The Harpooneer's Impossible Task
Chapter 62 of Moby-Dick opens with 's narrator, Ishmael, pausing to explain a detail from the previous chapter's whale chase. He describes the standard arrangement aboard a whale-boat: the headsman (or whale-killer) takes the temporary position of steersman at the stern, while the harpooneer pulls the foremost oar. This setup means the man responsible for striking the whale must first exhaust himself rowing before he can even attempt the critical throw. The harpoon itself, a heavy iron implement, often must be flung twenty or thirty feet in what whalemen call a "long dart."
Exhaustion Before the Critical Moment
Ishmael emphasizes the absurdity of what is expected of the harpooneer. Not only must this man row with superhuman vigor during a prolonged and exhausting chase, he must simultaneously shout loud, intrepid exclamations to motivate the rest of the crew. In this straining, bawling state, with his back to the whale, the harpooneer suddenly hears the command: "Stand up, and give it to him!" He must then drop his oar, turn halfway around on his seat, seize the harpoon from its crotch, and with whatever strength remains, attempt to pitch it into the whale. Ishmael notes that out of fifty fair chances for a dart among the entire whaling fleet, fewer than five succeed.
The Human Cost of a Flawed System
The consequences of this arrangement are severe. Ishmael catalogs the toll: harpooneers are cursed and demoted for missing their throws; some literally burst blood vessels from the exertion; entire four-year whaling voyages return with only four barrels of oil; and many ship owners find whaling a losing concern. When the dart does succeed, the danger continues as the whale begins to run and the headsman and harpooneer must swap positions while the boat lurches forward, endangering everyone aboard. Ishmael declares plainly that "it is the harpooneer that makes the voyage," and draining his strength before the crucial moment is self-defeating folly.
Ishmael's Practical Reform
The chapter concludes with Ishmael's own argument for reform. He insists that the headsman should remain in the bows from first to last, performing both the harpooning and the lancing, with no rowing expected of him except in obvious circumstances. He acknowledges this might cost some speed in the chase, but contends from long experience across multiple nations' whaling fleets that the vast majority of failures result not from the whale's speed but from the harpooneer's exhaustion. The chapter's final aphorism crystallizes the point: "To insure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooneers of this world must start to their feet from out of idleness, and not from out of toil."