Overview
Chapter 59 of Moby-Dick finds the Pequod sailing northeast toward Java through calm seas thick with brit. One still, blue morning, Daggoo spots a great white mass rising from the water and cries out that it is the White Whale. Captain Ahab immediately orders all four boats lowered, and the crew rushes to pursue what they believe to be Moby Dick. When the boats draw close, however, the object proves to be something far stranger—a giant squid of enormous proportions, rarely seen by any whaler.
The Giant Squid
describes the creature as "a vast pulpy mass, furlongs in length and breadth, of a glancing cream-color," with "innumerable long arms radiating from its centre, and curling and twisting like a nest of anacondas." The squid has no perceptible face, no token of sensation or instinct—it is an "unearthly, formless, chance-like apparition of life" that undulates silently on the waves before sinking with a low sucking sound. The description evokes both awe and horror, presenting the ocean's depths as home to forms of life beyond ordinary comprehension.
Reactions and Superstitions
Starbuck's response is telling: he declares he would "almost rather" have faced Moby Dick himself than this "white ghost." Flask asks what it was, and Starbuck identifies it as "the great live squid, which, they say, few whale-ships ever beheld, and returned to their ports to tell of it." Ahab, characteristically, says nothing—disappointed that the apparition was not his quarry, he simply turns his boat and sails back to the ship in silence. The crew follows, equally mute, underlining the uncanny atmosphere that pervades the encounter.
Natural History and the Kraken
The chapter closes with a passage of natural history speculation. Ishmael explains that the giant squid is believed to be the sperm whale's only food, obtained in unknown zones far below the surface. When pursued, sperm whales disgorge detached squid arms exceeding twenty or thirty feet in length. connects the squid to the legendary Kraken described by Bishop Pontoppidan, suggesting the mythical sea monster may "ultimately resolve itself into Squid." The creature is classified among the cuttle-fish, but only as "the Anak of the tribe"—the giant among giants. This blend of science, myth, and maritime folklore reinforces the novel's broader theme that the ocean conceals mysteries far larger than any single whale.