Moby-Dick

Narrated by the sailor Ishmael, Moby-Dick is the tale of the maniacal quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, as he seeks vengeance against Moby-Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship’s previous voyage. More than an epic sea-story, the detailed and realistic descriptions of whale hunting and the process of extracting whale oil, as well as life aboard ship among a culturally diverse crew, are mixed with exploration of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of God.

Herman Melville (1819-1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His first two books gained much attention, though they were not bestsellers, and his popularity declined precipitously only a few years later. By the time of his death, he had been almost completely forgotten, but his longest novel, Moby-Dick--largely considered a failure during his lifetime, and most responsible for Melville’s fall from favor with the reading public--was rediscovered in the 20th century as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and world literature.