Moby-Dick · Chapter
LIX: Squid explained
During a calm, preternaturally still morning, Daggoo sights a great white mass he initially believes to be Moby Dick.
What happens
During a calm, preternaturally still morning, Daggoo sights a great white mass he initially believes to be Moby Dick. The crew lowers the boats in pursuit, but the creature submerges and then resurfaces, revealing itself to be a gigantic, spectral white squid. The sighting of this rare and mysterious creature, believed to be the primary food of the sperm whale, fills the crew with awe and superstitious dread, with Starbuck declaring he would rather have faced the White Whale.
Themes in this chapter
The Limits of Knowledge
The squid is a 'wondrous phenomenon' from the 'secret seas,' representing the vast, unknown depths of the natural world that defy human understanding and classification.
Interpretation and Perception
The crew's perception shifts from believing the white mass is Moby Dick to recognizing it as an enigmatic squid, highlighting how expectation and superstition color their interpretation of reality.
Characters to notice
- Daggoo
Spots the mysterious white mass from the mainmast-head, initially crying out that it is Moby Dick.
- Captain Ahab
Eagerly orders the boats lowered at the sight of the white mass, but falls silent and turns back after the squid is identified.
- Starbuck
Expresses profound dread upon seeing the squid, declaring he would rather have faced Moby Dick.
- Flask
Asks Starbuck what the apparition was, receiving the explanation that it is the great live squid.
Key passages
“A vast pulpy mass, furlongs in length and breadth, of a glancing cream-colour, lay floating on the water, innumerable long arms radiating from its centre, and curling and twisting like a nest of anacondas...”
An enormous, pale, shapeless creature with countless writhing arms floated on the surface.
Vividly describes the awe-inspiring and terrifying form of the giant squid.
“"Almost rather had I seen Moby Dick and fought him, than to have seen thee, thou white ghost!"”
"I would almost prefer to have encountered and battled Moby Dick than to have seen you, you white phantom!"
Starbuck's reaction underscores the squid's supernatural and ominous portent, ranking its horror above that of their primary quarry.
“So rarely is it beheld, that though one and all of them declare it to be the largest animated thing in the ocean, yet very few of them have any but the most vague ideas concerning its true nature and form...”
It is seen so seldom that, while all whalemen agree it's the ocean's largest creature, almost no one has a clear concept of what it actually is.
Emphasizes the creature's mystery and how its rarity fuels superstition over knowledge.