Chapter 43 - Hark! Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

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Chapter 43 - Hark! from Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

"HIST! Did you hear that noise, Cabaco?

It was the middle-watch: a fair moonlight; the seamen were standing in a cordon, extending from one of the fresh-water butts in the waist, to the scuttle-butt near the taffrail. In this manner, they passed the buckets to fill the scuttle-butt. Standing, for the most part, on the hallowed precincts of the quarter-deck, they were careful not to speak or rustle their feet. From hand to hand, the buckets went in the deepest silence, only broken by the occasional flap of a sail, and the steady hum of the unceasingly advancing keel.

It was in the midst of this repose, that Archy, one of the cordon, whose post was near the after-hatches, whispered to his neighbor, a Cholo, the words above.

"Hist! did you hear that noise, Cabaco?"

"Take the bucket, will ye, Archy? what noise d'ye mean?"

"There it is again- under the hatches- don't you hear it- a cough- it sounded like a cough."

"Cough be damned! Pass along that return bucket."

"There again- there it is!- it sounds like two or three sleepers turning over, now!"

"Caramba! have done, shipmate, will ye? It's the three soaked biscuits ye eat for supper turning over inside of ye- nothing else. Look to the bucket!"

"Say what ye will, shipmate; I've sharp ears."

"Aye, you are the chap, ain't ye, that heard the hum of the old Quakeress's knitting-needles fifty miles at sea from Nantucket; you're the chap."

"Grin away; we'll see what turns up. Hark ye, Cabaco, there is somebody down in the after-hold that has not yet been seen on deck; and I suspect our old Mogul knows something of it too. I heard Stubb tell Flask, one morning watch, that there was something of that sort in the wind."

"Tish! the bucket!"

Frequently Asked Questions about Chapter 43 - Hark! from Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

What happens in Chapter 43 (Hark!) of Moby-Dick?

During the middle watch on a moonlit night, the crew of the Pequod silently passes buckets of fresh water across the quarter-deck. A sailor named Archy hears mysterious sounds — coughing and movement — coming from beneath the after-hatches. He tells his shipmate Cabaco that someone is hiding below deck, but Cabaco dismisses his concerns. Archy insists there is a hidden person aboard and suspects Captain Ahab knows about it.

Who are Archy and Cabaco in Moby-Dick?

Archy and Cabaco are two minor crew members aboard the Pequod. Archy is an observant sailor with sharp hearing who first notices suspicious sounds coming from below deck during the middle watch. Cabaco is a Cholo seaman who dismisses Archy's concerns, attributing the noises to indigestion and mocking his shipmate's overactive imagination. They appear primarily in Chapter 43, "Hark!"

What mysterious sounds does Archy hear in Chapter 43 of Moby-Dick?

Archy hears what he describes as coughing and the sounds of "two or three sleepers turning over" coming from under the after-hatches. These sounds are mysterious because no one is supposed to be sleeping in that part of the ship. The noises are later revealed to be produced by Fedallah and Ahab's secret boat crew, who have been hiding aboard the Pequod since the ship left Nantucket.

What is the scuttle-butt in Chapter 43 of Moby-Dick?

The scuttle-butt is a cask of drinking water located near the taffrail (the rail at the ship's stern). In Chapter 43, the crew forms a human chain to pass buckets from a fresh-water butt in the waist of the ship to refill the scuttle-butt. Historically, the scuttle-butt was where sailors gathered to drink water and exchange gossip, which is the origin of the modern word "scuttlebutt" meaning rumors or gossip.

How does Chapter 43 foreshadow later events in Moby-Dick?

Chapter 43 foreshadows the dramatic reveal of Ahab's secret crew led by Fedallah, which occurs during the first lowering for whales in Chapter 47. The mysterious coughing and movement Archy hears beneath the hatches are the hidden stowaways who have been concealed aboard the Pequod. Archy's report that he overheard Stubb tell Flask about "something of that sort in the wind" confirms that some officers already suspect Ahab's secret. This connects back to the shadowy figures Ishmael and Elijah spotted boarding the ship in Chapter 21.

Why is Chapter 43 of Moby-Dick written entirely in dialogue?

Melville writes Chapter 43 almost entirely as a dramatic exchange between two sailors, with minimal narration, to heighten the sense of secrecy and tension. The dialogue-heavy format mimics overhearing a whispered conversation, placing the reader in the role of an eavesdropper — much like Archy eavesdropping on sounds from below deck. This technique reinforces the chapter's themes of hidden knowledge and suspicion while advancing the plot through rumor rather than direct exposition.