The Lee Shore — Moby-Dick

Earlier in the book, Ishmael met a tall sailor named Bulkington at the inn in New Bedford.

Now, on a cold winter night, the Pequod pushes into angry waves. Ishmael looks at the helm. Bulkington is steering the ship.

Bulkington just finished a four-year voyage. It is midwinter. Most sailors would want rest, food, and a warm bed on land. But Bulkington goes to sea again right away. The land seems to burn his feet.

Ishmael feels awe and fear watching him. He says this short chapter is Bulkington's grave. There is no headstone. The deepest truths cannot be fully spoken.

Then Ishmael tells a story about a ship caught in a storm near shore. A harbor looks kind. It offers safety, food, blankets, and friends. But in a gale, the coast becomes the greatest danger. Wind can drive the ship onto the rocks.

The ship must spread all her sails and run away from land. She must fight even the winds that would blow her toward home. She must seek the open sea again, even though it is dangerous.

Ishmael links this to deep thinking. The soul tries to stay independent, like a ship on open water. Many forces try to push it toward an easy, obedient shore.

He says it may be better to die in the wild open storm than crawl to safety and be smashed on the lee shore.

At the end Ishmael cheers Bulkington. He calls him a demigod. He says rise up from the waves into something greater.