Bryan Zheng

In the chapter titled Mat-Maker of Moby Dick, Herman Melville compares the
assembly of a mat to a person weaving through life. The relationship between three parts of a
loom reveals the greater relationship between free will, necessity, and chance through the use of
a machine-like diction as well as imagery that illustrates direction and timing. The metaphor is
manifested when the ship encounters the whale. The reactions of the sailors to the whale as well
as the sudden appearance of the phantoms demonstrate the actual roles of free will, necessity,
and chance in the great Loom of Time.
The literal characteristics of the warp, shuttle, and sword imply the metaphoric
associations between chance, free will, and necessity. Melville uses the words mechanically
and directed to describe how the shuttle is ruled by the warp. These words imply a nearly
robotic lack of choice in life. While the shuttle does actually have some level of autonomy, it is
ultimately controlled by the warp and pushed into place by the impulsive sword, which is
analogous to chance. Since the woof and the shuttle represent free will during lifes journey,
Melville implies that people are free only within the constraints of necessity and the randomness
of chance. The warp thus represents necessity and the unchangeable path in a persons life.
While each line may vibrate to allow the illusion of variability, they are still fixed and
unalterable. The absoluteness of the necessity is an important characteristic, as that quality is
reiterated when necessity is manifested in the whale.
The fact that the shuttle travels perpendicular to the warp shows that while free will and
fate may coexist, one must control the other. The way that Queequegs sword hits the woof
furthers the importance of direction in the extended metaphor. The sword strikes the woof
perpendicularly as well, pairing chance with necessity as the uncontrollable factors that dictate
the concept of free will. However Queequegs impulsive and indifferent attitude
differentiates chance from necessity. While necessity is uniform and unchanging, chance is
impartial and can therefore result in life being crookedly or slantingly played out. The
crookedness is later manifested when the five phantoms materialize from nowhere. The order in
which each physical item is used adds depth to the metaphor. The warp is already set before the
shuttle even begins weaving, which implies that necessity involves predestination. Only after a
path has been predetermined can the shuttle of free will interlace in the warp. Though in the end,
the impulse of chance is the concluding blow in a persons life.
After comparing fate and free will to a loom, Melville manifests the metaphor,
unsurprisingly, using the Sperm Whale. When Tashtego yells, there she blows, the blows are
compared to a clocks tick via simile. The reliable uniformity of the blows relates to the
metaphor because the absoluteness of the warp first characterized necessity. The second
reference to time and clocks, which occurs when Ahab, who embodies free will, demands the
time from the Dough-Boy connects the first two parts of the metaphor by demonstrating how
free will is regulated by necessity. By encountering the whale, the sailors on the Pequod, along
with Ahab, are the physical manifestations of free will, which is now exhibited by sentient
beings instead of simply being represented by an inanimate object. Furthermore, the sailors are
said to be in a line of man-of-wars men, about to throw themselves on board an enemys ship.
By describing the men as soldiers, Melville refers to people who seem to exemplify freedom of
choice. However, by chasing the whale, they are being dictated by the physical manifestation of
necessity.
The third and last part of the metaphor, chance, appears after free will has weaved
through necessity, exactly in the order that the warp, woof, and sword exhibited. At the critical
instant when the sailors are enthralled by the whale, Ahab appears with five dusky phantoms
that seemed fresh formed out of the air. The suddenness and randomness of the physical
manifestations of chance emphasizes how chance can result in crookedness and non-uniformity.
It is indifferent to free will or fate and is also relatively unpredictable. Melvilles timing supports
the metaphor since they appear in the last sentence of the chapter and the sword, or chance, has
the ultimate blow in the loom.
Melville uses the mundane task of creating a mat to form a metaphor relating free will,
necessity, and chance. The order and direction of the warp, woof, and sword demonstrate the
nuanced relationship between the three. Though the loom physically describes the metaphor,
Melville used the sighting of the whale to fully establish it. The Sperm Whale manifests
necessity, the sailors exhibit free will, and the phantoms appear by chance.