In the novel Moby Dick, Ishmael is saved while the rest of the Pequod’s crew die at sea. There is a specific point in the theme of the novel where each crew member sealed their fate. These thematic reasons make sense at the end of the novel. The Pequod’s crew dies because of the pledge they made to Ahab. They put their lives on the line to capture the White Whale. At the …showed first 75 words of 279 total…

…showed last 75 words of 279 total…will be entered back into the “joint stock company,” even though Queequeg will die. Melville’s ultimate point regarding Ahab’s concept of the human condition is that maybe it is God who compels us to do the things we do and that we do not control our own decisions. God may have us predestined for riches, glory, or sorrow. Ahab sees now, if this is true, there is nothing he or anyone can do