Metamorphosis Fall 2012

Ahab and Abraham; Whales and Sons

Daniel Johnston
Faculty Mentor: Larry Hartsfield
Fort Lewis College

Abstract

This paper examines the similarities between the philosophical work of Soren Kierkegaard as well as the philosophy found in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Specifically, Ahab, one of the main figures in Melville’s work, and Abraham, the Biblical subject of Kierkegaard’s teleology-based religious philosophy will be compared, and similarities between the two will expatiated upon, especially in the context of ethics. First, a brief exegesis of Kierkegaard’s ethical philosophy will be offered, followed by an explanation of why Ahab lives by a Kierkegaardian mode of morality. Finally, Ahab’s peculiarity, evidenced by a range of diverse and often contradictory scholarly work, will be discussed and explained. In examining Ahab through the lens of Kierkegaard’s philosophy, it is the goal of this paper to reach a broader and more complete understanding of the enigmatic and often vexatious Captain Ahab, and therefore Melville’s seminal novel as a whole.

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