Chapter 74 69．funeral for the whale

The giant sperm whale was finally mowed clean by us. Its originally dark and shiny body now makes us white. It now looks very much like a white marble tomb, sitting on the calm sea. Compared with when its life was not over, its body is still so huge, without the slightest shrinkage. We have been with it day and night for almost a whole day and night, and we have been busy with it as the center. During this day and night, it became the number one protagonist of the entire "Pequode". And now, we're burying it. The anchor chain squeaked and was brought up, and the Pequod and the sperm whale separated quietly.

The skeleton of the huge white sperm whale began to drift slowly astern, farther and farther away. Almost all came on deck except Captain Ahab and those who could not leave. They gave the sperm whale a funeral. What hypocrites!They brutally killed it, mutilated it, and silently pitied it and felt guilty about it. They buried it with the sign of the cross on their chests. What more can I wish for it?Rest in peace? It came from the sea and returned to the sea. But even then it cannot rest in peace. Because although it has been ravaged by humans, its doom is far from over. Sharks and birds can now enjoy the lunch left by the "Pequord" unscrupulously. Perhaps, only they are the last mourners of the giant sperm whale.

The shoal of sharks rushed up with a murderous look. The sea water was splashed by them. The flock of birds hovered in the sky, swooping down again and again, and some even crouched on top of the white body. Another lively and even intense scene, but instead of the jungle, it's the jungle. These sharks and birds are meaner than humans. When people are relentlessly chasing and killing sperm whales, they are animals rather than humans, but they are watching the scenery with cold eyes. After people sound the death knell for sperm whales, they flock to drink the death knell of sperm whales happily. The wines, even, were fighting each other for uneven drinking.

But these heartless fellows will say: In the ocean where no one meddles, the whales are more ruthless when they slaughter us! Humans, cetaceans, sharks and birds fight with ruthless weapons. When the measure of ruthlessness is used as the weight of victory, man has the absolute advantage. Maybe only Moby Dick disagrees. Anyone who sails or earns a living at sea is somewhat superstitious, and whalers are no exception. When the sperm whale was alive, the whalers were not afraid of it, not only that, but also tried to kill it. But after it died, facing its white corpse that drifted farther and farther away, people were afraid of its wronged soul.

The body floating on the sea looked like a huge white ghost. The sailors took care to note down the spot where the Pequod had committed this tragedy, so that, when they were likely to come here many years later, they must avoid it, and even more avoid the place where they might still be traveling in this area. No white ghost, maybe this white ghost can make them smash their boats. Are they just believers in ghosts? If they didn't create this wronged soul, wouldn't there be one less ghost that made their hearts tremble?