Starbuck represents a kind of rationality, and conventional Christian morality, in contrast to Ahab’s personal revenge-centered worldview. Starbuck is the one who is able to question Ahab’s quest to kill Moby Dick—he is the one who says to him, about Moby Dick, “To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous.” Starbuck himself has has lost a father and brother at sea, and knows first hand the loss whales can cause; but rather than seek some sort of cosmic revenge, Starbuck learns to be careful: as he puts it, “I am here in this critical ocean to kill whales for my living, and not to be killed by them for theirs.” Yet for all his courage, Starbuck is still afraid of Ahab: “brave as he might be, it was that sort of bravery chiefly, visible in some intrepid men, which … cannot withstand those more terrific, because more...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
spiritual terrors, which sometimes menace you from the concentrating brow of an enraged and mighty man.” When Starbuck calls Ahab’s quest “blasphemous” in “The Quarterdeck” chapter, Ahab’s basic response is, “Talk not to me of blasphemy, man! I’d strike the sun if it insulted me”—a statement that overawes Starbuck, who can only mutter “God keep me” in response.
What do Starbuck and Moby Dick symbolize in the novel?
Often, readers of Melville's Moby Dick focus on the relationship between Ahab and Moby Dick, as the entire novel arguably revolves around this relationship. However, it's worth considering the significance of the relationship between Starbuck (one of my personal favorite characters) and the Whale. Though a lot can be said about these two characters, I believe Starbuck's relationship to the whale essentially symbolizes the relationship between order and chaos.
First of all, Starbuck is a devout Christian man who often serves as a contrast to Ahab's monomaniacal self-obsession. Starbuck believes in a higher power, in an ordered universe watched over and cared for by a benevolent deity. God has a plan for everyone and, because He is a benevolent God, this plan is pretty generally a good thing.
The Whale, however, is chaos. It is generally accepted that the Whale represents the unknowable immensity of the universe. The fact that this quality is personified through the brute power of a massive whale speaks to the chaotic quality of this meaninglessness.
It is clear, therefore, that Starbuck and the Whale represent opposite ends of the existential spectrum: Starbuck represents order and meaning, while the Whale represents chaos and meaninglessness. Understanding this relationship, the end of the book becomes more disturbing. Starbuck is, after all, killed by the Whale, along with the rest of his crew mates (except the lucky Ishmael). It would not be a stretch to posit that this event signifies the triumph of chaos over order.