Moby Dick: Chapter 58 Essay

It is in hu while nature to hold in contempt and fear things egresslander to them, on the other hand many heap hold the hobbyhorse of knowledge as the one true path to fulfillment in life. The dangers of the pursuit of knowledge argon an underlying topic in castaways discussion of brit. shipwreck survivor describes the sea as enigmatic and immensely more unreliable than the land in doing so reveals how attempting to plain the extraterrestrial in the pursuit of knowledge is far more dangerous than be ignorant. In Ishmaels discussion ab reveal brit he quickly drifts off the subject of the actual brit and begins to make comparisons between the land and the sea. He states that even thousandgh some old naturalists energize maintained that all creatures if the land are of kind in the sea(Melville 272), he has yet to see any creatures of the sea that have the equal charm and kindness as domesticated pets.He reveals the inherent overleap of kindness or hospitability in seaic creatures by making this statement. He goes on to say that,how eer baby man may shove off if his science and skill, and however much in a fluttering future day that science and skill may augment yet forever and ever to the crack of dawn, the sea will continue to insult and murder him man has lost that sense of the awfulness of the sea which aboriginally belongs to it.(Melville 273). This passage illustrates the core of what Ishmael is trying to describe in his argument. It reveals the horror and indomitable holy terror of the sea, which consort to Ishmael community seem to have forgotten about and bear for granted.He also belittles humans in the passage occupation them baby man showing how powerless he believes people are equalityd to the sea and how no matter how much people advance they cannot compare to the seas power. He goes on to expand on this motif stating the many ways in which the oceans horrors hold advantage over all others such as the seas privation of mercy a nd control as well as its deceiving beauty and how its around dreaded creatures glide under water unapparent for the most quit and treacherously hidden beneath the loveliest azure(Melville 274)Underlying this interpretation of the terror of the ocean is a warning Ishmael attempts to show how trying to study the unknown in pursuit of knowledge is far more dangerous than remaining in a state of ignorance. Ishmael uses detailed description to over emphasize how terrifying the ocean is. This shows the use of storytelling and redefinition in ordering to get the audience picture the terrors of the ocean and in doing so understand with Ishmaels beliefs. This indicates Ishmaels use of pathos in his argument.Ishmael besides describing the ocean as a perilous govern he describes it as an everlasting terra incognita (Melville 273), this declaration of the incapableness of man to execute the mysteries of the ocean shows the, almost fearful, idolize he holds towards the ocean and its mys teries. A reverence he attempts to impart upon the audience through the aforementioned use of hyperbole and redefinition, showing a use of pathos to make the audience translate with these feelings.It seems that Ishmael would rather people not attempt to learn about the unknown rather than expose themselves to its dangers. This is apparent when this extract, For as thy appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of a man in that location lies one parochial Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by the horrors of the half(a) known life. God keep thee push not off from that isle, thou canst never return(Melville 274). This is the conclusion to Ishmaels discussion and reveals the cerebrate for his statements.The horrors of the half known life encompassing the insular Tahiti are the things people attempt to learn about the world and themselves. Ishmael believes that by venturing out into the sea of ones soul man exposes himself to all the dangers of the world. This shows how he believes that it is better to remain on a peninsula of ignorance and comfort than venture out into the sea of knowledge.Ishmael urges people to remain in their small insular world threatened by what lies beyond. He believes that one will arrive less comfort in discoveries than in ignorance and as such people should stay clear of the mysteries of the world.