When Nothing Lies Beyond the Mask: Comparing Moby Dick and The Raven
Mankind does not contemplate the purpose of suffering for long. Normally, it will endure the pain and try to see beyond it. However, works by Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville illustrate what happens when man is unable to see past his torment. In Poe's The Raven, and Melville's Moby Dick, both main characters become trapped and engulfed by their suffering and are unable to escape it.
Melville's Captain Ahab believes that his suffering stems from the White Whale known as Moby Dick. Believing that "all visible objects" have a "little lower layer" hidden by a "pasteboard mask" (236), Ahab thinks that Moby Dick is more than just a simple beast. In his mind, the whale takes on the role of an enemy that continually plagues him. Not content to let the beast be, Ahab plunges after it in a frantic chase. Although he secretly fears that there is "naught beyond" (236) this mask and that his suffering is meaningless, he claims Moby Dick is responsible for his torment. Unlike other captains, Ahab is unable to accept that the loss of one's limb is a normal hazard in the whaling business, but instead takes it personally. He resolves to destroy the whale in order to end his suffering once and for all. Continually hunting the White Whale makes him more "demon that a man" (776) as destroying the whale becomes his top priority, even above the safety of his ship and crew. But Moby Dick still eludes him, and Ahab insists that the whale's continued existence is the cause of his suffering. Thus, conquering the White Whale becomes the only way Ahab could possibly satisfy his pain. But going after the whale is like pouring salt on a wound, and Ahab's suffering increases with every failed attempt in the chase for Moby Dick.
Like Ahab, the nameless student who narrates The Raven he cannot get beyond his suffering, and the mysterious bird that arrives at his doorstep only deepens his sorrow. At first, the narrator is happy to find some company in the bird. But when it utters its only sound, Poe's character asks, "I betook myself to linking /what this ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore / meant in croaking 'nevermore'"(70-72). Initially the narrator rationalizes that the bird is just repeating the only phrase it knows, but it soon takes on a deeper meaning. Observing that the raven sits on top the bust of Pallas, the goddess of wisdom, he wonders if it comes to impart some precious knowledge of why he continues to suffer. The student cannot help but think that the raven is a sign from his deceased lover, Lenore. But as he begins to question the bird, he is continually met by the constant reply of "nevermore", which begins to affect the narrator's sanity. He continues to ask the bird questions that he knows will end in "nevermore", and each reply from the raven increases his suffering. In his ravings, the student calls the bird a "thing of evil-prophet still, if bird or devil!" (91) and lashes out at the raven's seeming indifference to his suffering. He perceives the bird as a wicked entity because it further intensifies his sorrow. However, the raven does not leave the student's chamber, and only continues to watch him as if mocking his grief. Although the bird seems innocuous, the narrator interprets its stare as malicious and inescapable.
In the end, both Ahab and the student are unable to move beyond their suffering because they cannot see past it. Although Ahab is told that "the White Whale's malice is only his awkwardness" (635), he still cannot accept that Moby Dick is just an animal acting on instinct. But Ahab believes he will slay the agent of his suffering, not an aggressive Sperm Whale. By the time he meets Moby Dick for the final time, Ahab's monomania has erased all thoughts of turning back. With his final breath Ahab declares that he will destroy it, but instead is swallowed by the sea. His obsession with the whale destroys not just himself, but his ship and crew as well. The student also finds that he cannot escape from his suffering. In desperation he asks, "tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn / It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore" (93-94), but is only met with "nevermore". The idea that his love is not in Heaven brings the narrator's pain to a climax. With anguish, he implores the raven to leave him alone to his misery. However, the student finds his "soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor / shall be lifted-nevermore!" (107-108). Believing that the raven's presence prevents him from rising beyond his pain, the narrator continues to wallow in his sorrow. Meanwhile, he perceives that the raven casts a dark shadow upon him, one in which there is no joy or hope. The fates of Captain Ahab and the student illustrate what happens to those who cannot see past their suffering.
Mankind abhors the idea of suffering, but unlike Captain Ahab and the narrator of The Raven, most people can find a way to learn from such experiences and move on. But Ahab and the student cannot get past the fact that they must endure pain, and become entrapped by it. To avoid the fate of these two characters, humanity must treat suffering as a necessary part of life that is meant to help one mature not take it as meaningless. Obsessing over pain will only bring about more suffering, as Ahab and the narrator discover. Because the true purpose of suffering is to teach humans of how precious moments of joy are.
Works Cited
Melville, Herman. Moby Dick. New York: Random House Inc., 2000.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." Ed. Joseph Kelly. The Seagull Reader Poems.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001. 155-160.
Analysis
This example high school AP English paper is nearly flawless grammatically. Its sentences flow and its paragraphs clearly state the problems encountered by Captain Ahab and Poe's nameless student. The paragraph that ties both works together succinctly argues that failing to move on from suffering can cause grave consequences.
The paper can be better served by diving deeper into the psychological issues facing each character. Ahab and the student only get one paragraph each, when the author probably could have discussed their sorrows in much more detail. The paragraph on Poe is especially underutilized - the author only uses three full quotes from the poem. Indeed, if the author had traced how the suffering of each character increased over time, this tactic would make this good sample English essay a great one.
1,039 words / 5 pages
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