While removing blubber from the whale, Queequeg has to climb onto the carcass to fasten the hook. To ensure his safety, he is connected to a monkey rope, which runs up the side of the ship and is secured to Ishmael.

Ahab commands the slaughter of a right whale based on information from Fedallah, who claims that a vessel adorned with a sperm whale and a right whale on opposite sides is unsinkable.

Stubb and Flask hunt and successfully capture a right whale, which they proceed to bring back to their boat while having a conversation about Fedallah. Stubb expresses his belief that Fedallah is the embodiment of evil and insinuates that Ahab has formed an agreement with him.

Ishmael makes a comparison between the two whale heads that have been raised on opposite sides of the ship. He notes that while the sperm whale's head appears balanced and identical on both sides, the right whale's head looks unrefined and clumsy. Specifically, Ishmael admires the simple and attractive appearance of the mouth of the sperm whale's head.

Inside the head of a sperm whale is a valuable reservoir of spermaceti, a valuable material used in candle making and in medical ointments. To extract the spermaceti, Tashtego climbs up to the main yardarm and uses a bucket to retrieve the valuable material. Unfortunately, Tashtego slips and tumbles into the head, causing it to fall from the side of the ship. Heroically, Queequeg dives into the water, swims to the sinking head, pierces a hole in it, and retrieves Tashtego from inside.