Moby Dick and Thunderstorm on Narragansett Bay

Herman Melville's novel, Moby Dick, may on the surface seem to be the story of a sea captain obsessed with a whale. More than that, however, Moby Dick is an account of humankind's struggle against an uncontrollable and sometimes violent natural world. In the chapter entitled The Quarter Deck the reader is given a glimpse into Captain Ahab's madness, and the opportunity to see that madness reflected, not only from his crew, but from the whole of the human race.
<Tab/>Through Ishmael's narrative we see the image of Ahab's ship, the Pequod, as a metaphorical earth: with people o…