SOURCE: "The World is Mad: Moby-Dick," in "The Twisted Mind": Madness in Herman Melville's Fiction, University of Iowa Press, 1990, pp. 50-73.

In the following essay, McCarthy studies Herman Melville's depiction of madness in Moby-Dick, arguing that "madness is all but ubiquitous" in this novel. McCarthy contends that madness is found in animals and humans, that the universe itself appears to be mad. Furthermore, McCarthy analyzes the distinct manifestations of insanity in the characters on board the ship and demonstrates the progression of madness in Ahab.

After five strenous months writing Redburn and White-Jacket in the crowded house at 103 Fourth Street in New York City, Melville was a tired, somewhat disillusioned man in need of rest and a change of scene. With blessings of his concerned family and others and financial assistance from Judge Shaw, Melville boarded the Southampton, a British liner, on 11 October 1849 for an extended trip to...