Read the excerpt from Chapter 28 of Moby-Dick . It resembled that perpendicular seam sometimes made in the straight, lofty trunk of a great tree, when the upper lightning tearingly darts down it, and without wrenching a single twig, peels and grooves out the bark from top to bottom, ere running off into the soil, leaving the tree still greenly alive, but branded. Melville’s description of Ahab’s scar in this excerpt best develops which theme in the novel?
Answer
A
the ruling of a person’s present by their past wounds
B
the harmony that exists between humans and nature
C
the destructive power of technologies
D
the ability of humans to let go of past wounds
Explanation
The lightning scar leaves the tree alive but permanently “branded,” much as Ahab’s scar marks him and reminds him of past suffering. The image develops the theme that a person’s present can be ruled by past wounds: Ahab’s injury continues to shape his identity and actions. The description does not suggest that he has let go of the wound or that humans and nature exist in harmony.
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