Man against God in Moby DickWorks cited "God, God is against you, old boy; never mind! It's a sick journey! Badly begun; badly continued. .." (418). Humanity has embarked on a journey. A journey of choice that will lead to the end of days; one who will determine the destiny of humanity and weave the carpet of life until its completion. Humanity, like Captain Ahab, has chosen to follow the direction of its own desires rather than reason and faith. By refusing to listen to the voice of reason, the man burned Starbuck, his conscience, and his morals, reducing them to "a lipless, featureless void" (459). Following the desires of the flesh, he threw away the compass and declared himself "lord of the leveled lodestone" (425). And like Captain Ahab, humanity will suffer the consequences of "all its fatal pride" (425). Every person who lives believes they possess the power, the free will, to weave their own mat of life, to bring out the designs. want. Yet, when the moment of decision comes, each will let "the ball of free will fall from [his] hands" and follow Captain Ahab in pursuit of the passion of the heart and the imagination of the mind. The pressure of Ahab's voice pushes the crew to obey, and only Starbuck dares to stand up to him. But even Starbuck's courage falters and he is unable to maintain his position. Turned into white noise, his silent pleas for obedience are rarely heard compared to Ahab's commands. For "[so] great was the thunder of [Ahab's] voice," that "the men leapt over the railing" and into the sea (187). Ahab realizes the power he has and declares it openly many times. However, he does not respect the authority he has been granted and abuses it by taking his ship and crew on a journey of vengeance and "foolish, wicked... middle of paper... God. Mankind has chosen ignore the orders of the shipowners and the warnings of the compass, and like Ahab, declared himself "immortal on land and sea" (411), therefore, "[despite all that mortal man might do," there he will be “[ re]pay, quick vengeance" (468). "Remember then from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works; otherwise I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place..." (381)Works citedThe Holy Bible. Concordance and references at the end of the verse ed. by Russell L. Surls.The Authorized King James Version. Iowa, World Bible Publishers, 1986. Melville, Moby Dick: An Authoritative Text and Letters of Melville, W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. 1967.