Ahab As Tragic Hero
Submitted by on January 1, 1998
Category: Biographies
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Hemanth Venkataraman
Ahab Essay
In Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is a tragic hero. He is the commander in the story, and has many interrelated flaws which lead to his ultimate downfall. These tragic flaws include his pride and ego, obsession with revenge, and his determination to defy destiny. Counteracting these negative images of Ahab, are other demonstrations of his practical and sympathetic side, which induce pity for him by the reader, and by separating him from a classic antagonist, truly make him a tragic hero.
In the chapter entitled “Sunset” we learn a great deal about Ahab and flaws in his personality are revealed. His single-mindedness, leading to his description by Melville as a monomaniac, is shown as he vividly describes his one and only purpose of killing the whale. He is so consumed by this one purpose that he says he can never enjoy anything....