Questions on the usage of 'cut against' based on Moby Dick

Question

I found difficulty understanding the following line from Moby Dick, Ch.48.

As for Fedallah, who was seen pulling the harpooneer oar, he had thrown aside his black jacket, and displayed his naked chest with the whole part of his body above the gunwale, clearly cut against the alternating depressions of the watery horizon.

1.What is the meaning of cut against here? It seems that it is an idiom for contradict, but how can someone contradict the “alternating depressions”?
2.How to understand “alternating depressions”? Depressions mean sadness, what do the author intend to express through "alternating sadness"?

Elliot · Accepted Answer

The term here "clearly cut" simply means clearly displayed. The background being the moving sea or a windy cornfield does not matter so much. The story is that he had a strong reaction to seeing a man naked from the waist up in an ordinary working situation. This was not what he was used to seeing and it deserved special mention in the story, like just about everything else.

Correct answer by Elliot on July 10, 2021

Questions on the usage of 'cut against' based on Moby Dick

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