CAPTAIN AHAB AND JACK TORRANCE IN THEIR DARKNESS AND MADNESS

Abstract

The study examines Captain Ahab – Herman Melville’s iconic figure from the novel Moby-Dick in comparison with Jack Torrance, who is the central male character in Stephen King’s The Shining. The analogy is motivated by the tragic nature and the madness of the two characters, which is related to their antagonism. The aim is to establish any references between the two characters with the idea to trace the characteristics of dark romanticism such as the progression of madness and human fallibility in the development of Jack Torrance. Several aspects of parallelization are proposed – the characters’ tragic features, the essence of their madness, and their function as fatherly figures. The analysis demonstrates some common features between Ahab and Torrance. Both of them can be associated with Shakespearean tragic heroes, even though the tragedy of Jack is not heroic, but domestic. Their stories take place in isolation from society, in a microworld, where they take a leading position, which can be interpreted as a representation of the negative father – the father that fails to protect his family. Although both of them are obsessive, the roots of their obsession are different. Captain Ahab’s monomania is driven by his thirst for revenge, while at the core of Jack’s madness is his alcohol addiction and his failure.