He has been in colleges and among the cannibals, and has seen deeper wonders than the waves. Less than three voyages ago, Ahab married a sweet, resigned girl, with whom he has a young son.
At 18 years old, Ahab first took to sea as a boy- harpooner. It is interesting to note the etymology of the name Ahab derives from the Hebrew ahavah and aheb meaning "to love" or "beloved" as cited in Strong's Concordance no. Īhab was named by his insane, widowed mother, who died when he was twelve months old. Barrie with the model for his Captain Hook character, who is obsessed with not a whale but a crocodile. Īhab is firmly established in popular culture by cartoons, comic books, films and plays. His prosthesis, for instance, has been taken for an allusion to the Oedipus myth. The character of Ahab was created under the influence of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's lecture on Hamlet and figures in biblical and classical literature such as Shakespeare and Milton. Lawrence felt little sympathy for Ahab and found that the whale should have "torn off both his legs, and a bit more besides".
Ahab's "tragedy is that of an unregenerate will" whose "burning mind is barred out from the exuberance of love" and argues that he "remains damned". Matthiessen calls attention to the fact that Ahab is called an "ungodly god-like man". Melville biographer Andrew Delbanco calls Ahab "a brilliant personification of the very essence of fanaticism". When Moby Dick is finally sighted, Ahab's hatred robs him of all caution, and the whale drags Ahab to his death beneath the sea. The whaling voyage of the Pequod ends up as a hunt for revenge on the whale, as Ahab forces the crew members to support his fanatical mission. On a previous voyage, the white whale Moby Dick bit off Ahab's leg, and he now wears a prosthetic leg made out of whalebone. He is the monomaniacal captain of the whaling ship Pequod. TaberĬaptain Ahab is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851). Barrie with the model for his Captain Hook character, who is obsessed not with a whale but a crocodile.Ahab in his final chase with Moby Dick, by I. His prosthesis, for instance, has been taken for an allusion to the Oedipus myth.Ahab is firmly established in popular culture by cartoons, comic books, films and plays. Lawrence felt little sympathy for Ahab and found that the whale should have "torn off both his legs, and a bit more besides".The character of Ahab was created under the influence of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's lecture on Hamlet and figures in biblical and classical literature such as Shakespeare and Milton. When Moby Dick is finally sighted, Ahab's hatred robs him of all caution, and the whale drags Ahab to the bottom of the sea. Wikipedia (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition:Ĭaptain Ahab is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851).