Moby-Dick · Chapter
XLIX: The Hyena explained
Ishmael reflects on a 'queer' philosophical mood that arises from extreme tribulation, where the universe seems a vast practical joke.
What happens
Ishmael reflects on a 'queer' philosophical mood that arises from extreme tribulation, where the universe seems a vast practical joke. After a perilous squall and capsizing, he questions the inherent dangers of whaling with Queequeg, Stubb, and Flask. Their matter-of-fact responses confirm the routine nature of such life-threatening events. Concluding that his life is perpetually in jeopardy, especially given Starbuck's surprising recklessness and the overarching hunt for the White Whale, Ishmael decides to draft his will with Queequeg's help. This act grants him a macabre peace, feeling he has 'survived' himself and can now face death with a collected detachment.
Themes in this chapter
Madness and Sanity
Ishmael describes a philosophical 'wayward mood' born of extreme peril, where the universe seems a joke and death a 'jolly punch.' This 'genial, desperado philosophy' is a rational response to an insane level of danger.
Fate, Free Will, and Predestination
Ishmael's will-drafting is an act of asserting control over fate. By ceremonially confronting his death, he gains a sense of free will and peace, feeling he has 'survived' himself and can now face the 'devil's chase' with detachment.
Characters to notice
- Ishmael
Narrator. Develops a 'genial, desperado philosophy' after a capsizing, questioning the dangers of whaling and drafting his will to achieve a sense of posthumous calm.
- Queequeg
Ishmael's companion, soaked from the capsizing. Calmly confirms such dangers are common. Ishmael names him his lawyer, executor, and legatee.
- Stubb
Smoking calmly in the rain after the incident. Justifies the dangers by citing his own experience of lowering for whales from a leaking ship in a gale.
- Flask
Dismissively confirms to Ishmael that it is an unalterable law for an oarsman to 'pull himself back-foremost into death's jaws' during a whale hunt.
- Starbuck
Mentioned in absentia. Ishmael imputes their boat's disaster to Starbuck's uncharacteristic recklessness in driving onto a whale 'almost in the teeth of a squall.'
Key passages
“There are certain queer times and occasions... when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke...”
In extreme trouble, a man may see the universe as a huge, incomprehensible joke played on him.
Introduces the chapter's core philosophical mood.
“There is nothing like the perils of whaling to breed this free and easy sort of genial, desperado philosophy...”
The constant dangers of whaling produce a relaxed, reckless outlook.
Links the philosophical mood directly to the whaling profession.
“I thought I might as well go below and make a rough draft of my will.”
Given all the dangers, I decided to write my will.
The pragmatic action stemming from Ishmael's fatalistic reckoning.
“I survived myself; my death and burial were locked up in my chest.”
By preparing for my death, I felt as if I had already lived past it.
Describes the psychological relief and sense of rebirth after drafting the will.