1. How does the line "[the whaleman] burns, too, the purest of oil, in its unmanufactured, and, therefore, unvitiated state" relate to Ishmael's notion that the best places, and things, are uncharted and uncivilized (Chapter 97)? Ishmael states that anything in its uncivilized state is pure, and how might this thought contradict Ishmael's actions and duties as a whaler promoting industrialization?
2. Melville continues to reference a worship of the sun. In Chapter 99, he writes that the doubloon is a "medal of the sun." Ahab and whales have been depicted as sun-worshippers, and Pip was compared to the sun in Chapter 93. Could there be any meaning behind all this reverence toward the sun? Is Melville suggesting a critique of religion by emphasizing a greater appreciation of natural elements during the turbulent time of industrialization and human desecration of the wild frontier?
3. Ahab states that "[the world] cannot solve itself," a statement that justifies the obsession and perseverance with which he approaches the search for Moby-Dick (Chapter 99). However, after discussing his lack of power over the signs of the zodiac and their implications, Ahab seems to accept his lack of free-will when he laments, "So be it, then. Born in throes, 'tis fit that man should live in pains and die in pangs" (Chapter 99). Ahab's search to create significance in his life leads him on the quest to kill the white whale, a mentally and emotionally excruciating endeavor. Does Ahab consider the pain of his monomania natural? It appears that Ahab has realized that his journey might be doomed, but has he really accepted his own lack of control?
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