All 3 Uses of
grapple
in
Moby Dick
- His greatest admirer could not have cordially justified his bringing his harpoon into breakfast with him, and using it there without ceremony; reaching over the table with it, to the imminent jeopardy of many heads, and grappling the beefsteaks towards him.†
Chpt 4-6 *
- Hiding his canoe, still afloat, among these thickets, with its prow seaward, he sat down in the stern, paddle low in hand; and when the ship was gliding by, like a flash he darted out; gained her side; with one backward dash of his foot capsized and sank his canoe; climbed up the chains; and throwing himself at full length upon the deck, grappled a ring-bolt there, and swore not to let it go, though hacked in pieces.†
Chpt 10-12
- Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.†
Chpt 133-135
Definition:
-
(grapple) to struggle:
typically a mental struggle -- as in coming to terms with something
more rarely a physical struggle -- as in hand-to-hand combat or moving something heavy or awkward