When a person sees evil, it may be his own evil that will finally return to him。 Ahab died of his evil thoughts, and his heart was also affected by his enmity。 If a man was controlled by the evil in his mind, he would go to the hell。 Just like Melville once wrote, “all mortal greatness is but disease。”(Melville 168) Unlike Ahab, the reason why Ishmael survived was that he did not consider the white whale as one certain thing, but the unity of evil and good。 Melville explored good and evil all through his life, maybe the result has shown in Moby Dick。 

3。2 Contemplation on fixed destiny and free will

The early biblical and doctrinal training had a big effect on Melville’s way of thinking when he was an adult。

According to F。 O。 Matthiessen, the story of Ahab’s pursuit of the white whale was very arrogant and that Ahab was a manifestation of “his author’s most profound response to the problem of free will in extremis。”(Matthiessen 407) It was unbelievable that Ahab has a strong will, but his temperament was simplified, which means that Ahab could not freely change his direction of action, and his paranoia determined his fate。 “The core of Ahab is not free will, and guided by rational morality, but a contradictory pain that Ahab’s freedom and his tragic fate are antagonistic。”(Richard and T。 129) written by T。 Walter Herbert Jr。

The strongest motive to his heart determined the will of Ahab。 In fact, Ahab’s chase on Moby Dick was the best benefit he could do。 His revenge would have a universal significance if combined his one lost leg with the destiny。 However, in fact, although Ahab has a strong will, he could not command his crankiness。 In contrary, he was commanded by his crankiness。文献综述

During Melville’s lifetime, he never seemed to give up the exploration of good and evil, did not give up thinking of fixed fate and free will, which can be found in the Ahab’s revenge action。 Through explorations and contemplations, the readers can fully understand the depopulation of Ahab and the rescue of Ishmael。

4。 Captain Ahab: The Vengeful Character 

Who was Ahab? He was the captain of the Pequod。 Ahab was a very insecure person who planned to send revenge to Moby Dick, a white whale who has destroyed one of his legs in a whaling operation。 He could not listen to any advice just wanted to revenge。 He hated Moby Dick, and in his mind, Moby Dick represented the nature, and he was sure he could destroy the evil forces with his own ability and wisdom。 Ahab lost his mind in this battle, which eventually led to his failure and death。 

Ahab was regarded as a tragic hero from the critics。 He was a complex character。 On one hand, Ahab as a captain was reassuring, brave and experienced; on the other hand, he was a crazy man。 He ignored the crew’s life and death, only wanted to achieve his own goal。