From: The Castaway
“Damn him, cut!” roared Stubb; and so the whale was lost and Pip was saved. [ . . . ]
But we are all in the hands of the Gods; and Pip jumped again. It was under very similar circumstances to the first performance; but this time he did not breast out the line; and hence, when the whale started to run, Pip was left behind on the sea, like a hurried traveler's trunk."
Musing: There is so much to say about Pip. Pip is the castaway – the title character of this chapter. In graduate school, my thesis was about Ahab’s humanity. Much of my argument involved his kindness toward Pip. Pip is young and black and the implication from other characters is that though Pip is cared for, he shouldn’t be.
Pip falls out of a boat on a whale hunt and is left alone in the ocean for a long time. It will change Pip, as I imagine it would change us all. Although I am fascinated with all things Moby-Dick I too dread the idea of being in the ocean.
More on Pip tomorrow.
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