Ahab is trying to draw nearer to the whale.
White, normally associated with goodness and purity, symbolizes something almost godlike and he can't reach it. It is like a ghost, he is only human and can't affect it.
It is a paranormal phenomenon.
It is an icon.
It instills fear in you because it is so powerful and far away.
Ishmael compares it to other things he has never seen. He doesn't really know what it can be like.
It has an elusive description. He never says it is any one thing.
He fears it due to the fact that he doesn't know what it is. Mankind's reaction to the unknown is to be afraid. Like sex.
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