Free Will And Free Fate In Herman Melville's Moby-Dick

In Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, the themes of free will and free fate are explored through the experiences and relations of Ishmael, Queequeg, and Ahab. Melville uses subtle details within the novel to make readers question whether his characters could have prevented their own doom. Melville makes clear that the passengers upon the Pequod are in charge of their destiny such as Ishmael choosing to go on voyage, yet he also notes that there may be an outside force that is in control, such as using Ahab’s inability to explain what drives him to go after the whale. Melville uses examples in the text to acknowledge the recurring presence of both themes in the novel without explicitly choosing either sides. He focuses on the relationships between Ishmael and Queequeg and Ahab and the whale throughout the book to highlight the complexities of free will and fate and how they play an important role in Moby-Dick. In chapter one, we are introduced to Ishmael who believes that he has been summoned to travel on a whaling voyage by a force of fate. He calls it ‘the invisible police officer of the Fates’ and concludes that his destiny had been survillenced and pre-written by some outside force. His feelings are described as a scripted play when he fantasizes about a play bill reading, “Grand Contested Election for the Presidency of the United States. “Whaling voyage by one Ishmael. BLOODY BATTLE IN AFFGHANISTAN. (Melville 22)”. As much as Ishmael believes in fate, there is also a part of him that thinks that an adventure is something that he would’ve personally wanted for himself. Melville notes his uncertainty:
Though I cannot tell why it was exactly that those stage managers, the

In an important chapter called “The Mat-Maker,” Ishmael links the relationship between fate and free will. Melville uses the sword-mat weaving scene describes the