Chapter 73
Stubb and Flask Kill a Right Whale
Stubb and Flask kill a Right Whale; and Then Have a Talk over Him. It must be borne in mind that all this time we have a Sperm Whale’s prodigious head hanging to the Pequod’s side. But we must let it continue hanging there a while till we can get a chance to attend to it. For the present other matters press, and the best we can do now for the head, is to pray heaven the tackles may hold. Now, during the past night and forenoon, the Pequod had gradually drifted into a sea, which, by its occasional patches…
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Key Quotes & Analysis
"I wonder what the old man wants with this lump of foul lard,” said Stubb, not without some disgust at the thought of having to do with so ignoble a leviathan."
Context: Talk over dead right whale
Practical disgust opens Flask's charm explanation.
In Today's Words:
While making fast the right whale Stubb wonders what the old man wants with this lump of foul lard, disgusted at touching an ignoble leviathan after sperm glory. Flask answers with Fedallah's capsize charm. Crew do foul work when the captain's ritual demands balance, not when the prize itself excites them.
"the ship which but once has a Sperm Whale’s head hoisted on her starboard side, and at the same time a Right Whale’s on the larboard; did you never hear, Stubb, that that ship can never afterwards capsize?”"
Context: Repeating Fedallah's charm
Superstition justifies despised catch; pairs with Ahab's quest.
In Today's Words:
Flask tells Stubb Fedallah swears a ship with sperm head starboard and right head larboard at once can never capsize afterward. The crew repeats gamboge ghost lore to justify hauling foul lard. When leadership wants a talisman, even disdained whales become necessary ballast on a strained keel.
"So, when on one side you hoist in Locke’s head, you go over that way; but now, on the other side, hoist in Kant’s and you come back again; but in very poor plight."
Context: Counterpoised heads regain even keel
Philosophy joke masks strained ship and foolish trimming minds.
In Today's Words:
After both heads hoist Ishmael jokes that hoisting Locke's head tilts you one way and Kant's the other restores keel, though sorely strained, like minds forever trimming boat. The ship is a mule with panniers while carcases drop astern. Balance is achieved but everything groans under the metaphor and weight.
"Meantime, Fedallah was calmly eyeing the right whale’s head, and ever and anon glancing from the deep wrinkles there to the lines in his own hand."
Context: After hoists, Ahab standing
Parsee reads whale wrinkles like palm; stands in captain's shadow.
In Today's Words:
Fedallah calmly eyes the right whale head's wrinkles and glances to lines in his own hand while Ahab stands so the Parsee occupies his shadow and seems to lengthen it. Crew toil on with Laplandish speculations. The mystic and captain visually merge while the ship carries two philosophers as cargo.
Thematic Threads
Despised Catch
In This Chapter
Right whale foul lard
Development
Taken for charm not pride
In Your Life:
Tasks done only for ritual
Keel Crisis
In This Chapter
Boats under hull tow
Development
Line and oars save inches
In Your Life:
Near crush between forces
Devil Gossip
In This Chapter
Stubb on Fedallah tail
Development
Ahab bargain for White Whale
In Your Life:
Stories about the boss's fixer
Shadow Pair
In This Chapter
Fedallah in Ahab shadow
Development
Wrinkles match palm lines
In Your Life:
Advisor merged with leader image
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
This is not a test. Five prompts guide you through the chapter, from how it opens to how it closes, so you notice context and rhythm rather than facts to memorize. Sit with each question in your own words. When you see "One way to read it," treat it as a starting point, not the only answer.
- 1
Why does the Pequod hunt a right whale now?
analysis • surfaceOne way to read it
Yellow brit signals them near; though crew disdain inferior whales, after sperm beheading the ship announces capture if opportunity offers.
- 2
What crisis happens when the boats are fast to the right whale?
analysis • mediumOne way to read it
They are dragged toward the hull nearly smashed until they pay out line, pull ahead, and the whale rises under the bows freeing them to lance round the ship.
- 3
What is Fedallah's charm about the two heads?
application • mediumOne way to read it
Flask says Fedallah claims sperm head starboard plus right head larboard together means the ship can never afterward capsize.
- 4
How do Stubb and Flask talk about Fedallah and Ahab?
application • deepOne way to read it
Stubb calls Fedallah devil in disguise with coiled tail, jokes he bargains with Ahab for Moby Dick like swapping a watch or soul.
- 5
How does Ishmael describe Fedallah at the chapter's end?
reflection • deepOne way to read it
Fedallah eyes right whale wrinkles and his palm lines while standing in Ahab's shadow so Parsee shadow blends and lengthens the captain's.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Name Your Counterpoise
What prized head is hanging? What foul lard did you add? Why?
Consider:
- •Charm story?
- •Who is Fedallah?
- •Shadow merge?
Journaling Prompt
Write about gossip that turned a colleague into the devil.
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 74: The Sperm Whale's Head (Contrasted View)
With both heads on deck, Ishmael steps across to study practical cetology, beginning with the sperm whale's dignity and blind-sided eyes Next: The Sperm Whale's Head (Contrasted View). Two heads hang from the Pequod; Ishmael invites us to step across deck for practical cetology.
