Moby-Dick Chapter 117 Summary

Summary

Four whales are struck down that evening, scattered around the ship: one to windward, one to leeward, one ahead, and one astern. Three of the whales are brought alongside before nightfall, but the windward whale cannot be reached until morning; the boat that killed it lies by its side all night, and that boat belongs to Ahab. The dead whale is marked by a waif-pole thrust into its spout-hole with a lantern at the top, the light flickering over the glossy back and across the midnight sea. Sharks play about the carcass and the gentle waves lap its flank.

Ahab and his boat crew appear asleep, except for the Parsee (Fedallah), who crouches in the bow watching the sharks and tapping the planks. Ahab, waking and confronted with the Parsee in the night gloom, admits he has dreamed again. They discuss omens and prophetic pledges: Ahab recalls telling the Parsee that neither hearse nor coffin can be his aboard the sea, and the Parsee reminds him that two hearses must be seen on the ocean before the Parsee can die—one not made by mortal hands and the last with wood grown in America. The Parsee promises he will go before Ahab as pilot, and declares that only hemp can kill Ahab. Ahab laughs at the notion—calling hemp the gallows and exclaiming that he is immortal on land and sea—then both lapse back into silence. At grey dawn the sleeping crew rises, and by noon the dead windward whale is brought to the ship.

Key events

1. Four whales are killed and lie dispersed around the ship.
2. Ahab's boat remains alongside the windward whale through the night.
3. A waif-pole with a lantern marks the dead whale and lights the scene.
4. The Parsee (Fedallah) watches sharks and the boat while others sleep.
5. Ahab and the Parsee discuss dreams, omens, and the conditions of death.
6. The Parsee declares 'Hemp only can kill thee' and Ahab laughs it off.
7. At dawn the crew rises and the windward whale is brought alongside by noon.

Analysis

This chapter compresses action into a nocturnal, symbolic pause that deepens the novel’s ominous mood and sharpens Ahab’s obsession. The dead whale serves as a liminal object—a washed-up, giant corpse around which ritual and prophecy gather. The waif-pole and lantern create a small island of human light against the oceanic dark, emphasizing isolation and the way Ahab and his boat are held apart from the rest of the ship and its ordinary life. The presence of sharks and the description of the sea’s gentle action on the whale mix the sublime with the macabre, reinforcing themes of nature’s indifferent cycles and death’s intimacy in the whaling world.

The dialogue between Ahab and the Parsee (Fedallah) advances the novel’s prophetic and fatalistic motifs without revealing future events: their exchange treats omens, pledges, and the paradox of Ahab’s defiant claim to immortality. The Parsee’s statement—“Hemp only can kill thee”—is a concentrated symbol, linking execution by rope to destiny and suggesting a vulnerability Ahab refuses to accept. The conversational intimacy in the dark, interrupted by laughter and silence, also illuminates their bond: the Parsee as enigmatic pilot and seer, Ahab as proud, theatrical, and perhaps increasingly isolated. Structurally, the chapter functions as a quiet but charged interlude, halting broader shipboard action to deepen psychological tension and foreshadow that death and prophecy will continue to shadow Ahab’s voyage.

Important quotes

““I have dreamed it again,” said he.”

AhabAhab wakes in the night and tells the Parsee he has again had a recurring dream, introducing their discussion of omens and pledges.

““Hemp only can kill thee.””

ParseeFedallah delivers a stark prophecy about Ahab’s death, naming a specific instrument—hemp—which becomes a chilling symbolic vulnerability.

““The gallows, ye mean.—I am immortal then, on land and on sea,””

AhabAhab laughs off the Parsee’s warning, defiantly claiming immortality despite the ominous statement about hemp.

Characters in Chapter 117

• Ahab
• Fedallah