Read the passage.
“Aye, Starbuck; aye, my hearties all round; it was Moby-Dick that dismasted me; Moby-Dick that brought me to this dead stump I stand on now. Aye, aye,” he shouted with a terrific, loud, animal sob, like that of a heartstricken moose; “Aye, aye! it was that accursed white whale that razeed me; made a poor pegging lubber for me forever and a day!” Then tossing both arms, with measureless imprecations he shouted out: “Aye, aye! and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up. And this is what ye have shipped for, men! to chase that white whale on both sides of land, and over all sides of earth, till he spouts black blood and rolls fin out.”
What message, or theme, is Melville developing in this passage from Moby-Dick?
Commitment to a cause is admirable.
Heartache is an unavoidable part of life.
Vengeance can become obsessive.
Sacrifice in the line of duty is noble.