“Biblical Aspect of Moby Dick” 4/5/02 Moby Dick is a novel filled with many biblical allusions, and I feel strongly that there are certain characters in the book that portray biblical characters or express the same situations in the Bible. In the beginning of the book, Father Mapple gives a sermon to the sailors about Jonah and the whale. This story in itself has much symbolism and...Read more 2738
When Herman Melville was writing his adventurous novel Moby Dick, also called the Whale, in 1851, he had suspicions that it wouldn’t be a great success.
It appeared to be a complete failure. The book gained popularity only one century later. In fact, it became one of the symbols of American literature influencing other prominent works. The writer got inspiration from the real-life story of the whaling ship Essex that drowned due to an encounter with a tremendous white whale. That monster turned the whole ship into wrecks. Melville personally met with the captain of Essex to get details about that notorious accident. At that time the story about a big albino whale was popular among sailors. The name of that monstrous whale was Mocha Dick. The rumors had it that it was impossible to catch, possessed bad temper as well as incredible speed.
So the real prototype for Moby Dick was only of its kind. Having been in a couple of voyages himself, Melville manages to describe the process of whale hunting plus oil extraction in details as well as the life of sailors on the boat. This epic novel tells about the journey of a ship called Pequod narrated by the sailor Ishmael. This ship sails under the command Captain Ahab, a decisive man who is obsessed with the idea to catch the mighty whale that has tore off his leg. This classical novel enchants readers by its overwhelming description of nature, human passions, and the whale hunting. FreeBookSummary.com will be your guide through the most notorious voyage in literature!
The story is presented by Ishmael, an ordinary sailor, who joins the crew of this whaler to undertake an exciting yet dangerous journey. On the ship, he meets people from different walks of life and different continents. Surprisingly, they manage to get along feeling related in the middle of the hostile waters. He shares a bed with Queequeg, an uncivilized tattooed harpooner from New Zealand that has left his home to find more about the Christian world. Actually, every white sailor has a harpooner from the colonized territories behind his shoulder to do the dirty work. It shows the division which existed at that time in society.
Everything feels wrong from the moment they board the ship. A mental man, Elijah, makes a gloomy prophecy about their futile mission and its disastrous ending. Even the name of the ship is connected with death – it’s the name of an exterminated Native American tribe in America. When they meet the Captain, it’s complicated to decide what frightens them more, his appearance or personality. A big scar plus artificial leg don’t make him so scary as his unstoppable obsession to find Moby Dick who destroyed his ship and mutilated his body.
The legends about the whale petrify the crew. He is believed to be the greatest one in the ocean, with human-like personality, that fancy destroying boats. This is the personification of a tremendous evil unknown to humans and practically immortal. At least, this is what the whale means for Ahab. Moby Dick is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the world – his mission is to eliminate that threat. The more they travel, the more sailor begin to understand that the ship is doomed and some sort of evil power won’t allow them to fulfill their plan.
This is just a small insight into this amazing adventurous novel that explores the destructive power of nature plus the limits of human understanding. The novel is full of social, political, and cultural peculiarities of that time, which often reveal the hidden negative traits of our society. If you intend to improve your knowledge about this masterpiece, FreeBookSummary.com can lend you a hand! You are welcome to use our vast database of additional information about the white whale and humans that dared to throw it a challenge!
In Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, a recurring theme of death is seen throughout the book. A coffin appears at the beginning of the book and at the end of the book, Ishmael sees a large oil painting that foreshadows and represents many things and events that follow in the book, and Fedallah makes a prophecy talking about hearses and predicts Ahab’s death. Ishmael stays at The Sprouter-Inn,...Read more 2234
Monomania, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, is the pathological obsession with one subject or idea. In Herman Melville‘s novel Moby Dick, an obsession causes monomania in its main character. Through his actions, words, thoughts, and what others think about him, Captain Ahab is truly monomaniacal. Ahab is monomaniacal through his words and thoughts. “Talk not to me of...Read more 1340
Comparing Starbuck and Ahab Ahab is the Captain of the Pequod, a grave older man reaching his sixties who has spent nearly forty years as a sailor, only three of which he has spent on dry land. The novel is essentially the story of Ahab and his quest to defeat the legendary Sperm Whale Moby Dick, for this whale took Ahab’s leg, causing him to use an ivory leg to walk and stand. Ahab is a...Read more 1041
Moby Dick’s structure is in a sense one of the simplest of all literary structures-the story of a journey. Its 135 chapters and epilogue describe how Ishmael leaves Manhattan for Captain Ahab’s whaling ship, the Pequod, how Ahab pilots the Pequod from Nantucket to the Pacific in search of Moby Dick, and how in the end Ishmael alone survives the journey. This simple but powerful...Read more 1009
Historians today consider the book Moby-Dick by Herman Melville to be one of the great pieces of literature in American history. However when it was first published, critics thought differently (Cummings, Michael). The style of this novel was written in a very unusual narrative form. As a result of the books early unpopularity, Herman Melville wasn’t able to sell many copies...Read more 1007
Moby Dick, written by Herman Melville, based on his own experiences, is considered to be one of the greatest American novels. It tells the story of outcast Ishmael’s voyage on Pequod, a whaling ship commanded by Captain Ahab. On the previous voyage, Moby Dick destroyed Ahab’s boat and bit off his leg, which later drives Captain Ahab to seek out the snow-white sperm whale and take revenge....Read more 970
Chapter 1 Ishmael 1) Biblical-son of Abraham; an exile. 2) Ishmael ben Elisha-2nd century A. D. Jewish teacher of Galilee; outstanding Talmudic teacher; compiled the 13 hermeneutical rules for interpreting the Torah; founded a school which produced the legal commentary, Mekhilta. Cato A Shakespearean character in Julius Caesar; committed suicide by falling on his sword. Seneca and the Stoics...Read more 935
Commentary on Transcendentalism Throughout Moby-Dick -Because one did survive the wreck. –Herman Melville, 1851- It is quite possible that nothing runs deeper through the veins of Herman Melville than his disdain for anything transcendental. Melville’s belittling of the entire transcendentalist movement is far from sparsely demonstrated throughout the pages of Moby-Dick, in which he...Read more 917
Throughout our time of existence, mankind has had conflicted views on many things in life, but one of the greatest mysteries is the idea of fate and freewill. Fate is defined as the inevitable, the universal principle by which the order of things is presumably prescribed. Believing in fate means believing that there is a higher power that knows all and has cut a path for everyone that they will...Read more 875
Gauvin 1 Timothy Gauvin Ms. A English 11 22 February 2013 Ahab’s Leg and Moby Dick Melville uses symbolism in his novel Moby Dick to express his theme. Anti- Transcendentalism plays a large role in his writing as well. Captain Ahab’s leg is a symbol used to express natures mark on man along with anti-transcendentalist ideas. Melville also uses Moby Dick to represent man vs nature. Captain...Read more 849
Captain Ahab and Moby Dick: Literary critics point to a variety of themes and juxtapositions when analyzing Herman Melville‘s “Moby Dick”. Some see the land opposed to the sea or Fate opposed to free will. Most mention man versus nature or good versus evil. A perspective that seems overlooked though is the perspective of the self and the other. The self and other is when one...Read more 848