Moby Dick

Herman Melville

Characters

Plot

Historical Background

Index

Moby Dick

Herman Melville

⤺ Return

• Born in 1819 in New York

• Family was wealthy

• Between 1839 and 1844 Melville was a sailor

• When he got back he started as a writer

• Moby Dick first was released in 1851 in America

• Biggest novel in America

• When it was released it only sold 3.000 times

• When he died it began to get some more attention

Ishmael

Captain Ahab

Moby Dick

Queequeg

Stubb

Flask

Tashtego &

Daggoo

Pip

Pequod

Fedallah

Peleg

Characters

Bildad

Father Mapple

Captain Boomer

Gabriel

Perth

Elijah

⤺ Return

Ishmael

He is the first person narrator in much of the book. But since he plays a minor role in the plot early critics assumed Captain Ahab was the protagonist. He doesn't reveal much about himself despite his centrality in the story.

Ishmael (left)

⤺ Return

Captain Ahab

He is one of the main protagonists and captain of the whaling ship "Pequod". His leg has been bit off by Moby Dick. Since the accident he is wearing a prostetic leg made of whalebone

"a brilliant personification of the very essence of fanaticism" - Melville biographer Andrew Delbanco

⤺ Return

Moby Dick

Moby Dick is a sperm whale and the main antagonist of the book. The whale is based on a real albino whale with the name Mocha Dick Ishmael once described Moby Dick as having two prominent white areas around "a peculiar snow-white wrinkled forehead, and a high, pyramidical white hump", the rest of his body being of stripes and patches between white and gray. The novel also claims that it is the largest sperm whale that ever lived.

⤺ Return

Queequeg

Queequeg is the first principial character encountered by Ishmael. He is the son of a South Sea Chieftain and once aboard the Pequod he becomes the harpooner for the mate Starbuck

⤺ Return

Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero

Starbuck

In Moby-Dick, Starbuck is the first mate of the Pequod and operates as the voice of reason aboard the ship. He is reasonable, thoughtful and has a healthy respect for the dangers of whaling and whales themselves. He also chooses to command his men with a whisper instead of a yell.

⤺ Return

Stubb

Stubb is the second mate of the Pequod and a bit of a nihilist. He appears to not be easily rattled by the tense situations around him and tends to make light of situations to elevate the mood. His comedic nature complements the more serious and reserved first mate Starbuck.

⤺ Return

Flask

He is the third mate of the Pequod, has a confrontational attitude and enjoys the thrill and takes pride in hunting whales. His shipmates also refer to him as "King-Post". (A king-post is a sturdy, central beam used on a ship to which other beams attach) This suggests that he is rigid and unyielding. Flask prefers action to introspection and spends little time reflecting on his or others actions.

⤺ Return

Tashtego & Daggoo

They both work as harpooners. They are on ships dominated by white men and allthough they take issue with the racist comments they receive from other sailors, they are enthusiastic for the hunt.

Tashtego is a Native American who operatoes the harpoon on Stubbs oar boat, while Daggoo, an African man, operatoes the harpoon on Flask's boat.

⤺ Return

Pip

Pip is a young African American sailor whose main job is to entertain the sailors and keep the ship clean. He fears for his life the majority of the trip and loses his mind towards the end. He also often perceives things that others don't

➜ half idiot & half prophet

⤺ Return

Pequod

The Pequod is the whaling ship of our main protagonists. It is named after an extinct tribe of Native Americans from Massachusetts. Its designed for the hunt, capture, and butchering of whales and contains several smaller whaling boats to allow the crew to get closer to the whales.

⤺ Return

Fedallah

Fedallah was brought onboard by Ahab unbeknonst to most of the crew. He is an almost supernaturally skilled hunter and serves as a prophet to Ahab. The rest of the crew view him with unease. He is misunderstood and comes across as a demonic influence when in reality he is a harbinger of the evil that comes from hunting Moby Dick.

⤺ Return

Peleg

Peleg is a cranky and disagreeable man, and a Quaker but not a big fan of religion. He has alot of experience in whaling and wants things to be done a certain way. In contrast to Bildads more religious nature, Peleg regularly curses and has angry outbursts in front of the crew.

⤺ Return

Bildad

Together with Peleg he takes care of hiring the crew of the ship. He is religious and insists on hiring purely religious men.

⤺ Return

Father Mapple

Former whaleman and current preacher in the new Bedford Whalemans Chapel. He is learned but also experienced.

⤺ Return

Captain Boomer

Jovial captain of the "Samuel Enderby" which is another english whaling ship. He lost his arm in an accident involving Moby Dick and sees any further pursuit of the white whale as madness.

⤺ Return

Gabriel

Gabriel is a crew member of the ship, Jeroboam. Gabriel, like Elijah, also offers prophetic insight into what may befall Ahab if he attempts to bring destruction upon the whale. In the end, he predicts Ahab's fate.

⤺ Return

Perth

Perth is the ships blacksmith and is responsible for crafting the harpoon that Ahab uses in his battle against the great whale.

⤺ Return

Elijah

Moby-Dick contains many religious references, and one may be to the mysterious prophet Elijah. Elijah tells Ishmael what's really behind Ahab's journey and hints at other secrets on the ship.

⤺ Return

Overall Plot

Click me!

Plot

Ishmael the Story teller gets along with someone called Queequeg who kills whales and is also very big. Together they go on a whailing ship which is called Pequod. The captain is Ahab. Ahab is staying in his room because of random syndromes that he has.

Both Ishmael and Queequeg meet on board some other people. When Ishmael saw the Captain for the first time he creeped out. Also Ishmael calls all different kinds of whales.

The captain tells everyone for what reason they are searching for that one whale, the great white whale Moby dick to kill him. Moby dick is an evil giant whale that reacts when getting attacked.

The hunt for moby dick goes on all over the world. While looking for Moby dick the crew also ran into other whailing ships which say that they have seen the whale.

Pequod suffers from some damage because of a big storm. The captian is getting more concentrated to find Moby Dick. Also he ignores everything what other boats need he is only focused on Moby dick.

Lastly the captain finds Moby dick. The crew tries to catch Moby but the whale attacks the boats and goes away from them. On the following day they try it again also one crew member dies. The next day Ahab impales moby`s side. Now they get in trouble everyone goeas back tot he boats but the captain stays and tries to fight Moby Dick. The whale gets angry and destroys the pequod. The captain Ahab tries it again but he kills himself with his harpoon and the pequod sinks.

Ishmael is the last that got out alive. The rachel is rescuing Ishmael

⤺ Return

Chapters 1-20

Click me!

Chapters 1-20

Ishmael takes ship and is headed to Nantucket. He runs away from Black church, meets and marries Queequeg, learns many important lessons and has foreboding feelings towards his new endeavor. The Pequod is also introduced.

Chapters 122-135

Click me!

Chapters 122-135

The climax of the book begins with stormy weather, the Pequod chases Moby Dick, A ship that ran into the White Whale asks Ahab for help and Ishmaels voyage comes to an end.

Chapters 26 & 27

Click me!

Chapters 26 & 27

Essentially a cast list. They give a brief outline of the Pequods captain, the three mates and the three harpooners.

Chapter 40

Click me!

Chapter 40

This iconic musical interlude is written in the style of a comedic stage play during which the crew of the Pequod have a surprise dance party.

Chapter 42

Click me!

Chapter 40

This chapter is the core and heart of the book, and reading only this one chapter would be sufficient to enrich your soul.

Chapter 78

Click me!

Chapter 78

Perhaps the most cinematic chapter of the book. Tashtego drops into a whales head and almost dies. Daggoo and Queequeg are responsible for saving him.

Chapter 89

Click me!

Chapter 89 & 90

These are the two chapters that demand the reader to think hard and form their own opinions about the law and malpractice thereof that are presented.

Historical Background

• Moby Dick a novel by Herman Melville

• Herman Melville was inspired by a true story

• The sinking of the Essex whaler 200 years ago

• It takes place on Ahab´s whaling ship, the Pequod

• In the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific oceans

• Moby-Dick is based on Mocha Dick

• Captain John D´Wolf II was a character which paid homage to his uncle

• Only 3715 copies were sold while Melville was alive

• Biggest novel in America

⤺ Return

Moby Dick

More creations to inspire you

UNCOVERING REALITY

LAS ESPECIES ANIMALES MÁS AMENAZADAS

POLITICAL POLARIZATION

WATER PRESERVATION

PROMOTING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

ARTICLES

AGRICULTURE DATA

Transcript