of Libra, the Scales. Did Melville plant this symbol to suggest the scales of fate were weighing in on Ahab? (Chase, “Melville” 59). Fate weighed Ahaband found him wanting because his evil quest ends in despair. He chases Moby Dick, Moby Dick does not chase him. Had he not pursued Moby Dick, Moby Dick would not have destroyed the entire ship and its crew, save Ishmael who survived the encounter (Arvin 217). On day three of Ahab’s hunt, the whale destroys the whaling boats and the Pequod, thereby destroying those who seek to escape their human limitations and question their divinely ordained fate. Melville’s allegories and symbolism — Ahab symbolizing men who feel wronged by God and Moby Dick symbolizing a vengeful God who will destroy those who wish to destroy Him — are woven into a timeless masterpiece of exposition and are revealed through a vast array of symbols, hints, and rantings.Works CitedArvin, Newton. “The Whale.” Parker and Hayford. 196.Auden, W. H. “The Romantic Use of Symbols.” Gilmore. 9.Bloom, Harold, ed. Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick: Modern Critical Interpretations.”New York: Chelsea, 1986.Braswell, William. “Moby-Dick Is an Allegory of Humanity’s Struggle with God.”Leone. 149.Buell, Lawrence. “Moby-Dick as Sacred Text.” Bloom. 62.Chase, Richard, ed. Melville: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice, 1965.Chase, Richard. “Melville and Moby-Dick.” Chase. 49.Gilmore, Michael T., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Moby-Dick. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ: Prentice, 1977.Guiley, Rosemary. Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience. NewYork: Castle, 1991.Hillway, Tyrus. Herman Melville. New York: Twayne, 1963.House, Paul R. Old Testament Survey. Nashville: Broadman, 1992.Kazin, Alfred. “’Introduction’ to Moby-Dick.” Chase. 39.Leone, Bruno, ed. R...
