# LXXXIV: Pitchpoling explained — Moby-Dick

> Chapter companion for Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

## What happens

The chapter details the whaling technique of pitchpoling, a method of throwing a long lance from a fast-moving boat to strike a fleeing whale. It begins with Queequeg anointing his boat with superstitious care. When whales are sighted and flee, Stubb's boat gives chase. After Tashtego harpoons a whale that continues its frantic flight, Stubb demonstrates his skill in pitchpoling, successfully lancing the whale from a distance with darkly humorous commentary, ultimately leading to the whale's death.

## Themes in this chapter

### Man vs. Nature

Showcases a specific, violent technological and skilled mastery (pitchpoling) employed to subdue a powerful, fleeing natural creature.

### Interpretation and Perception

Stubb's grotesque, celebratory interpretation of the whale's death spout as a fountain of wine or punch contrasts starkly with the brutal reality of the hunt.

## Character check-ins

### Queequeg

Anoints his boat with superstitious diligence before the chase, suggesting a belief in ritual preparation.

### Stubb

Demonstrates masterful skill and coolness in pitchpoling, killing the whale with dark, gamesome humor about drinking from its spout.

### Tashtego

Plants the initial harpoon in the fleeing whale, setting the stage for Stubb's pitchpoling maneuver.

## Key lines

> Queequeg believed strongly in anointing his boat... as though diligently seeking to insure a crop of hair from the craft’s bald keel.

Queequeg superstitiously greased the boat's bottom with great care, as if trying to make the bare wood grow hair.

_Highlights Queequeg's ritualistic and superstitious approach to whaling preparation._

> It is only indispensable with an inveterate running whale; its grand fact and feature is the wonderful distance to which the long lance is accurately darted...

Pitchpoling is a last-resort technique for a stubbornly fleeing whale, defined by the skill of accurately throwing a long lance from a fast, unsteady boat.

_Defines the technical challenge and purpose of pitchpoling._

> “ ’Tis July’s immortal Fourth; all fountains must run wine today! Would now, it were old Orleans whiskey...

Stubb quips that the whale's blood spout is like a fountain of wine for the Fourth of July, wishing it were whiskey so they could drink from it.

_Exemplifies Stubb's characteristic and macabre humor in the midst of violent labor._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters/lxxxiv-pitchpoling
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/moby_dick_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/moby_dick_se/chapters