In the book, Moby-Dick, the character of Ahab has a tragic flaw, or in other words, a “hamartia”. Ahab’s hamartia consists of many things, including his inability to reason, his neglect of his crew, and his narrow-mindedness in only thinking about his goal and not thinking about the well-being of his crew. Seeing as how Ahab is one of the major characters of the book, I would definitely consider him a tragic hero because he goes through the book with a goal that ultimately ends in disaster.
In general, Ahab’s tragic flaw is as follows:
After Ahab has his leg taken by Moby-Dick, he becomes adamant about tracking down Moby-Dick and killing him as a means of vengeance. After a great amount of physical and mental suffering due to the loss of his leg, Ahab’s mental state becomes disrupted and unstable. When the crew of the Pequod sets out to sea, Ahab has only one goal in mind: capturing and killing Moby-Dick. In his determination to kill Moby-Dick, Ahab loses sight of many other important things. He stops worrying about the well-being of his crew and their desires and opinions. One could say that Ahab becomes alienated from all people in a way. When people need help from him, he refuses to give it to them and insists on pushing on and capturing Moby-Dick. For example, in Chapter 128: “The Pequod meets the Rachel”, the Captain of the Rachel boards the Pequod and begs Ahab to help him find his son who has been lost at sea. Ahab, however, insists on continuing his pursuit of Moby-Dick and not helping Captain Gardiner. Ahab says to Captain Gardiner, “I will not do it. Even now I lose time. Good bye, good bye.” (pg 398).
A hamartia is defined as a character or hero’s error in judgment or an unwilling mistake that leads to disastrous consequences. For this reason, it can definitely be concluded that Ahab has a hamartia because his persistence in chasing after Moby-Dick an his poor judgment in thinking that he will succeed in killing Moby-Dick leads to the destruction of the Pequod and the death of its entire crew, except for one person. A tragic hero is a person who carries out the action of a hamartia, so Ahab could also definitely be referred to as a tragic hero. The reason why Ahab could even be called a hero in the first place is because if he caught Moby-Dick, he would be seen as a hero, especially after having killed the beast. The audience finds themselves somewhat rooting for Ahab, and they want him to kill Moby-Dick.
It is so understood that what Ahab is doing could bring about the destruction of the crew of the Pequod, that in Chapter 123: “The Musket”, Starbuck actually considers killing Ahab in order to keep him from leading the crew to its doom. However, Starbuck ultimately decides that he cannot kill Ahab. Ahab’s quest does end up leading to disastrous consequences when at the end of the novel, during the final chase after Moby-Dick, Ahab is killed, as is the rest of the crew, and the Pequod is sunken and destroyed. The only character who ends up surviving is Ishmael. In other words, Ahab’s tragic flaw is that in his quest, he destroys himself and his crew, and he is a tragic hero because he causes this to happen. (567 words)
Captain Ahab’s tragic flaw is both psychological and physical because he was wounded from the whale physically and psychologically. When he was attacked by Moby Dick, he was mentally and physically scared for life. Moby Dick took off his leg. Because the ship was far from land, Ahab had to undergo lots of intense pain the entire trip back, which started to affect him mentally. Later in the trip, a scar suddenly appeared on Ahab’s face. This makes Ahab develop an obsession with the whale and willing to sacrifice anything or anyone to destroy it. During the story, there are many times when Ahab makes certain choices based on Moby Dick. Ahab doesn’t care about any other sperm whale, he just wants Moby Dick. He leads the crew through ice that is almost impossible to get through because he believes that is where Moby Dick is leading them. Any time there is a gam, the first thing Ahab asks is “Have ye seen Moby Dick”. Ahab will stop for no one or nothing until he has killed the great white whale. Ahab is indeed a tragic hero. A tragic hero is one who makes an error of judgment or has a tragic flaw. What makes Ahab a tragic hero is his belief that he can attain something god-like that man was not made possible to attain. Moby Dick is this god-like thing. Even though he is white and white is usually symbolized as goodness or purity, to Ahab he is the opposite. Ahab believes it is his fate to destroy Moby Dick, who he thinks is the embodiment of all evil in the world. Ahab is not the usual hero, and that is because of his tragic flaw. He thinks he can defy the unknowable and is immune to the forces of nature, which is why in the end he is the one destroyed by Moby Dick.
Tragic flaw is simply defined as the flaw in the character of the protagonist of a tragedy that brings the protagonist to ruin or sorrow. Hamartia is the term we get from Aristotle in his work Poetics. The term can be seen as a character’s flaw or error. Ahab’s flaw is presented to us in the story as obsession, his wrongdoings, and his mistakes. He is truly obsessed with Moby Dick that he insists that it should be caught and killed even if the shipmate’s lives are in danger. His poor judgment eventually leads to the destruction of the Pequod and death of all shipmates except for one person, Ishmael. He feels vengeance and revenge for Moby Dick and wants Moby Dick to go through the pain he went through. Moby Dick forever changed his life in that he is both mentally and physically scarred. Not only being an amputee, Ahab’s way of thinking is changed with only one goal to achieve, to kill Moby Dick.
In spite of this, he let his mind drift from other crucial things and in his rage to kill; he completely stops caring for his crew. If a risky situation is at hand, like bad weather, Ahab could care less of the matter. Ahab does this in order to keep moving and track down Moby Dick. For example, when the Pequod meets the ship Rachel, the captain of the Rachel asks for help in looking for his son lost at sea. Ahab simply refuses and moves on. “ Aye, Starbuck ; aye, my hearties all round it; it was Moby Dick that dismasted me; Moby Dick that brought me to this dead stump I stand on now…Aye, aye! and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up. And this is what ye shipped for, men (pg.139).” Ahab soon commends the murderous chalices to the three shipmates-Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask, thinking that the deed is done.
Starbuck soon realizes Ahab’s “flaw” and says “Vengeance on a dumb brute! cried Starbuck, that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous (pg.139).” A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that makes an error in his or her actions that leads to his or her downfall. Ahab does in fact possess qualities of being a tragic hero. His over confidence leads him to believe that he can raise above all things and that he can attain the unobtainable, which Moby Dick represents. The whiteness of Moby Dick is symbolized as pure and good but Captain Ahab thinks twice about that. In the end, Ahab thinks he can find the unobtainable and not be affected by the forces of nature and as a result, ends in tragedy.
Ahab’s tragic flaw, his obsession with the white whale, Moby Dick, makes him a tragic hero. Ahab’s obsession makes him want the white whale so much that he misjudges and sins in his attempts to kill Moby Dick and in the end, gets himself killed; therefore, failing his objective.
Ahab’s tragic flaw is his obsession with the white whale, Moby Dick. Not only does Ahab want to renew his pride by killing the whale, but he wants to know the truth behind its mystery. “And he have one, two, three-oh! Good many iron in him hide, too Captain. All twiske-tee be-twisk, like him him.” (138). Queequeg, who is one of the many sailors who believe in the legends of Moby Dick, speaks as if Moby Dick is immortal. Ahab is directly affected by the whale by personal experience and by rumors. Rumors include the white whale is spiritual and possibly even a god. By believing this, he is doubting and turning against God; therefore, sinning. At one point in the novel, he even begins to believe he is more powerful than Moby Dick, maybe even more powerful than God. “Oh, thou foundling fire, thou hermit immemorial, thou too hast thy incommunicable riddle, thy unparticipated grief…I worship thee!” (383). Perhaps Ahab’s flaw comes from his sin which leads to his failure in obtaining his objective.
Ahab’s obsession causes him to make mistakes, sin, and misjudge his actions in his attempts to hunt Moby Dick. Ahab’s first mistake is making the crew swear “Death to Moby Dick!” (142). He bribes the crew and basically turns the voyage into a mission to hunt the whale. The crew begins to believe to listen to Ahab’s blasphemy and sins themselves. However, Ahab ultimately becomes the tragic hero in his final attempt to kill Moby Dick. In his final chase, he focuses solely on the white whale and not the danger that threatens him and the crew. Ahab, the tragic hero, goes after Moby Dick, but his error in judgment and previous sins cause his attempts to fail. His objective is Moby Dick and he makes the immediate misjudgment in risking his life. “Ahab stooped to clear it; he did clear it; but the flying turn caught him round the neck…” (426). Ahab’s objective failed. His goal was to kill Moby Dick and in return, he killed himself. In his attempts, he received “disastrous consequences”.
Ahab tragic flaws eventually resulted in the making of Ahab into a tragic hero. Ahab was obsessed and his pure obsession eventually resulting in sinning because he basically doubted God and caused others to do the same. He also misjudged the danger of the white whale by hunting it and attempting to kill it when it was sighted. All his attempts resulted in failure which made him a tragic hero. He had an objective, killing Moby Dick. He made an error, sinning and misjudging, and it finally ended in disastrous consequences, which was his death. His obsession lead to his death.
Captain Ahab, the protagonist of Moby Dick, is stereotypically considered ‘mad’ among the characters. Having this title, it would be hard not to have a tragic flaw. Many of Ahab’s actions may have led others who knew him in Nantucket to believe his insanity, as well. However, it was hard for Ahab to get others to believe he was not insane, just obsessed.
Ahab’s tragic flaw, like other great heroes, is his over confidence. Ahab has strongly convinced himself that it is his predestination to catch and kill/destroy Moby Dick, the embodiment of evil. Due to Ahab’s over confidence, he thinks he, like a God, can defy common sense and nature and he can do whatever he wants, without natural occurrences in nature putting a restraint on him. However, this tragic flaw of over confidence is not something Ahab was born with. His over confidence in his predestination comes after his near-death accident with Moby Dick. Ahab explains this to the crew on page 139 of the novel when he says,
“It was Moby Dick that dismastered me; Moby Dick that brought me to
this dead stump I stand on now. It was that accursed whale that razzed
me… …and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the horn, and
round the Norway Maelstrom, and round Perdition’s flames before I
give him up. And this is what ye have shipped for, men! to chase that
white whale on both sides of land and over all sides of earth, till he
spouts black blood and rolls fin out. What ye say, men, will ye splice
hands on it, now?”
In this quote, Ahab explains to the crew some of the background information on Moby Dick, and gets them excited about catching him. He tries to use this as inspiration to the crew members, and it works for almost all, except Starbuck, who is able to figure out his real plan. Starbuck is somewhat surprised, and enraged about Ahab’s selfishness to use he and the other crew members to help find and capture Moby Dick. Ahab’s selfishness ties in with his flaw of over confidence. He is over confident that he will destroy Moby Dick, so why not make everyone else already on the ship help him with his mission?
Ahab, being the protagonist of the story, as well as having this tragic flaw of over confidence, could also be considered a tragic hero. The term, Hamartia, is developed by Aristotle, and can be the character’s flaw or error. In this case, Captain Ahab’s is definitely his over confidence. However, Hamartia can also be an error in judgment, such as attempting to achieve a certain objective, by making an error in judgment. In Ahab’s case, he has, and is a Hamartia– because of his attempt to ‘achieve’ Moby Dick, by making an error in judging the fact he would never be able to catch him, and through is main tragic flaw: over confidence.
Captain Ahab is the tragic hero in Moby Dick as well as the protagonist because his character contains many tragic flaws. Ahab has a great obsession for the great white whale, Moby Dick. His obsession began when his leg was taken off by the whale and he had to endure extreme physical, which led to mental pain. The mental pain caused him to want to seek revenge on this whale. He lets evil and sin enter his mind at this point. That idea of killing the Moby Dick became his goal throughout the novel. Ahab goes wrong in trying to figure out Moby Dick because in the book Moby Dick represents God and we should not try to interfere with God’s plan. He thought that his seeking vengeance on the whale was the correct thing to do. He gathers a crew and makes them promise to kill Moby Dick. He makes that mistake of bringing others into the conflict with God. He persuades them to do so and because Ahab is their captain they are convinced. Plus they do not have much of a choice because they were already on the ship and it was out to sea. Ahab’s first tragic flaw is deciding to seek revenge on Moby Dick (God) and his second tragic flaw was bringing others/his crew into the situation. Then Captain Ahab becomes so ignorant only thinking about killing the whale that he is oblivious to the fact that he is doing wrong. He only cares about himself and not for his crew. Ahab does not associate with the world. He stays in his cabin most of the time, showing in a way, that is sort of dehumanizing himself, afterall, he says, “It feels like going down into one’s tomb for an old captain like me to be descending this narrow scuttle, to go to my grave-dug berth. (p 110)” This statement by Ahab shows another tragic flaw because it is as if he knows that he is doing wrong and sinning, when he wishes to kill Moby Dick. I believe that this statement also kind of foreshadows Ahab’s death by Moby Dick. Captain Ahab, therefore, is a tragic hero because attempted to achieve the goal of killing Moby Dick, but then he made quite a few errors in judgment and he instead achieves the opposite. In his case his disastrous consequences were the death of himself and his crew. Starbuck, a part of the insoluble league, almost persuades Captain Ahab to turn back, go home and forget this mission of his, but then Moby Dick appears and tempts Ahab. Ahab makes his last tragic flaw when he decides to go after him because on that last mission, the captain is killed and Moby Dick continues to live on afterwards. Captain Ahab, a trgic hero, wanted to figure out Moby Dick, but it cannot be done. As we see in our lives, we must just have faith in God, we cannot try to figure him out and why must we do so anyways. Captain Ahab’s goal lasted in complete disaster.
Captain Ahab’s tragic flaw in Moby-Dick is his obsession with, and subsequent pursuit of Moby Dick. Captain Ahab pursues Moby Dick relentlessly with this sick obsession, sacrificing everything and everyone in his quest, and it is this extreme quality that leads to his eventual demise. It is for this reason that Captain Ahab is a tragic hero: his obsession constitutes his greatness and leads to his inevitable downfall.
A tragic flaw, as defined, is a protagonist’s flaw that leads to her or his ruin. It can then be said that Ahab is a tragic hero, for he possesses a flaw that leads to his demise. Ahab’s hunt for Moby Dick can be allegorical in that his doing something he shouldn’t be doing, that is attempting to know God, or even trying to become a god himself, brings about his own demise. As Ahab attempts to interpret that which is unknowable to man, the futility of this interpretation, as well as the eventual fatality, can be seen. As Starbuck said to Ahab, “To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous,” he presents the notion of Captain Ahab attempting that which he should not early on in the book.
A Tragic flaw is defined as “a flaw in the character of the protagonist of a dramatic or literary tragedy that causes his ruin” (dictionary). In the book Moby Dick, Ahab the Protagonist has the flaw of wanting to get revenge by killing the great white whale known as Moby Dick. This extreme desire of killing the whale drives Ahab to be madman and it ultimately leads to his death. In Chapter 36, “The Quarter-Deck,” we first learn of Ahab’s flaw when he rallies up the crew and tells them of his plans for their voyage. By the end of Ahab’s speech much of the crew were yelling “Death to Moby Dick!”
Another example of Ahab’s flaw can be seen later in the book when the Pequod meets the Rachel (Ch. 128). When the Rachel, which was also a Nantucket whaling ship, approached the Pequod, Ahab asks the question “Hast seen the white whale?” The Rachel’s captain reports that one of his whaleboats, with his son aboard, has been lost at sea due to recent encounter with Moby Dick. The captain pleads to Ahab for his help in the search for his son, but he refuses and he sets sail in pursuit to find Moby Dick. Ahab would be considered a tragic hero because his tragic flaw eventually leads to his death. Ahab’s selfishness in receiving his own revenge leads to the death himself and the whole crew of the Pequod, except for Ishmael.
A tragic flaw is known to cause the protagonist his ruin. The obsession for capturing Moby Dick is what causes Ahab, the protagonist, his ruin. Not only does it affect Ahab, but it affects his crew as well. Because Ahab refuses to stop chasing Moby Dick to get his revenge, he takes the crew down with him. We first see Ahabs obsession with the whale in chapter 36, “The Quarter Deck.” “It’s a white whale, I say. A white whale, skin your eyes for him, men. Look sharp for white water, if ye see but a bubble, sing out.”(pg.138) Other examples that help show his want for capturing Moby Dick deal with running into other ships and talking to all of them about the whale. An example of this would be in chapter 128 where they run into another whaling ship. Here, the captain asks Ahab to help him find his lost son,but instead Ahab apologizes and goes on looking for Moby Dick. He is seen as a tragic hero because of this. All of the crew members went on this voyage to capture whales so they could support themselves and their families. Little did they know that because of their captains odd obsession with getting revenge on a whale, they were going to all die.
Captain Ahab is a tragic hero. He has a fatal flow. To me Ahab’s hamartia is his unwillingness to see past Moby Dick and be concerned about earthly matters suckh as money, family, and the well-being of the crew and other seamen who seek Ahab’s help. He is not concerned about the oil leaks or hunting for as many whales to obtain as much oil as he can get in order to maximize the profit. Ahab ignores his family on a quest to hunt the white whale. He also lets down his crew and values Moby Dick more than the wellbeing and prosperity of his shipmates and other seamen who seek his help. The only earthly pleasure that Ahab seemed to have was his pipe. But when he threw his pipe away it symbolizes that all earthly matters has either lost taste,quality,or value and that he solely interested in Moby Dick.
Starbuck asks Ahab,” How many barrels will thy vengeance yield thee even if thou gettest, it, Captain Abab? It will not fetch thee much in our Nantucket market.” Ahab responds, “my vengeance will fetch a great premium here.” By here Ahab means his soul. It implies that Ahab only came on the voyage just to hunt for Moby Dick. When there was an oil leak Ahab chooses to do little or nothing about it. The downside of his selfishness is that there will be little or no profit. Starbuck strongly disagrees with Ahab and proclaims that it is madness to want revenge on an animal that has no reasoning. Starbuck is also motivated by the fact that he needs to get a good lay. His family is depending on him for money. Because Ahab puts the shipmen in risk he is indirectly putting their families at risk also.
Ahab forgets or chooses to ignore his family while on the voyage. Ahab confides in Starbuck about the feelings he has about his family. He explains that he has wronged them by abandoning them on his selfish quest. Starbuck is touched by the affection that Ahab shows and decides not to kill him. Even though Ahab acknowledges that he has done his family wrong he still remains obsessed to the white whale. Ahab lets down everyone who looks to him for help. The captain of the ship Racheal lost his child in sea. When he asks Ahab for help he refuses. Ahab fears that precious time will be lost in the hunt for Moby Dick. He is unable to see through his selfishness to help his old shipmate find his son. The captain then cursed Ahab and doomed his voyage to doom. Ahab refuses to see the fact that saving a life of his old friend’s son is more important than hunting for any animal. Another captain even warned Ahab that going after Moby Dick is dangerous for the crew. Instead of heeding to his advice Ahab keeps on hunting the whale for selfish reasons.
Ahab’s hamartia is his unwillingness to see past Moby Dick and be concerned about earthly matters suckh as money, family, and the well-being of the crew and other seamen who seek Ahab’s help.
A tragic flaw is a characteristic or handicap that leads the protagonist to his ruin. Captain Ahab’s tragic flaw, or “Hamertia”, is in his unshakable obsession with Moby Dick, the white whale. Ever since his first encounter with the whale it is all he can think about and has completely based his life around the whale. His flaw goes beyond the mental aspect to physical. He lost his leg during his last encounter with Moby Dick, and the pain he suffered on his long journey back to land led to his madness and obsession. Captain Ahab sees the purpose of their whaling journey to be solely about his vengance even though he does not inform any memebers of the crew of this until they are already out at sea, “ Aye, Starbuck ; aye, my hearties all round it; it was Moby Dick that dismasted me; Moby Dick that brought me to this dead stump I stand on now…Aye, aye! and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up. And this is what ye shipped for, men (pg.139).”
He sees Moby Dick as the embodiment of all evil and has the idea locked in his head that it is his sole purpose in life to capture and kill Moby Dick, “Death to Moby Dick!” (142). Captain Ahab is willing to sacrifice everything with no regard to the lives or well being of others. When they stop for a Gam with the Rachel he does not allow the men to fratenise because he sees it as a waste of time. Captain Ahab tells them that if they stop they will lose valuable time searching for Moby Dick and that they did not take jobs upon a whaling ship to socialize. The men reluctantly comply, but some how most of them do not see the obsession and madness that has taken over him. Ove rnad over again Captain Ahab makes choices for the whole crew that are soley based of his want for the death of Moby Dick. At some moments in the novel it may seem as though Captain Ahab is the antagonist to characters such as Starbuck with his relentless refusal to think of his crew before his obsession, but he is truly the protagonist to Moby Dick. Moby Dick gave him his tragic flaw and only the death of Moby Dick will relieve him of it. Captain Ahab is a victem of his own mind. Unfortunately however, his tragic flaw leads him to not only his own downfall, but the down fall of his crew as well. Ishmael is the only one who manages to survive his madness.
In the story of Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is obsessed with Moby dick; all he wants to do is hunt for him until he catches him and then once he catches him he wants to inflict his revenge by killing him. This is worth more than anything to him. He is willing to sacrifice returning home to a wife and a young child and he is willing to give up trying to catch a great number of whales and make a great profit, in order to catch the white whale, Moby Dick.
This obsession is Captain Ahab’s tragic flaw because it completely takes over his life and feelings and actions. Generally a tragic hero is has an error in judgment. Then, they attempt to achieve this goal but because his or hers ultimate goal is based on an error of judgment the opposite of the goal is achieved. This is Captain Ahab exactly. All that he wants is to capture and kill the white whale because “it was Moby Dick that dismasted” him and “that brought him to this stump that he stands on now.”(pg 139) But because of this goal of wanting to capture the massive white whale, which stole his leg. Captain Ahab convinces nearly the entire crew of the Pequod that it is in the best interest of everyone on the Peqoud to forget all whales except for Moby Dick. The crew goes into seas that are not great for sailing just to find the great white whale even though it is not best for them. Then because of the obsession and misguided judgment, he not only does not capture Moby Dick but he also ends up dead along with almost everyone on the ship, excluding Ishmael. Also Moby Dick is able to sink the ship which proves how great of a whale Moby Dick is and how impossible it is to catch him. The complete and total opposite of what Captain Ahab had intended happened. Thus, he is a tragic hero.
Captain Ahab is not a bad, or rather would not be a bad Captain Ahab if he was not so tragically flawed with such an uncontrollable obsession. He wants nothing else and reward or bribes every member of the crew who is the one who catches the whale. Captain Ahab says “whosoever of ye raises me that same white whale, he shall have this gold ounce.”(pg 138) When the gusto of the crew begins to falter a little bit he even ups the anti to giving every crew member a piece of gold if the white whale named Moby Dick is captured.
Captain Ahab is so obsessed with the whale that he knows every oddity of the whale, when each harpooner only knows one of these Oddities. Tashtego noticed that his fan tail is strange and Ahab confirms this. When Daggoo noticed that he has a weird and large spout Captain Ahab can confirm this. And when Queequeg asks if it is the same whale that has a lot of harpoons in his side Ahab knows that it is.
Ahab can focus on nothing but the whale. He has a tragic flaw and is a tragic hero.
Ahab’s tragic flaw or “hamertia” is his unattainable obsession with capturing Moby Dick, the white whale, and killing him. We first notice his obsession in chapter 36 “The Quarter-Deck”, he promises a Spanish gold doubloon to whoever helps capture Moby Dick. As the Peqoud set sails from Nantucket his flaw begins to unfold. His obsession not only takes over his life but also influenced the others on board. He is willing to sacrifice his life and many others in order to capture Moby Dick. He persuades all those on board that it is in their best interests to kill Moby Dick . i belive Ahab is somewhat of a tragic hero, he makes in error in judgement and decides for al the men it is either to kill Moby Dick or die trying. this error leads to the downfall of Ahab and his crew except Ishamel.
Captin Ahab’s tragic flaw was his obsession with Moby Dick. His obsession was so strong that we would sacrifice anyone and anything in order to capture the whale including himself and the crew. He persuades the crew into following him on his quest to capture that which is impossible to catch. This eventually leads to his downfall.
Ahabs tragic flaw from the begining of the novel to the end is is unending obsession with Moby Dick. He would do anything and everything to find, capture and kill the white whale. No one would stop him or even get in his way. The whale is the only thing on his mind at all times. He neglects the lost son of “The Rachel” and only asks if they had seen the white whale. Not even his first mate starbuck can get through to him and stop him from draging the crew to the end of the earth for his revenge. I do not think that Ahab is considered the tragic hero because he never really did anything heroic. He ended up taking his entire crew down to the bottom of the ocean along with him and moby dick continues to dwell in the ocean. So in the end his tragic flaw does not make him a trajic hero.
The big tragic flaw for Ahab is his choice on how he handles his revenge with Moby Dick. It is very understandable that Ahab would want to kill the huge, white whale, the animal took off the poor man’s leg, but I think he goes about it all wrong. He lets his anger take control. He turns selfish and sinful, which is what leads up to his tragic flaw, or wrong doing. Ahab goes out of his way and is willing to risk anything to catch this whale, even lives. Captains do not usually risk their lives and the lives of other who have families just to catch a certain whale. All that Ahab thinks about and all he wants to do and what he basically puts his life out towards is Moby Dick. He could be seen as crazy for the chances he takes. Another tragic flaw is when the Rachel had asked Ahab and his crew for help with something, Ahab refused that they would help, even though some of his shipmates were willing to help them with what they needed. Ahab was being selfish about this as well because all he wanted to do was search for Moby Dick along with the others and did not take a little bit of time to help them and did not even let his shipmates who wanted to help the Rachel help them. He wanted them to help him catch the whale and kill it. I think that because he has such tragic flaws that it does make him a tragic hero, a very selfish one.
Captain Ahabs tragic flaw is his obsession with catching and killing Moby Dick. Ahab doesnt care what happens to his crew his ship or even him and this is what eventually leads to the destruction of his entire crew and himself. If Ahab had control over his feelings during the voyage they would have had a different outcome to the story.
Cpatain Ahab’s tragic flaw is his obsession with the white whale, Moby Dick,. This obsession led directly to the death of himself and the crew. This obsession was put before all else, including the safety of him along with his men. This obsession can be best described as Ahab’s tragic flaw for the fact it led to the deaths of his entire crew along with himself. This is Ahab’s tragic flaw, this leads to the tradgedy in the novel.
In the book, Moby-Dick, the character of Ahab has a tragic flaw, or in other words, a “hamartia”. Ahab’s hamartia consists of many things, including his inability to reason, his neglect of his crew, and his narrow-mindedness in only thinking about his goal and not thinking about the well-being of his crew. Seeing as how Ahab is one of the major characters of the book, I would definitely consider him a tragic hero because he goes through the book with a goal that ultimately ends in disaster.
In general, Ahab’s tragic flaw is as follows:
After Ahab has his leg taken by Moby-Dick, he becomes adamant about tracking down Moby-Dick and killing him as a means of vengeance. After a great amount of physical and mental suffering due to the loss of his leg, Ahab’s mental state becomes disrupted and unstable. When the crew of the Pequod sets out to sea, Ahab has only one goal in mind: capturing and killing Moby-Dick. In his determination to kill Moby-Dick, Ahab loses sight of many other important things. He stops worrying about the well-being of his crew and their desires and opinions. One could say that Ahab becomes alienated from all people in a way. When people need help from him, he refuses to give it to them and insists on pushing on and capturing Moby-Dick. For example, in Chapter 128: “The Pequod meets the Rachel”, the Captain of the Rachel boards the Pequod and begs Ahab to help him find his son who has been lost at sea. Ahab, however, insists on continuing his pursuit of Moby-Dick and not helping Captain Gardiner. Ahab says to Captain Gardiner, “I will not do it. Even now I lose time. Good bye, good bye.” (pg 398).
A hamartia is defined as a character or hero’s error in judgment or an unwilling mistake that leads to disastrous consequences. For this reason, it can definitely be concluded that Ahab has a hamartia because his persistence in chasing after Moby-Dick an his poor judgment in thinking that he will succeed in killing Moby-Dick leads to the destruction of the Pequod and the death of its entire crew, except for one person. A tragic hero is a person who carries out the action of a hamartia, so Ahab could also definitely be referred to as a tragic hero. The reason why Ahab could even be called a hero in the first place is because if he caught Moby-Dick, he would be seen as a hero, especially after having killed the beast. The audience finds themselves somewhat rooting for Ahab, and they want him to kill Moby-Dick.
It is so understood that what Ahab is doing could bring about the destruction of the crew of the Pequod, that in Chapter 123: “The Musket”, Starbuck actually considers killing Ahab in order to keep him from leading the crew to its doom. However, Starbuck ultimately decides that he cannot kill Ahab. Ahab’s quest does end up leading to disastrous consequences when at the end of the novel, during the final chase after Moby-Dick, Ahab is killed, as is the rest of the crew, and the Pequod is sunken and destroyed. The only character who ends up surviving is Ishmael. In other words, Ahab’s tragic flaw is that in his quest, he destroys himself and his crew, and he is a tragic hero because he causes this to happen. (567 words)
Captain Ahab’s tragic flaw is both psychological and physical because he was wounded from the whale physically and psychologically. When he was attacked by Moby Dick, he was mentally and physically scared for life. Moby Dick took off his leg. Because the ship was far from land, Ahab had to undergo lots of intense pain the entire trip back, which started to affect him mentally. Later in the trip, a scar suddenly appeared on Ahab’s face. This makes Ahab develop an obsession with the whale and willing to sacrifice anything or anyone to destroy it. During the story, there are many times when Ahab makes certain choices based on Moby Dick. Ahab doesn’t care about any other sperm whale, he just wants Moby Dick. He leads the crew through ice that is almost impossible to get through because he believes that is where Moby Dick is leading them. Any time there is a gam, the first thing Ahab asks is “Have ye seen Moby Dick”. Ahab will stop for no one or nothing until he has killed the great white whale. Ahab is indeed a tragic hero. A tragic hero is one who makes an error of judgment or has a tragic flaw. What makes Ahab a tragic hero is his belief that he can attain something god-like that man was not made possible to attain. Moby Dick is this god-like thing. Even though he is white and white is usually symbolized as goodness or purity, to Ahab he is the opposite. Ahab believes it is his fate to destroy Moby Dick, who he thinks is the embodiment of all evil in the world. Ahab is not the usual hero, and that is because of his tragic flaw. He thinks he can defy the unknowable and is immune to the forces of nature, which is why in the end he is the one destroyed by Moby Dick.
Tragic flaw is simply defined as the flaw in the character of the protagonist of a tragedy that brings the protagonist to ruin or sorrow. Hamartia is the term we get from Aristotle in his work Poetics. The term can be seen as a character’s flaw or error. Ahab’s flaw is presented to us in the story as obsession, his wrongdoings, and his mistakes. He is truly obsessed with Moby Dick that he insists that it should be caught and killed even if the shipmate’s lives are in danger. His poor judgment eventually leads to the destruction of the Pequod and death of all shipmates except for one person, Ishmael. He feels vengeance and revenge for Moby Dick and wants Moby Dick to go through the pain he went through. Moby Dick forever changed his life in that he is both mentally and physically scarred. Not only being an amputee, Ahab’s way of thinking is changed with only one goal to achieve, to kill Moby Dick.
In spite of this, he let his mind drift from other crucial things and in his rage to kill; he completely stops caring for his crew. If a risky situation is at hand, like bad weather, Ahab could care less of the matter. Ahab does this in order to keep moving and track down Moby Dick. For example, when the Pequod meets the ship Rachel, the captain of the Rachel asks for help in looking for his son lost at sea. Ahab simply refuses and moves on. “ Aye, Starbuck ; aye, my hearties all round it; it was Moby Dick that dismasted me; Moby Dick that brought me to this dead stump I stand on now…Aye, aye! and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up. And this is what ye shipped for, men (pg.139).” Ahab soon commends the murderous chalices to the three shipmates-Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask, thinking that the deed is done.
Starbuck soon realizes Ahab’s “flaw” and says “Vengeance on a dumb brute! cried Starbuck, that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous (pg.139).” A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that makes an error in his or her actions that leads to his or her downfall. Ahab does in fact possess qualities of being a tragic hero. His over confidence leads him to believe that he can raise above all things and that he can attain the unobtainable, which Moby Dick represents. The whiteness of Moby Dick is symbolized as pure and good but Captain Ahab thinks twice about that. In the end, Ahab thinks he can find the unobtainable and not be affected by the forces of nature and as a result, ends in tragedy.
Ahab’s tragic flaw, his obsession with the white whale, Moby Dick, makes him a tragic hero. Ahab’s obsession makes him want the white whale so much that he misjudges and sins in his attempts to kill Moby Dick and in the end, gets himself killed; therefore, failing his objective.
Ahab’s tragic flaw is his obsession with the white whale, Moby Dick. Not only does Ahab want to renew his pride by killing the whale, but he wants to know the truth behind its mystery. “And he have one, two, three-oh! Good many iron in him hide, too Captain. All twiske-tee be-twisk, like him him.” (138). Queequeg, who is one of the many sailors who believe in the legends of Moby Dick, speaks as if Moby Dick is immortal. Ahab is directly affected by the whale by personal experience and by rumors. Rumors include the white whale is spiritual and possibly even a god. By believing this, he is doubting and turning against God; therefore, sinning. At one point in the novel, he even begins to believe he is more powerful than Moby Dick, maybe even more powerful than God. “Oh, thou foundling fire, thou hermit immemorial, thou too hast thy incommunicable riddle, thy unparticipated grief…I worship thee!” (383). Perhaps Ahab’s flaw comes from his sin which leads to his failure in obtaining his objective.
Ahab’s obsession causes him to make mistakes, sin, and misjudge his actions in his attempts to hunt Moby Dick. Ahab’s first mistake is making the crew swear “Death to Moby Dick!” (142). He bribes the crew and basically turns the voyage into a mission to hunt the whale. The crew begins to believe to listen to Ahab’s blasphemy and sins themselves. However, Ahab ultimately becomes the tragic hero in his final attempt to kill Moby Dick. In his final chase, he focuses solely on the white whale and not the danger that threatens him and the crew. Ahab, the tragic hero, goes after Moby Dick, but his error in judgment and previous sins cause his attempts to fail. His objective is Moby Dick and he makes the immediate misjudgment in risking his life. “Ahab stooped to clear it; he did clear it; but the flying turn caught him round the neck…” (426). Ahab’s objective failed. His goal was to kill Moby Dick and in return, he killed himself. In his attempts, he received “disastrous consequences”.
Ahab tragic flaws eventually resulted in the making of Ahab into a tragic hero. Ahab was obsessed and his pure obsession eventually resulting in sinning because he basically doubted God and caused others to do the same. He also misjudged the danger of the white whale by hunting it and attempting to kill it when it was sighted. All his attempts resulted in failure which made him a tragic hero. He had an objective, killing Moby Dick. He made an error, sinning and misjudging, and it finally ended in disastrous consequences, which was his death. His obsession lead to his death.
Captain Ahab, the protagonist of Moby Dick, is stereotypically considered ‘mad’ among the characters. Having this title, it would be hard not to have a tragic flaw. Many of Ahab’s actions may have led others who knew him in Nantucket to believe his insanity, as well. However, it was hard for Ahab to get others to believe he was not insane, just obsessed.
Ahab’s tragic flaw, like other great heroes, is his over confidence. Ahab has strongly convinced himself that it is his predestination to catch and kill/destroy Moby Dick, the embodiment of evil. Due to Ahab’s over confidence, he thinks he, like a God, can defy common sense and nature and he can do whatever he wants, without natural occurrences in nature putting a restraint on him. However, this tragic flaw of over confidence is not something Ahab was born with. His over confidence in his predestination comes after his near-death accident with Moby Dick. Ahab explains this to the crew on page 139 of the novel when he says,
“It was Moby Dick that dismastered me; Moby Dick that brought me to
this dead stump I stand on now. It was that accursed whale that razzed
me… …and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the horn, and
round the Norway Maelstrom, and round Perdition’s flames before I
give him up. And this is what ye have shipped for, men! to chase that
white whale on both sides of land and over all sides of earth, till he
spouts black blood and rolls fin out. What ye say, men, will ye splice
hands on it, now?”
In this quote, Ahab explains to the crew some of the background information on Moby Dick, and gets them excited about catching him. He tries to use this as inspiration to the crew members, and it works for almost all, except Starbuck, who is able to figure out his real plan. Starbuck is somewhat surprised, and enraged about Ahab’s selfishness to use he and the other crew members to help find and capture Moby Dick. Ahab’s selfishness ties in with his flaw of over confidence. He is over confident that he will destroy Moby Dick, so why not make everyone else already on the ship help him with his mission?
Ahab, being the protagonist of the story, as well as having this tragic flaw of over confidence, could also be considered a tragic hero. The term, Hamartia, is developed by Aristotle, and can be the character’s flaw or error. In this case, Captain Ahab’s is definitely his over confidence. However, Hamartia can also be an error in judgment, such as attempting to achieve a certain objective, by making an error in judgment. In Ahab’s case, he has, and is a Hamartia– because of his attempt to ‘achieve’ Moby Dick, by making an error in judging the fact he would never be able to catch him, and through is main tragic flaw: over confidence.
Captain Ahab is the tragic hero in Moby Dick as well as the protagonist because his character contains many tragic flaws. Ahab has a great obsession for the great white whale, Moby Dick. His obsession began when his leg was taken off by the whale and he had to endure extreme physical, which led to mental pain. The mental pain caused him to want to seek revenge on this whale. He lets evil and sin enter his mind at this point. That idea of killing the Moby Dick became his goal throughout the novel. Ahab goes wrong in trying to figure out Moby Dick because in the book Moby Dick represents God and we should not try to interfere with God’s plan. He thought that his seeking vengeance on the whale was the correct thing to do. He gathers a crew and makes them promise to kill Moby Dick. He makes that mistake of bringing others into the conflict with God. He persuades them to do so and because Ahab is their captain they are convinced. Plus they do not have much of a choice because they were already on the ship and it was out to sea. Ahab’s first tragic flaw is deciding to seek revenge on Moby Dick (God) and his second tragic flaw was bringing others/his crew into the situation. Then Captain Ahab becomes so ignorant only thinking about killing the whale that he is oblivious to the fact that he is doing wrong. He only cares about himself and not for his crew. Ahab does not associate with the world. He stays in his cabin most of the time, showing in a way, that is sort of dehumanizing himself, afterall, he says, “It feels like going down into one’s tomb for an old captain like me to be descending this narrow scuttle, to go to my grave-dug berth. (p 110)” This statement by Ahab shows another tragic flaw because it is as if he knows that he is doing wrong and sinning, when he wishes to kill Moby Dick. I believe that this statement also kind of foreshadows Ahab’s death by Moby Dick. Captain Ahab, therefore, is a tragic hero because attempted to achieve the goal of killing Moby Dick, but then he made quite a few errors in judgment and he instead achieves the opposite. In his case his disastrous consequences were the death of himself and his crew. Starbuck, a part of the insoluble league, almost persuades Captain Ahab to turn back, go home and forget this mission of his, but then Moby Dick appears and tempts Ahab. Ahab makes his last tragic flaw when he decides to go after him because on that last mission, the captain is killed and Moby Dick continues to live on afterwards. Captain Ahab, a trgic hero, wanted to figure out Moby Dick, but it cannot be done. As we see in our lives, we must just have faith in God, we cannot try to figure him out and why must we do so anyways. Captain Ahab’s goal lasted in complete disaster.
Captain Ahab’s tragic flaw in Moby-Dick is his obsession with, and subsequent pursuit of Moby Dick. Captain Ahab pursues Moby Dick relentlessly with this sick obsession, sacrificing everything and everyone in his quest, and it is this extreme quality that leads to his eventual demise. It is for this reason that Captain Ahab is a tragic hero: his obsession constitutes his greatness and leads to his inevitable downfall.
A tragic flaw, as defined, is a protagonist’s flaw that leads to her or his ruin. It can then be said that Ahab is a tragic hero, for he possesses a flaw that leads to his demise. Ahab’s hunt for Moby Dick can be allegorical in that his doing something he shouldn’t be doing, that is attempting to know God, or even trying to become a god himself, brings about his own demise. As Ahab attempts to interpret that which is unknowable to man, the futility of this interpretation, as well as the eventual fatality, can be seen. As Starbuck said to Ahab, “To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous,” he presents the notion of Captain Ahab attempting that which he should not early on in the book.
A Tragic flaw is defined as “a flaw in the character of the protagonist of a dramatic or literary tragedy that causes his ruin” (dictionary). In the book Moby Dick, Ahab the Protagonist has the flaw of wanting to get revenge by killing the great white whale known as Moby Dick. This extreme desire of killing the whale drives Ahab to be madman and it ultimately leads to his death. In Chapter 36, “The Quarter-Deck,” we first learn of Ahab’s flaw when he rallies up the crew and tells them of his plans for their voyage. By the end of Ahab’s speech much of the crew were yelling “Death to Moby Dick!”
Another example of Ahab’s flaw can be seen later in the book when the Pequod meets the Rachel (Ch. 128). When the Rachel, which was also a Nantucket whaling ship, approached the Pequod, Ahab asks the question “Hast seen the white whale?” The Rachel’s captain reports that one of his whaleboats, with his son aboard, has been lost at sea due to recent encounter with Moby Dick. The captain pleads to Ahab for his help in the search for his son, but he refuses and he sets sail in pursuit to find Moby Dick. Ahab would be considered a tragic hero because his tragic flaw eventually leads to his death. Ahab’s selfishness in receiving his own revenge leads to the death himself and the whole crew of the Pequod, except for Ishmael.
A tragic flaw is known to cause the protagonist his ruin. The obsession for capturing Moby Dick is what causes Ahab, the protagonist, his ruin. Not only does it affect Ahab, but it affects his crew as well. Because Ahab refuses to stop chasing Moby Dick to get his revenge, he takes the crew down with him. We first see Ahabs obsession with the whale in chapter 36, “The Quarter Deck.” “It’s a white whale, I say. A white whale, skin your eyes for him, men. Look sharp for white water, if ye see but a bubble, sing out.”(pg.138) Other examples that help show his want for capturing Moby Dick deal with running into other ships and talking to all of them about the whale. An example of this would be in chapter 128 where they run into another whaling ship. Here, the captain asks Ahab to help him find his lost son,but instead Ahab apologizes and goes on looking for Moby Dick. He is seen as a tragic hero because of this. All of the crew members went on this voyage to capture whales so they could support themselves and their families. Little did they know that because of their captains odd obsession with getting revenge on a whale, they were going to all die.
Captain Ahab is a tragic hero. He has a fatal flow. To me Ahab’s hamartia is his unwillingness to see past Moby Dick and be concerned about earthly matters suckh as money, family, and the well-being of the crew and other seamen who seek Ahab’s help. He is not concerned about the oil leaks or hunting for as many whales to obtain as much oil as he can get in order to maximize the profit. Ahab ignores his family on a quest to hunt the white whale. He also lets down his crew and values Moby Dick more than the wellbeing and prosperity of his shipmates and other seamen who seek his help. The only earthly pleasure that Ahab seemed to have was his pipe. But when he threw his pipe away it symbolizes that all earthly matters has either lost taste,quality,or value and that he solely interested in Moby Dick.
Starbuck asks Ahab,” How many barrels will thy vengeance yield thee even if thou gettest, it, Captain Abab? It will not fetch thee much in our Nantucket market.” Ahab responds, “my vengeance will fetch a great premium here.” By here Ahab means his soul. It implies that Ahab only came on the voyage just to hunt for Moby Dick. When there was an oil leak Ahab chooses to do little or nothing about it. The downside of his selfishness is that there will be little or no profit. Starbuck strongly disagrees with Ahab and proclaims that it is madness to want revenge on an animal that has no reasoning. Starbuck is also motivated by the fact that he needs to get a good lay. His family is depending on him for money. Because Ahab puts the shipmen in risk he is indirectly putting their families at risk also.
Ahab forgets or chooses to ignore his family while on the voyage. Ahab confides in Starbuck about the feelings he has about his family. He explains that he has wronged them by abandoning them on his selfish quest. Starbuck is touched by the affection that Ahab shows and decides not to kill him. Even though Ahab acknowledges that he has done his family wrong he still remains obsessed to the white whale. Ahab lets down everyone who looks to him for help. The captain of the ship Racheal lost his child in sea. When he asks Ahab for help he refuses. Ahab fears that precious time will be lost in the hunt for Moby Dick. He is unable to see through his selfishness to help his old shipmate find his son. The captain then cursed Ahab and doomed his voyage to doom. Ahab refuses to see the fact that saving a life of his old friend’s son is more important than hunting for any animal. Another captain even warned Ahab that going after Moby Dick is dangerous for the crew. Instead of heeding to his advice Ahab keeps on hunting the whale for selfish reasons.
Ahab’s hamartia is his unwillingness to see past Moby Dick and be concerned about earthly matters suckh as money, family, and the well-being of the crew and other seamen who seek Ahab’s help.
A tragic flaw is a characteristic or handicap that leads the protagonist to his ruin. Captain Ahab’s tragic flaw, or “Hamertia”, is in his unshakable obsession with Moby Dick, the white whale. Ever since his first encounter with the whale it is all he can think about and has completely based his life around the whale. His flaw goes beyond the mental aspect to physical. He lost his leg during his last encounter with Moby Dick, and the pain he suffered on his long journey back to land led to his madness and obsession. Captain Ahab sees the purpose of their whaling journey to be solely about his vengance even though he does not inform any memebers of the crew of this until they are already out at sea, “ Aye, Starbuck ; aye, my hearties all round it; it was Moby Dick that dismasted me; Moby Dick that brought me to this dead stump I stand on now…Aye, aye! and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up. And this is what ye shipped for, men (pg.139).”
He sees Moby Dick as the embodiment of all evil and has the idea locked in his head that it is his sole purpose in life to capture and kill Moby Dick, “Death to Moby Dick!” (142). Captain Ahab is willing to sacrifice everything with no regard to the lives or well being of others. When they stop for a Gam with the Rachel he does not allow the men to fratenise because he sees it as a waste of time. Captain Ahab tells them that if they stop they will lose valuable time searching for Moby Dick and that they did not take jobs upon a whaling ship to socialize. The men reluctantly comply, but some how most of them do not see the obsession and madness that has taken over him. Ove rnad over again Captain Ahab makes choices for the whole crew that are soley based of his want for the death of Moby Dick. At some moments in the novel it may seem as though Captain Ahab is the antagonist to characters such as Starbuck with his relentless refusal to think of his crew before his obsession, but he is truly the protagonist to Moby Dick. Moby Dick gave him his tragic flaw and only the death of Moby Dick will relieve him of it. Captain Ahab is a victem of his own mind. Unfortunately however, his tragic flaw leads him to not only his own downfall, but the down fall of his crew as well. Ishmael is the only one who manages to survive his madness.
In the story of Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is obsessed with Moby dick; all he wants to do is hunt for him until he catches him and then once he catches him he wants to inflict his revenge by killing him. This is worth more than anything to him. He is willing to sacrifice returning home to a wife and a young child and he is willing to give up trying to catch a great number of whales and make a great profit, in order to catch the white whale, Moby Dick.
This obsession is Captain Ahab’s tragic flaw because it completely takes over his life and feelings and actions. Generally a tragic hero is has an error in judgment. Then, they attempt to achieve this goal but because his or hers ultimate goal is based on an error of judgment the opposite of the goal is achieved. This is Captain Ahab exactly. All that he wants is to capture and kill the white whale because “it was Moby Dick that dismasted” him and “that brought him to this stump that he stands on now.”(pg 139) But because of this goal of wanting to capture the massive white whale, which stole his leg. Captain Ahab convinces nearly the entire crew of the Pequod that it is in the best interest of everyone on the Peqoud to forget all whales except for Moby Dick. The crew goes into seas that are not great for sailing just to find the great white whale even though it is not best for them. Then because of the obsession and misguided judgment, he not only does not capture Moby Dick but he also ends up dead along with almost everyone on the ship, excluding Ishmael. Also Moby Dick is able to sink the ship which proves how great of a whale Moby Dick is and how impossible it is to catch him. The complete and total opposite of what Captain Ahab had intended happened. Thus, he is a tragic hero.
Captain Ahab is not a bad, or rather would not be a bad Captain Ahab if he was not so tragically flawed with such an uncontrollable obsession. He wants nothing else and reward or bribes every member of the crew who is the one who catches the whale. Captain Ahab says “whosoever of ye raises me that same white whale, he shall have this gold ounce.”(pg 138) When the gusto of the crew begins to falter a little bit he even ups the anti to giving every crew member a piece of gold if the white whale named Moby Dick is captured.
Captain Ahab is so obsessed with the whale that he knows every oddity of the whale, when each harpooner only knows one of these Oddities. Tashtego noticed that his fan tail is strange and Ahab confirms this. When Daggoo noticed that he has a weird and large spout Captain Ahab can confirm this. And when Queequeg asks if it is the same whale that has a lot of harpoons in his side Ahab knows that it is.
Ahab can focus on nothing but the whale. He has a tragic flaw and is a tragic hero.
Ahab’s tragic flaw or “hamertia” is his unattainable obsession with capturing Moby Dick, the white whale, and killing him. We first notice his obsession in chapter 36 “The Quarter-Deck”, he promises a Spanish gold doubloon to whoever helps capture Moby Dick. As the Peqoud set sails from Nantucket his flaw begins to unfold. His obsession not only takes over his life but also influenced the others on board. He is willing to sacrifice his life and many others in order to capture Moby Dick. He persuades all those on board that it is in their best interests to kill Moby Dick . i belive Ahab is somewhat of a tragic hero, he makes in error in judgement and decides for al the men it is either to kill Moby Dick or die trying. this error leads to the downfall of Ahab and his crew except Ishamel.
Captin Ahab’s tragic flaw was his obsession with Moby Dick. His obsession was so strong that we would sacrifice anyone and anything in order to capture the whale including himself and the crew. He persuades the crew into following him on his quest to capture that which is impossible to catch. This eventually leads to his downfall.
Ahabs tragic flaw from the begining of the novel to the end is is unending obsession with Moby Dick. He would do anything and everything to find, capture and kill the white whale. No one would stop him or even get in his way. The whale is the only thing on his mind at all times. He neglects the lost son of “The Rachel” and only asks if they had seen the white whale. Not even his first mate starbuck can get through to him and stop him from draging the crew to the end of the earth for his revenge. I do not think that Ahab is considered the tragic hero because he never really did anything heroic. He ended up taking his entire crew down to the bottom of the ocean along with him and moby dick continues to dwell in the ocean. So in the end his tragic flaw does not make him a trajic hero.
The big tragic flaw for Ahab is his choice on how he handles his revenge with Moby Dick. It is very understandable that Ahab would want to kill the huge, white whale, the animal took off the poor man’s leg, but I think he goes about it all wrong. He lets his anger take control. He turns selfish and sinful, which is what leads up to his tragic flaw, or wrong doing. Ahab goes out of his way and is willing to risk anything to catch this whale, even lives. Captains do not usually risk their lives and the lives of other who have families just to catch a certain whale. All that Ahab thinks about and all he wants to do and what he basically puts his life out towards is Moby Dick. He could be seen as crazy for the chances he takes. Another tragic flaw is when the Rachel had asked Ahab and his crew for help with something, Ahab refused that they would help, even though some of his shipmates were willing to help them with what they needed. Ahab was being selfish about this as well because all he wanted to do was search for Moby Dick along with the others and did not take a little bit of time to help them and did not even let his shipmates who wanted to help the Rachel help them. He wanted them to help him catch the whale and kill it. I think that because he has such tragic flaws that it does make him a tragic hero, a very selfish one.
Captain Ahabs tragic flaw is his obsession with catching and killing Moby Dick. Ahab doesnt care what happens to his crew his ship or even him and this is what eventually leads to the destruction of his entire crew and himself. If Ahab had control over his feelings during the voyage they would have had a different outcome to the story.
Cpatain Ahab’s tragic flaw is his obsession with the white whale, Moby Dick,. This obsession led directly to the death of himself and the crew. This obsession was put before all else, including the safety of him along with his men. This obsession can be best described as Ahab’s tragic flaw for the fact it led to the deaths of his entire crew along with himself. This is Ahab’s tragic flaw, this leads to the tradgedy in the novel.