Moby Dick Chapter 74 - 75

Chapter 74 - 75

The Sperm Whale's Head- Contrasted View/The Right Whale's Head- Contrasted View

The head of the Sperm Whale is more dignified than the head of a Right Whale; it has symmetry. The eyes are pushed back far on either side of the skull, so that maybe the whale can see two different things at once, and the ears are extremely small.

Oftentimes, the lower jaw of the whale is pried off, and pulled aboard the ship, so the ivory can be removed. Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo are responsible for this work on the Pequod.

While the skull of a Sperm Whale can be said to resemble a Roman chariot, the skull of a Right Whale looks like a gigantic shoe. The Right Whale has no ivory teeth, no slender lower jaw like the Sperm Whale. The Right Whale has two external spout-holes, while the Sperm Whale only has one.