Ahab, the hero of Moby DickYou might think it would be difficult to find a tragic hero hidden in the pages of Moby Dick. Yet it is certainly possible to view Ahab as a hero despite the reader's unfavorable reactions. In the original formula from the Greeks, the tragic hero was to be an individual of high birth, high status, possessing a fatal flaw that led to their downfall. With Othello, Shakespeare redefined high status to include only position rather than being tied to societal status or birth. In this way, Othello, as a military leader, could be the tragic hero despite being an outsider in the makeup of society. Melville follows this example in Moby-Dick. Aboard the Pequod, Ahab, as captain of the ship, assumes the role of king or dictator, giving him an elevated status that fits this traditional view of the hero (Millhauser 76). Melville himself wrote: Men can appear detestable. . . ; men can have mean, thin faces; but man, ideally, is so noble and so glittering, such a great and radiant creature, that over any ignominious spot in him all his fellows should run to throw away their costliest robes. . . . If, therefore, I now attribute to the most wicked sailors, to the renegades and the shipwrecked, high, though obscure, qualities; weave tragic graces around them; . . . then, against all mortal critics, defend me, you righteous Spirit of equality, who has spread a royal mantle of humanity over all my race! . . . . You who, in all your mighty earthly marches, always select your choicest champions from among the royal commons; Bear with me, O God! (444-445)Melville takes the traditional heroic vision and reinterprets it from the American...... middle of paper ...... halter around the neck; but it is only when caught in the quick and sudden turn of death that mortals realize the silent, subtle, and ever-present perils of life” (Melville 545). With these words, Ahab's destiny is linked to the universal destiny of humanity. Thanks to this common denominator, Ahab's struggle becomes that of all men throughout the world. In Ahab, Melville developed an unlikely hero. He is not always attractive, but he seeks within his own realm of knowledge and experience to overcome what he perceives as a major evil. Ultimately, Ahab gives his life in pursuit of betterment for everyone. Works CitedMelville, Herman "The Form of". Moby-Dick." Reviews of Melville. Ed. Thomas J. Rountree. Coral Gables: U of Miami P, 1972. 76-80.