Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

Q: What is "cutting in" in Moby-Dick Chapter 67?

"Cutting in" is the whaling term for the process of stripping the blubber from a dead whale while it is still in the water alongside the ship. In Chapter 67, Ishmael describes how the mates Starbuck and Stubb use long-handled spades to cut into the whale's body, insert a hundred-pound blubber hook, and then peel the blubber off in a continuous spiral strip. The process involves enormous cutting tackles rigged from the mast-head, the entire crew heaving at the windlass, and the ship careening dangerously to one side from the strain. The blubber is compared to "the rind of an orange," peeled off in one long strip.

Q: How is the blubber removed from the whale in Moby-Dick?

The blubber is removed in a continuous spiral strip, much like peeling an orange. First, the mates cut a hole above one of the whale's side-fins and insert the great blubber hook. A semicircular incision is made, and the crew heaves at the windlass while the whale rolls over in the water. The blubber peels off along a line called the "scarf", simultaneously cut by the mates' spades. The strip is hoisted up to the main-top, then a harpooneer uses a boarding-sword to sever it into a section called a "blanket-piece," which is lowered through the main hatchway into the blubber-room below decks.

Q: What is a "blanket-piece" in whaling?

A blanket-piece is the long upper strip of blubber that has been peeled from the whale and severed from the rest of the strip by a harpooneer wielding a boarding-sword. Once cut free, the blanket-piece swings clear of the whale and is lowered through the main hatchway into the blubber-room, a dim space below decks where crewmen coil the long piece "as if it were a great live mass of plaited serpents." The term reflects the blubber's appearance: a thick, continuous sheet that envelops the whale like a blanket.

Q: What is the "scarf" in the whaling process described in Chapter 67?

The "scarf" is the whaling term for the line along which the blubber is cut as it peels off the whale's body. As the windlass keeps the whale rolling over in the water, the mates Starbuck and Stubb simultaneously cut along this scarf line with their long spades, guiding the continuous strip of blubber as it spirals off the body. The scarf ensures the blubber comes off in a uniform, unbroken strip rather than in ragged pieces, maximizing the efficiency of the process.

by Herman Melville

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Chapter 67 - Cutting In

Chapter 67 - Cutting In from Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

It was a Saturday night, and such a Sabbath as followed! Ex officio professors of Sabbath breaking are all whalemen. The ivory Pequod was turned into what seemed a shamble; every sailor a butcher. You would have thought we were offering up ten thousand red oxen to the sea gods.

In the first place, the enormous cutting tackles, among other ponderous things comprising a cluster of blocks generally painted green, and which no single man can possibly lift- this vast bunch of grapes was swayed up to the main-top and firmly lashed to the lower mast-head, the strongest point anywhere above a ship's deck. The end of the hawser-like rope winding through these intricacies, was then conducted to the windlass, and the huge lower block of the tackles was swung over the whale; to this block the great blubber hook, weighing some one hundred pounds, was attached. And now suspended in stages over the side, Starbuck and Stubb, the mates, armed with their long spades, began cutting a hole in the body for the insertion of the hook just above the nearest of the two side-fins. This done, a broad, semicircular line is cut round the hole, the hook is inserted, and the main body of the crew striking up a wild chorus, now commence heaving in one dense crowd at the windlass. When instantly, the entire ship careens over on her side; every bolt in her starts like the nailheads of an old house in frosty weather; she trembles, quivers, and nods her frighted mast-heads to the sky. More and more she leans over to the whale, while every gasping heave of the windlass is answered by a helping heave from the billows; till at last, a swift, startling snap is heard; with a great swash the ship rolls upwards and backwards from the whale, and the triumphant tackle rises into sight dragging after it the disengaged semicircular end of the first strip of blubber. Now as the blubber envelopes the whale precisely as the rind does an orange, so is it stripped off from the body precisely as an orange is sometimes stripped by spiralizing it. For the strain constantly kept up by the windlass continually keeps the whale rolling over and over in the water, and as the blubber in one strip uniformly peels off along the line called the "scarf," simultaneously cut by the spades of Starbuck and Stubb, the mates; and just as fast as it is thus peeled off, and indeed by that very act itself, it is all the time being hoisted higher and higher aloft till its upper end grazes the main-top; the men at the windlass then cease heaving, for a moment or two the prodigious blood-dripping mass sways to and fro as if let down from the sky, and every one present must take good heed to dodge it when it swings, else it may box his ears and pitch him headlong overboard.

One of the attending harpooneers now advances with a long, keen weapon called a boarding-sword, and watching his chance he dexterously slices out a considerable hole in the lower part of the swaying mass. Into this hole, the end of the second alternating great tackle is then hooked so as to retain a hold upon the blubber, in order to prepare for what follows. Whereupon, this accomplished swordsman, warning all hands to stand off, once more makes a scientific dash at the mass, and with a few sidelong, desperate, lunging, slicings, severs it completely in twain; so that while the short lower part is still fast, the long upper strip, called a blanket-piece, swings clear, and is all ready for lowering. The heavers forward now resume their song, and while the one tackle is peeling and hoisting a second strip from the whale, the other is slowly slackened away, and down goes the first strip through the main hatchway right beneath, into an unfurnished parlor called the blubber-room. Into this twilight apartment sundry nimble hands keep coiling away the long blanket-piece as if it were a great live mass of plaited serpents. And thus the work proceeds; the two tackles hoisting and lowering simultaneously; both whale and windlass heaving, the heavers singing, the blubber-room gentlemen coiling, the mates scarfing, the ship straining, and all hands swearing occasionally, by way of assuaging the general friction.

Frequently Asked Questions about Chapter 67 - Cutting In from Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

What is "cutting in" in Moby-Dick Chapter 67?

"Cutting in" is the whaling term for the process of stripping the blubber from a dead whale while it is still in the water alongside the ship. In Chapter 67, Ishmael describes how the mates Starbuck and Stubb use long-handled spades to cut into the whale's body, insert a hundred-pound blubber hook, and then peel the blubber off in a continuous spiral strip. The process involves enormous cutting tackles rigged from the mast-head, the entire crew heaving at the windlass, and the ship careening dangerously to one side from the strain. The blubber is compared to "the rind of an orange," peeled off in one long strip.

Why does Ishmael mention Sabbath breaking at the start of Chapter 67?

The cutting in takes place on a Saturday night and continues into Sunday, making it a violation of the Christian Sabbath. Ishmael declares that "ex officio professors of Sabbath breaking are all whalemen," highlighting how the demands of the whaling industry override religious observance. The Pequod is transformed into "what seemed a shamble" (a slaughterhouse), with every sailor becoming a butcher. This religious transgression underscores one of Melville's recurring themes: the brutal realities of whaling that place profit and survival above conventional moral and spiritual life.

How is the blubber removed from the whale in Moby-Dick?

The blubber is removed in a continuous spiral strip, much like peeling an orange. First, the mates cut a hole above one of the whale's side-fins and insert the great blubber hook. A semicircular incision is made, and the crew heaves at the windlass while the whale rolls over in the water. The blubber peels off along a line called the "scarf", simultaneously cut by the mates' spades. The strip is hoisted up to the main-top, then a harpooneer uses a boarding-sword to sever it into a section called a "blanket-piece," which is lowered through the main hatchway into the blubber-room below decks.

What is a "blanket-piece" in whaling?

A blanket-piece is the long upper strip of blubber that has been peeled from the whale and severed from the rest of the strip by a harpooneer wielding a boarding-sword. Once cut free, the blanket-piece swings clear of the whale and is lowered through the main hatchway into the blubber-room, a dim space below decks where crewmen coil the long piece "as if it were a great live mass of plaited serpents." The term reflects the blubber's appearance: a thick, continuous sheet that envelops the whale like a blanket.

What dangers does the crew face during the cutting in process?

The cutting in is extremely dangerous. When the crew begins heaving at the windlass, the entire ship careens over on her side toward the whale, with "every bolt in her" starting like nail-heads in frosty weather. The mast-heads tremble and nod from the strain. The enormous blood-dripping mass of blubber, once hoisted to the main-top, sways to and fro as if let down from the sky, and everyone must dodge it or risk being boxed in the ears and pitched headlong overboard. Starbuck and Stubb work suspended on stages over the side of the ship, wielding spades above the whale in the water.

What is the "scarf" in the whaling process described in Chapter 67?

The "scarf" is the whaling term for the line along which the blubber is cut as it peels off the whale's body. As the windlass keeps the whale rolling over in the water, the mates Starbuck and Stubb simultaneously cut along this scarf line with their long spades, guiding the continuous strip of blubber as it spirals off the body. The scarf ensures the blubber comes off in a uniform, unbroken strip rather than in ragged pieces, maximizing the efficiency of the process.