The Pipe

The Pipe                                                                                   Ch. 30

chapter summary

Captain Ahab starts out doing his usual pacing around the deck, thinking of moby and how much he hates him. He decides to find a way to distract himself so orders for his pipe to be brought to him, then he may use it as a distraction from himself. As he sat and smoked he continued thinking his usual thoughts, of moby and his revenge on him. Eventually Ahab became aware of his own thoughts and realized the pipe was no distraction at all. This upset him because it totally mattered for some reason. So naturally he threw the pipe into the sea because not being distracting obviously made it worthless and anyone who disagrees is clearly insane. This shows that Ahab must have a purpose for things and no time can be wasted; so being that he seeked something for distraction, and the pipe failed to accomplish this, he deemed the pipe purposeless. Of course he could have found it a different purpose, such as a better way to focus on his thoughts than pacing around; or he could trade for something better with a crewman. But then again this is a guy who is obsessed with the idea of getting revenge on a whale that doesn't even care about pretty much anything.

Quotes: "Oh my pipe! Hard must it go with me if thy charm be gone! Here have I been unconsiously toiling, not pleasuring, -aye, and ignorantly smoking to windward all the while;..."
-This is Ahab's response to the revelation that he is basically paranoid.

Pitchpoling                                                                        Ch. 84
 chapter summary:

At the beginning of the chapter Ishmael is talking about a process they do to their boat to make it move through the water faster. He talks about how they coated the hull with grease and oil in order to help it slip through the water more easily than if it was just bare wood. Later he brings up the topic of pitchpoling, he explains the features of the spear most commonly used. He mentions that it is about ten to twelve feet long, made of pine so as to be lighter than ordinary, and has a rope attached called a warp used to retrieve the spear after throwing it. He also mentions why it is better to use the spear than a harpoon, "it is important to mention here, that though the harpoon may be pitchpoled in the same way with the lance, yet it is seldom done; and when done, is still less successful on account of the greater weight and inferior length than the lance," Ishmael explained. He then explains the process by describing stubbs actions when he himself begins pitchpoling. First, stubbs stands at the bow of the boat, then takes the end of the spear, raises it high above himself so that it stands about fifteen feet above the men's heads, aligns it with the whale, and then throws it, hitting the whales critical spot first try.

Quotes:"Tis July's immortal fourth; all fountains must run wine today!"
- This is what one of the men cried when the whale was hit by the spear.

Ishmael mentions how it is better to use the spear than then the harpoon because of the harpoons weight and length. Why would these be determining factors towards its performance?

Vocab: equianimity= mental calmness, sanity during stressful times.

            gamesome= playful and merry.

            canakin= a little can or cup.

Allusion: When the whales are escaping  from them Ishmael compared it to Cleopatra's barges of Actium.