Moby-Dick, or, The Whale, is a novel by Herman Melville, first published in 1851 and is considered one of the Great American Novels and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of a wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab has one purpose on this voyage: to seek out Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, Captain Ahab had lost one of his legs to Moby Dick. After losing his leg, a replacement of sorts is fashioned. This ‘wooden leg', actually carved out of whalebone, allowed him to walk with minimal difficulty. The loss of this leg fueled Ahab's obsession with Moby Dick, which had ultimately cost him his ship, crew, and his life. In the Manga/Anime Ghost in the Shell, people who have had their bodies damaged or people who can simply afford it have their normal bodies replaced with a full prosthetic replacement. The main character, Motoko Kusanagi, is fully prosthetic. The 2011 video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution likewise centers around a future in which prosthetics have become commonplace. The television series The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff The Bionic Woman both featured main characters whose replacement parts gave them abilities above those of normal people. In the Harry Potter novel series, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody has an artificial eye (able to see through solids) and a wooden leg to compensate for wounds he received during his career as an Auror. Wormtail, Voldermort's assistant, also receives a replaceament hand. In the first-person shooter computer game Half-Life 2, Dr. Eli Vance uses a prosthetic leg after losing his own leg below the knee helping his colleague Dr. Isaac Kleiner over a wall while escaping Black Mesa in the original "Half Life" game. The character Rotwang from the film Metropolis has a black mechanical right hand after losing it for unknown reasons. Because Rotwang is an early "mad scientist" archetype, it is believed that this influenced other characters, such as Dr. Julius No (who, in the novel, had jointed metal claws; in the movie, however, he possessed actual artificial hands). In the Akira manga and anime Tetsuo Shima, one of the main characters, loses his right arm and has it replaced by a mechanical limb. In the anime he's seen assembling the arm from pieces of junk using his supernatural powers, while in the manga the origin of the mechanical arm is unknown. A running gag in the film Hot Shots! and its sequel is Lloyd Bridges's character, Thomas 'Tug' Bensen, featuring various prosthetics that replace parts he had lost in earlier battles. These prosthetics include; ceramic eyes, asbestos skin, a magnetic skull plate, aluminum siding facial bones, and stainless steel ear canals. In the novel “The Horse Whisperer" (and the film of the same name), Grace MacLean loses part of her right leg when she is involved in a horseback riding accident, and struck by a large truck. She get a prosthetic leg, and learns how to walk on it and ride again. The Character "Peeta Mellark" from The Hunger Games loses his right leg at the end of the novel, after surviving a bad wound, blood poisoning. However, when he is attacked by one of the Mutts, the wound is bad enough that it later causes the leg to be amputated by the capitol. He is given a replacement prosthetic leg. In the Anime/Manga Black Butler, some of the members of the Noah's Ark Circus have prosthetic limbs. These people are Joker (Right hand), Beast (Left leg) and Dagger (Right leg). However, it is revealed that these limbs are in fact made from human bone. Also, Joker's prosthetic hand is shaped to look skeletal. Dear Egyptian Mail readers, Your comments and/or contributions are welcome. We promise to publish whatever is deemed publishable at the end of each series of articles. [email protected]
