Isaac Chan’s Reviews > Moby Dick > Status Update

Note 2/2:
unmerited disaster and death. Therefore, I saw that here was a sort of interregnum in Providence; for its even-handed equity never could have so gross an injustice. And yet still further pondering—while I jerked him now and then from between the whale and ship, which would threaten to jam him—still further pondering, I say, I saw that this situation of mine was the precise situation of every mortal that breathes; only, in most cases, he, one way or other, has this Siamese connexion with a plurality of other mortals. If your banker breaks, you snap; if your apothecary by mistake sends you poison in your pills, you die. True, you may say that, by exceeding caution, you may possibly escape these and the multitudinous other evil chances of life. But handle Queequeg’s monkey-rope heedfully as I would, sometimes he jerked it so, that I came very near sliding overboard. Nor could I possibly forget that, do what I would, I only had the management of one end of it.' - is simply just THE most marvelous musing on our necessary loss of our individuality once we enter society and the workplace that I have EVER read in my life. This touches my soul.

I chose the words 'society and the workplace' carefully. It is evident that it is hard to remain a free individual in society, for to maintain our subsistence we must be locked in a complex web of other individuals and our employer. In my current life situation, 95% of my time and energies are dedicated to Hong Leong Bank - my own individuality is now merged into the joint stock company of Hong Leong Bank! My free will had received a mortal wound. Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains. Even a loving relationship that I 100% want to be in - my relationship with Joyce - is a necessary further stripping of one's individuality. And this is but the first step of much further stripping of individuality to come - that of starting a family and thus having NO individual time at all.

On another note, I suddenly realised that Ishmael, although he's a common sailor, is one of the most introspective and thoughtful people I've ever met. This is another instance of a talented individual who is just trapped by his life circumstances - that of, i) Lacking the means to receive a formal education, and ii) His own life choices leading him to choose the life of being a common sailor under Ahab which later has fatal consequences. Many intelligent people just never had the chance to be educated. But I would hardly consider Ishmael wise, nevertheless, since he made the decision to join the Pequod!