1980. A recurring
theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility.
For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination
to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral
duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a
private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a
well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon
the character, and its significance to the work.
In the novel Moby Dick
by Herman Melville, the determined Captain Ahab puts his desire for revenge
on the great Moby Dick ahead of the safety of his crew. Capturing Moby Dick is
the ultimate dream for Ahab, but it is a very dangerous task as proven before.
Ahab had suffered a hard loss to Moby Dick, which made his desire for revenge
very strong. Capturing Moby Dick would put his crew and himself in danger, but
Ahab had no regard for the consequences. Defeating his personal battle was the
most important thing to him. Captain Ahab disregarded all of his morals to
pursue his selfish dream. Ahab’s loving family back in Nantucket wasn’t even
enough to keep Ahab sane at sea.
The personal relationship that Ahab believes he shares with
the whale drives Ahab to finish what was started. Ahab believes that he can
take on the great whale. His large amount of confidence causes him to act
inferior and ignorant. The present moral issues on the boat are unimportant in
comparison to Ahab’s great battle. His inferior attitude causes him to believe
that fate has brought him to defeat his biggest challenge.
Ahab is a hero in the novel, and like all heroes he suffers
from a flaw. His flaw was inflicted on his original journey to kill Moby Dick.
His peg leg is an everyday reminder to himself of the pain and suffering this
evil being has caused. His flaw is symbolic towards the work because it is a
main thing stopping him from capturing the whale. The thoughts of revenge are
always present in Ahab’s mind and they don’t go away. Ahab looses all moral
values and sense because his own sense has been damaged.
You picked a great example for this prompt! Your first paragraph is a bit repetitive, though. You really go in depth on the effects the conflict has on the character, but you only lightly touch on the significance to the work and the nature of the conflict. Maybe you can discuss the effect of Ahab's passion on the crew of the ship. When you talk about significance, you don't really talk about how his passion effects the work as a while, rather you talk about how his peg leg effects his ability to capture the whale. Other than that, great job!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Caitlyn, you picked a perfect piece for this prompt. In order to fully answer the prompt I think you need to go more in detail on how Ahab's passionate obseesion with the whale deters him from his resposibility of his crew's well-being. Overall good job. You did a good job portraying Ahab's character falw, which I feel is jey to his lack of responsibilty.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good, very textbook piece. Almost too textbook. Let a little more of your personailty shine through while writing this. It would be more engrossing to read if it wasn't so dry.
ReplyDelete