Moby Dick
or The Whale
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4.0 • 332 Ratings
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Publisher Description
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by Herman Melville, first published in 1851. It is considered to be one of the Great American Novels. The story tells the adventures of 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, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg, which now drives Ahab to take revenge.
In Moby-Dick, Melville employs stylized language, symbolism, and metaphor to explore numerous complex themes. Through the journey of the main characters, the concepts of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of God are all examined, as the main characters speculate upon their personal beliefs and their places in the universe. The narrator's reflections, along with his descriptions of a sailor's life aboard a whaling ship, are woven into the narrative along with Shakespearean literary devices, such as stage directions, extended soliloquies, and asides. The book portrays destructive obsession and monomania, as well as the assumption of anthropomorphism.
Customer Reviews
Ruin comes in many ways
A great story of destruction on a great animal, ruins the lives of the men that chase glory but find emptiness in there quest.
Alas, my time spent on this torture novel
It was ight
Because I saw the movies…
If you enjoyed the many versions of this story redone in cinema, then of coarse I’d recommend it. It tells much more of the individual crewman’s stories and mannerisms and of Ahab the captain. The story goes off on many different tangents along the way of seamanship and whale anatomy, but is informative. A long read for me but all and all I’m glad I read it.