Moby Dick Chapter 93 - 95

Chapter 93 - 95

The Castaway/The Squeeze of a Hand/The Cassock

Not all men go aboard the boats when a whale is spotted; some few stay behind. Pip, a young, joyous black man, highly intelligent, was one of these, due to a slightly fearful nature. However, Stubb's oarsman sprained his hand, so Pip was forced to take his place on the boat.

While pursuing a whale, a noise frightens Pip so badly that he jumps out of the boat, and gets caught in the whale line. This forces them to cut the line, and lose the whale, which makes no one happy; Stubb tells Pip never to jump from the boat again, because if he does, Stubb won't come back to pick him up.

Next time the boats are lowered, though, Pip jumps again, and Stubb holds true to his word. Pip is left alone in the ocean for a long period of time; Stubb had thought one of the boats behind him would pick Pip up, but the other boats had not seen Pip. Eventually the Pequod herself picks him up, but Pip has gone insane.

"The sea had jeeringly kept his finite body up, but drowned the infinite of his soul." Chapter 93, pg. 349

The whale Stubb killed is taken aboard, and done with as is the usual. When Ishmael is squeezing lumps out of the sperm, he finds himself transported to a level of peace and happiness that he had never before known; he forgets about the oath of the crew, and can't help but be affectionate with the men around him.

The whale is cut apart into sections to prepare it.

Topic Tracking: Nature of Whaling 12

The sailor takes a piece of the whale to make himself a protective apron to cover himself with while he minces the blubber.