill his revenge, or aviod Moby, like the captain of Samuel Enderby, in fear of losing another limb.
Pequod
I believe that Captain Ahab is driven by freewill. It is Ahab who has decided to go onto this hunt. This idea didn't just magically occur to him. Just think, if Moby Dick had never taken Ahab's leg, would Ahab have any reason to risk his life and hunt for the most dangerous whale ever. Captain Ahab has chosen to take revenge for his own loss, it is not fate's responsibility.
-Call Me Moby
All of Ahab's actions are dtermined by his own free will. Even to say that his leg being taken is fate is not really true. At some point Ahab decided to become a whaler and he accepted the risks of the dangerous occupation.
DaDrizzle
To me, I see AHab's quest as driven by free will. We all face adversity in our lives; however, it's not the adversity that defines us, but rather how we deal with the adversity. It is our choice to overcome it and move on, like Captain Boomer, or dwell on it and become obsessed, like Ahab. If Ahab chooses to chase Moby but dies due to this pursuit, then it is free will that killed him, not fate. After all, Moby wouldn't be able to kill Ahab if he stayed behind in Nantucket with his young wife and child...
Give away the ending why doncha? I think that "fates" don't control our characters but the specific choices they make set up their future. Free will becomes predicatble and becomes character, a character such as Ahab is "fated" to die fighting the whale because his own choices hae set him up for it. He decides his own fate and then becomes powerless to change it. Thus destiny is not a boat picked out for you. It's the boat you choose to get on.
Shoot! why do I always do that? The above was done by
AeolusEast
I think I'll be the spoilsport here to point out that Ahab, being a fictional character, has no free will of his own. His fate is what Melville wills it to be. Thus, his destiny is predetermined external to himself, and is not controlled by the Fates but rather by a mere mortal man armed not with the powers of the divine but with a pen.
-Nautilus
I give nothing away--I am a sphinx! My operative word was "If". Let me pose another hypothetical: If Ahab successfully hunts down and kills Moby Dick, will that give him peace of mind? What answers would MOby's death provide Ahab?
I think it's more likely to pose new questions. What Now? Ahab has his life ahead of him(well he's old but some life), should he survive the whale. He might look back at all those years lost and be so dejected he kills himself(only hemp right?).
AeolusEast
I think Ahab will not be able to kill Moby because I already finished the book. But if he was able to I believe he would feel he accomplished his life goal. Melville would be tired after writing such an ungodly amount of pages and would end as quickly as possible, with closure.
R@u!+
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