Captain Ahab

E62706

Captain Ahab is the obsessive, vengeful whaling ship captain in Herman Melville’s novel "Moby-Dick," driven to ruin by his monomaniacal pursuit of the white whale.

Aliases (2)

Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional character
literary character
sea captain
antagonistOf Moby Dick
appearsIn Moby-Dick
associatedWithTheme fate
madness
revenge
the limits of knowledge
causeOfInjury attack by Moby Dick
characterTrait monomaniacal
obsessive
vengeful
createdBy Herman Melville
crewIncludes Flask
Ishmael
Queequeg
Starbuck
Stubb
deathCause dragged to his death by Moby Dick
diesIn Moby-Dick
enemy Moby Dick
firstAppearance Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
firstPublicationYear 1851
gender male
hasPersonality charismatic
fanatical
tyrannical
hasReligion nominally Christian
inspiredBy real-life whaling captains
languageOfWork English
literaryPeriod American Romanticism
literaryRole protagonist
tragic hero
losesBodyPart leg
motivation revenge against Moby Dick
narratedBy Ishmael
nationality American
notableQuote From hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.
occupation whaling ship captain
settingEra 19th century
shipCommanded Pequod
shipTypeCommanded whaling ship
symbolism destructive monomania
human defiance against nature
obsessive pursuit
usesProsthesis ivory leg


Please wait…