"Okay, Boomer! " Ahab Meets His Foil With Disgust

Captain Boomer Fails to Convince Crazed Protagonist

After several weeks without seeing the White Whale, Captain Ahab's spirits were temporarily lifted when he learned that another captain of the Samuel Enderby had a run-in with the beast and lost his arm in the fray!

Could this captain become a compatriot who will join his mindless pursuit, tracking down the whale for revenge no matter the cost? He scrambled aboard the Enderby to learn more about his run-in with the legendary Moby Dick!

But alas, Ahab was crestfallen to learn that Captain Boomer had lost his will to catch the whale after losing his arm in a grisly accident. Boomer warned Ahab against going after the fish, lest he lose more than just his leg next time.

Ugh, Captain Boomer is a contrasting foil! He was really hoping for a mirror character to compliment him and highlight the value behind his honorable, if not vacuous, quest.

"No more white whales for me," Boomer continued. "Ain't one limb enough?"

To drive the point home. Boomer showed his recently amputated arm, which had been replaced by a whalebone prosthetic, similar to the "peg leg" that Ahab himself was sporting. He retells the details of the accident, leaving out no gory detail. 

Surely, Ahab will heed the captain's advice and rethink his quest.

"Okay, Captain Boomer!" said Ahab with scornful disdain.

"Um, what?" said Captain Boomer. "Then ye agree with me? I'm confused."

After Ahab took his leave, Boomer's drunk surgeon, Bunger, had to explain to him that Ahab's response was indeed sarcastic and a play on a catchphrase to dismissively mock outdated attitudes or beliefs.

Captain Boomer began to scratch his head but as the blood flowed down, he realized he did it with his hook hand, and now Bunger will have to give him a couple of stitches on the top of his head.

Bunger took another swig before looking for the medkit.