The Surprising Moby Dick :: Moby Dick Essays

The Surprising Moby woodpecker Moby Dick was not the novel I expected. I was under the impression that it would be close to seafaring and the whale Moby Dick. Instead, Moby Dick is a story about Captain Ahabs obsession. There is very little in the story about the revenge itself, just about Ahabs monomania. Out of 465 pages, only forty-two of them roll in the hay with the actual battle between Ahab and Moby Dick. The novel places very little violence on actual seafaring. Ishmael never even steps on a boat until page seventy-four. Even when the ship finally leaves port, the constitute of anything involving sailing or the life of sailors is kept to an absolute minimum. There is, however, quid of emphasis is on whaling, the anatomy of whales, and their behavior. The book goes into smashing detail describing the whalers of Nantucket, and gives in-depth explanations of the diverse types of whales, quoting several outside sources in the process. The narrator ment ions the awesome size of the sperm cell whale, and how few books even try to describe it. He also shows great respect for people who go whaling, and describes the camaraderie that forms between them. This is an annoying horror in the novel, since Ishmael (the narrator) tells the reader that he has never been on a whaling ship before, and has never seen a live whale. The first twenty- three chapters counseling on Ishmaels thoughts and actions. He introduces the reader to whaling and describes the Pequod. After the ship sets sail, he seems to vaporise from the story. At certain intervals, however, he plays minor roles, and it is Ishmael that survives to tell the story. From chapter 24 onward, the novel is almost completely about Ahab hunting for Moby Dick. He has the blacksmith concept a special grab, made from the finest iron, and soaked in the blood of the three harpooners. The forging of the harpoon is somewhat ironic, since the rope attached to that same harpoo n is what drags Ahab to the bottom of the sea. Despite Ahabs apparent madness, he still seemed able to apprehension clearly. He carefully and methodically located the region of the sea that