Abstract This essay focuses on the character of Captain Ahab in Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. This essay attempts to humanize Ahab by exposing the motivation behind his behavior, and placing him in his environment as a reactor to natural events. The paper looks at Ahab as a mirror reflection of the ugliest parts of humanity. By suggesting that Captain Ahab is in some ways a reflection of humanity, this essay attempts to humanize his monomaniacal characteristics. Ahab is the captain of the Pequod, but this essay also suggests that he is the captain of the novel, steering the fiction from beginning to end.
From the Paper "Captain Ahab appears to be a communion of man and man's perception of alterity. Man naturally detests and abhors all adverse characteristics to which he cannot deny he is akin. Captain Ahab seems to be the imperfect reflection that most would rather not acknowledge as their own. He is the modern "Everyman"-molded to encompass the raw nature that makes him human and intrinsically aligned with the industrial, religious, and economic paradigms characteristic of the nineteenth century. Captain Ahab is as mysterious and complex as all humanity, and one can no more hate him than he can hate himself. He is composed of "a thousand bold dashes of character" (Herman Melville's Moby-Dick MD 67) which makes him a virtual collage of human experience. He is a captain, an ever-branching tree of morals and virtues, and a deep mystic ocean many fathoms deep."
Abstract This paper examines the character of Captain Ahab as a tragic hero in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick". The author discusses the criteria for a tragic hero and how Ahab fits each criterion. The paper looks at how Captain Ahab's weakness turned him away from success, and how he recognized his personal suffering.
From the Paper "Captain Ahab is a man of substance, or outstanding in a positive way. He is also turned aside from success due to his own weakness of character. This weakness of character causes him to suffer which in turn this suffering causes Ahab to find recognition of himself and discover what is happening to him. He also causes the sensitive and intelligent reader to feel a sense of waste. Ahab causes a disruption in a system of order as well. He is classified as a paradoxical figure and shows sign of humanity. With two proofs or more for each of the eight criteria of a tragic hero Captain Ahab proves himself to be a more than adequate tragic hero in Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick. "
Abstract In "Moby Dick", Herman Melville uses Captain Ahab to describe and critique the romantic hero. It shows how Melville establishes Ahab's superiority in several ways and shows how Captain Ahab is the perfect example of a romantic hero.
From the Paper "Captain Ahab is the perfect example of a romantic hero. He pursues the whale that in a previous voyage had caused him to lose a leg, with a murderous obsession. He wants only information about the whereabouts of Moby Dick. All civilities and pleasures are dispensed with, as Ahab gives his razor away and even throws his pipe overboard. The quadrant is smashed; and compass and chart are jettisoned, as Ahab, with the instinct of a maddened hunter, makes his own magnet, log, and line and pursues Moby Dick across the Pacific by dead reckoning. As the weeks and months pass, Ahab becomes ever more obsessive."
This paper provides a book review and critique of the work "Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the Birth of the American Dream" by Thomas Hoobler and Dorothy Hoobler.
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that the colony of Jamestown in Roanoke, Virginia, often remains a shadowy period of American history in most Americans' understanding of their nation's origins. The writer maintains that if they know anything about Jamestown and its founder Captain John Smith, it likely comes from romantic tales of Smith's rescue from death by the Indian chief's daughter Pocahontas, rather than knowledge about how and why the colony experienced such difficulties during its early years. However, the the writer discusses that historians Thomas and Dorothy Hoobler suggest in their text "Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the Birth of the American Dream" that the ideals, values, and principles of America can be traced back to this early effort of colonization.
From the Paper "The Hooblers' thesis is that Jamestown's founder, even though the colony itself was ultimately, famously unsuccessful, was a kind of an early embodiment of the ideal of the self-made man. Smith, in the portrayal of the Hooblers, emerges from the text as both a pirate and a pioneer, and a true, budding entrepreneur even though he was born an Englishman. Smith came to America after living a life more akin to an action hero than an administrator of the Crown. He had battled upon the high seas, and even been sold into slavery. He was born in a seafaring English community where regular maintenance of the dikes was necessary to keep the town, quite literally, afloat. This was an early example of the value of hard work and effort to the young Smith."
Abstract This paper provides a critical analysis of a quote from Dostoevsky in "Crime and Punishment" concerning affronts. The author examines the reactions of Antigone and Captain Vere to affronts and explains how pride was a common motivating factor.
Abstract This paper explains that Sandy Troy's "Captain Trips" tells the story of the life of pop cultural icon and musician Jerry Garcia of the rock band The Grateful Dead. The author feels that the prose style of this book, which reads like a very long encyclopedia article, is not the most interesting style to read; however, the author was looking for this type of detail about Garcia's life. The paper includes three quotations from the chapter on Garcia's childhood to illustrate themes found later in the biography.
Table of Contents:
Summary
Rationale for Choosing the Book
Recommended or Not
Three Representative Quotes
From the Paper "I have been interested in Jerry Garcia because he is a pop cultural icon. Most people know who he is, and can picture his face. He even has a Ben and Jerry's ice cream named after him. But I realized that while I could picture his face and I associated him with the Grateful Dead, I didn't know that much about him. I knew some stray facts here and there and things I had seen in rock documentaries. But I really wanted to explore his life in more detail, to see what made him such a legendary musician who was able to touch so many people."
This paper compares the character Captain Kurtz from Francis Ford Coppala's film "Apocalypse Now" and the character Mr. Kurtz of Joseph Conrad's book "Heart of Darkness", which inspired the film.
Abstract This paper explains that the mission of Captain Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now" was embarked upon because a supposedly good government led him to the jungle, rather than an avowedly rapacious company as in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", making 'the horror' of what occurs even sharper to the viewer as well as to the captain. It points out that Captain Kurtz thus seems more sympathetic in the film, as opposed to the novel's Mr. Kurtz. The author shows how the movie scene, with the grotesquely deployed human body parts, highlights the inability of the native population, whom Kurtz has been sent to help, to understand the Americans; in contrast, the heads upon the poles by Conrad's Mr. Kurtz merely stresses the dark brutality of the African continent and Kurtz's willingness to make use of native techniques of warfare to enact psychological control over his populace. The paper relates that the madness of Marlon Brando's Captain Kurtz becomes a symptom of the madness of the Vietnam war rather than an act or symptom of a supposed leader's private psychological disintegration as in the book.
From the Paper "Marlow finds Mr. Kurtz in an obscure location in the interior. Human heads mounted on poles surround Kurtz. But unlike "Apocalypse Now," which also has a scene featuring human body parts, grotesquely deployed, Captain Kurtz's heads were not won in a hypocritical attempt to improve the populace. Mr. Kurtz used them to establish his domination and control over fearful and cowering natives. In contrast, Coppala's Captain Kurtz, although calcified in his heart, and turned brutal and mad by the events he has witnessed, shows a more compassionate side to Willard when the two men discuss Coppala's even more horrific scene of native, human dismemberment."
Tags: horror, governmet, war, corporation, psychological
Abstract This paper takes a general look at the levels of management in a cockpit of commercial airlines. It discusses the authority the captain holds over the first officer in the cockpit. The writer explains that the dynamics of the relationships in an airline cockpit are varied, but the captain always holds specific authority over the other crew including the first officer. The captain's authority in the cockpit is necessary for a number of reasons, but when it reaches a point where the first officer is afraid to challenge the captain's command and decisions, then the results can be devastating and even deadly.
From the Paper "This acknowledged authority relates directly to aircraft regulations as well as history and accepted norms in the industry. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) states that ultimately, the captain holds the final authority over the crew and the airplane. The CFR also demands captains have considerable more flight time than first officers. Captains must have at least 1500 hours, while first officers only require 200 hours (Tarnow 112). In addition to the CFR rules, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also have certain cockpit rules which include "'the pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft' (1996 CFR, Paragraph 91.3)" (Tarnow 113). However, the rules also state that during an emergency, the pilot can deviate from these rules. Thus, the captain is much more experienced in flight matters, and his authority is often "gold" in the airline cockpit."
Abstract This is a paper on the moral dilemma faced by Captain Vere is Melville's "Billy Budd". The author examines the events and the plot in the novel as well as the major themes and focuses on one of the main characters in the novel, Captain Vere and the moral dilemma he faces when Claggart arrives and the captain has to decide whether Claggart is lying.
From the Paper "Melville in Billy Budd introduces his characters through an introductory sketch after which they enter into the narrative. These descriptive sketches provide the necessary background for each character and prepare the reader for the part each is to play in the narrative. The characters are further developed by means of words or phrases, which are repeatedly used to describe them, or by means of characteristic phrases, which they repeatedly utter. For example, Captain Vere by his nickname of "Starry" Vere. Then the characters are described through repeated references to their appearance. The 'aristocratic' Captain Vere is a reflection of the real character. (Mumford, 1929)."
This paper free-associates the meaning behind the story, "The Secret Sharer." It discusses the evolving relationship of the Captain and Legatt, which include his realization of the affect his actions can have on the lives of others.
930 words (approx. 3.7 pages), 3 sources, 2000, $ 33.95
Abstract This paper examines the story "The Secret Sharer," and presents the thesis that perhaps Leggatt and the Captain shared a portion of their identities. The paper covers the captains growth, from a young man, when he was first made captain, and some of the choices he made during these earlier years, through events that shaped and influenced his later years.
From the Paper "This story throughout showed a Captain's growth and process through his right of passage, from being an inexperienced and uncertain young man to being an in-charge ship's Captain. He learned not only how to be a captain, but also discovered who his inner self was. He learned to make moral decisions as well as decisions pertaining to the running of the ship without fear of what the shipmates would think. Although in his youth he had much more wisdom than the Captain of the Sephora who had the experience of thirty and seven years, but never became a confident man who believed in himself, because he acted as a coward and then lied about Leggatt who had witnessed his cowardice, in order to preserve his own reputation."
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss two novels as they relate to each other, ?Persuasion,? by Jane Austen, and "North and South" by Elizabeth Gaskell. Specifically, it discusses the romance between Anne and Captain Wentworth from "Persuasion", and how it relates to the romance between Margaret and Mr. Thornton from "North and South".
From the Paper ""North and South" was written almost fifty years after ?Persuasion,? and it is interesting to see how the two heroines have many similarities, and yet are very different women. Margaret and Mr. Thornton are also older, but Margaret is from the upper class ? she learns to move through different classes, and identify with workers and their problems, along with the problems of their managers and mill owners. "I don't mind ironing, or any kind of work, for you and papa. I am myself a born lady through it all, even though it comes to scouring a floor, or washing dishes" (Gaskell 116)."
Abstract The paper examines the senseless loss of lives of thousands of young soldiers in World War I under the command of Captain Haig, because of his poor battle planning. The paper describes how he could have been a much more successful military officer if had he used the resources he had available to help him plan for battles, learned from his past experiences and used logic when planning his battles.
From the Paper "Sir Douglas Haig was a controversial and incompetent captain who needlessly lost hundreds of thousands of men due to the management of his battles throughout the war. Despite his ultimate success, Haig's leadership was very controversial in the years following the war. His battle plans led to the unnecessary death of many of his troops, which must be taken into consideration when analyzing his effectiveness as a captain."
From the Paper "The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of Captain John Smith in colonial Virginia.
John Smith was an English soldier, explorer and colonist who was a founder of Virginia. He is a colorful, near legendary figure in American history and has been the subject of a long and lively historical controversy. His name evokes a popular image of a swashbuckling, romantic hero who saved the infant colony of Jamestown from internal and external menaces and who himself was rescued by the Indian maiden Pocahontas (Gerson 12). Some 19th-century historians belittled Smith and his role in the founding of America, claiming that the heroic exploits described in his narratives were invented to promote himself. Modern historians, however, have been able largely to substantiate Smith's writings, while putting legend in its proper perspective. A superb ... "
Abstract This paper discusses the book, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", by Jules Verne. The paper introduces the book's narrator, a Frenchman named Professor Aronnax, his Belgian assistant, Conseil and Ned Land, a Canadian sailor. The paper describes how Verne represents in these personas, three different segments of French-speaking Europe?the Parisian intellectual, the smaller and helpful Belgian servant and the outdoorsy Canadian. The antagonist of the story, Captain Nemo, is examined in detail.
From the Paper "The story begins when Professor Aronnax agrees to investigate a series of attacks by a mysterious sea monster. After joining the crew of the ship Abraham Lincoln and Ned Land, the men encounter what they first believe is the monster, but turns out to be a large, state-of-the-art submarine, the Nautilus. But in a way, they have encountered a monster, because Captain Nemo has become so cruel, embittered, and mad from his time away from humanity, that it is almost as though he is like the monsters he observes and is tracking himself."
Abstract This paper examines the simple fable of "Men at Arms" written by Terry Pratchett, one of the stories of the Discworld series in which Ankh-Morpork is a triumphant plutocracy of Guilds over the shaky balance of different ethnic groups. It discusses how only the leaders of the City Guard happened to be able to restrain the city elements and how this makes them the main characters of the book. In particular it looks at the characters of Corporal Carrot and Captain Vimes with a character analysis and a look at their contribution to the story.
From the Paper "Samuel Vimes was in charge of the Night Watch, a job that largely involved getting drunk and keeping out of trouble. However, after the arrival of Carrot in "Men at Arms", he has found himself called upon to straighten up and actually take command. In this book we see him as a classic police officer. He is decent, even to some extent ascetic, pedantic, man of principle; he perfectly follows the law; he is observant and acute. And furthermore, he is planning to marry the richest widow in Ankh-Morpork and to resign. So, we see a classic police commissar working during his last days before the retirement and hoping that in several routine days he will become a civil man."
