Moby-Dick Ch. 84: Pitchpoling

Summary

People grease carriage axles so wheels run smoothly. Whalers do something similar. They grease the bottom of their whaleboats so the boats slide faster on water. Oil and water do not mix, and oily surfaces glide well. Queequeg believed in greasing his boat. One morning not long after the German ship Jungfrau left, he rubbed oil on the boat's bare keel with extra care. He seemed to sense something was coming.

Around noon they spotted whales. As soon as the Pequod sailed toward them, the whales turned and fled fast. The boats chased anyway. Stubb's boat was in the lead. Tashtego finally stuck a harpoon in one whale.

But the whale did not dive down. It kept swimming away on the surface, faster than before. The harpoon line would soon pull loose. They had to kill the whale with a lance, but they could not pull alongside because he swam too fast.

The answer was pitchpoling. This is a special move veteran whalemen use. You throw a long light lance from a rocking boat that is already being towed at high speed. The lance is about ten or twelve feet long, made of pine, lighter than a harpoon. A rope called a warp lets you pull the lance back and throw again. You usually cannot pitchpole with a harpoon because it is too heavy.

Stubb was perfect for this job. He stayed calm and funny even in danger. He stood up in the front of the bouncing boat. The whale was forty feet ahead, towing them through foam. Stubb checked that his lance was straight. He coiled the warp rope in his hand. Then he held the lance in front of him and tipped it until the point rose fifteen feet in the air, balanced on his palm like a juggler.

In one fast motion he threw the lance in a high arc. It sank into the whale's vital spot. Red blood shot out instead of white spray.

Stubb shouted that he had knocked the plug out. He joked that on the Fourth of July all fountains should run wine or whiskey. He threw the lance again and again. It came back to him like a dog on a leash.

The dying whale thrashed in a final flurry. Stubb let the tow line go slack. He folded his hands and quietly watched the whale die.

In this chapter: Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Finishing a Moving Target

Hooking is not closing when the whale keeps running sideways out of reach. Stubb greases nothing by luck: Queequeg preps the keel, Tashtego gets fast, then Stubb pitchpoles from a rocking bow with a retrievable lance.

Before you celebrate the initial catch, train the long balanced strike that works only after you are already tied to the problem.

Coming Up in Chapter 85

Next Ishmael asks a strange question: after thousands of years of watching whales, is the spout water or just vapor? He explains how whales breathe through a hole on top of their heads.

PreviousPrevious Chapter NextNext Chapter

Original text

803 wordscomplete

Chapter 84

Pitchpoling

Pitchpoling. To make them run easily and swiftly, the axles of carriages are anointed; and for much the same purpose, some whalers perform an analogous operation upon their boat; they grease the bottom. Nor is it to be doubted that as such a procedure can do no harm, it may possibly be of no contemptible advantage; considering that oil and water are hostile; that oil is a sliding thing, and that the object in view is to make the boat slide bravely. Queequeg believed strongly in anointing his boat, and one morning not long after the German ship Jungfrau disappeared,…

Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.

Critical Thinking Exercise

10 minutes

Name Your Pitchpole

What running problem are you only harpooning when you need a lance finish?

Consider:

•Prep ritual?
•Fast first?
•Life spot?

Journaling Prompt

Write about a long shot that required calm humor.

Master this chapter. Complete your experience

Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature

Buy at

Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats

Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Explores identity & self

The Idiot

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Explores identity & self

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Explores identity & self

As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner

Explores identity & self

Identity & Self-Discovery

Lessons from Moby-Dick

Theme-by-theme analyses that connect this book to modern life skills.

Deep diving the literary elements.

Pitchpoling

Summary