Moby-Dick Questions Ch. 41: Is the whale agent of some larger

Is the whale agent of some larger force or principal (the force itself)?  Is it consciously malign or a dumb brute?  Based on what you’ve read so far, does Ahab have a chance of finding it, and then of killing it?  Why does Ishmael go along with Ahab?  Is he sympathetic to Ahab, and does he like or admire him?  How would you characterize their relationship?  How would you define Ahab’s monomania?  What are its characteristics?