Moby Dick

(1851)

This is an amazing book with many symbolic meanings. As you read this book you will come to realize that Ahab has several problems as well as ambitions in his life. Moby Dick is an outstanding book that I highly enjoyed and I hope that you enjoy it as well.--Submitted by Anonymous.

~

Fan of this book? Help us introduce it to others by writing a better introduction for it. It's quick and easy, click here.

Quizzes on Moby Dick
No quizzes available to take yet.

Please submit a quiz here.

Recent Forum Posts on Moby Dick

Nihilism

Is Moby Dick basically a nihilist novel? Any help for my research will be welcome.

Posted By SteveD at Sun 9 Mar 2008, 3:41 PM in Moby Dick || 0 Replies

Ahab as Christ Figure

In Robert Milder's book, Exiled Royalties, he makes an interesting point about how one can view Ahab as a Christological figure. This of course depends on whom you believe to be the hero of the tale, as well as how you view the whale. Ahab indeed creates a new covenant with the crew, using his blood as a baptism of sorts, and he even holds his own mass, a dark mass of courser, but still. If you view the whale as a satanic deity, then Ahab becomes a salvific figure, or in the least, a martyr. Or, perhaps, and even more intriguing, he becomes a failed messenger of God. It's interesting to look at the book in these terms, although I don't. I still believe there is too much of Milton's Satan in him to be heroic. If anything, he is an anti-hero, a Melvillean figure run wild with passion and pride. Nonetheless, he remains an interesting figure.

Posted By lethargic1 at Sun 20 Jan 2008, 11:38 PM in Moby Dick || 0 Replies

Identifying Conflicts

What would you say are the major conflicts in Moby Dick I thought they were Ahab vs. Moby Dick (Man vs. nature) Ahab vs. crew (Man vs. Man) Ahab vs. himself (Man vs. himself) Crew vs. Moby Dick/ (Man vs. nature) I just wanted to know what everyone else's opinions on this were, and if there were any I might have missed.

Posted By blaiser18 at Mon 29 Oct 2007, 6:30 PM in Moby Dick || 2 Replies

the stone lance-head

Life imitates art. I read Ibis found the story about de stone lance-head fascinating. Here's my (rather crude) translation of a newspaper-clipping from the NRC Handelsblad of june 22 2007(a duch newspaper). Whale with harpoon. More than a century swimming around with pain in your neck and shoulders ? It happened to a Greenland whale (bowhead). Somewhere between 1880 and 1890 he got a harpoon shot in the shoulder by whalers. It was the sort of harpoon that explodes in the body of the animal. This one did that neatly, but the whale survived. Until a few weeks ago. Then whalers near Alaska did kill him and hauled him in. Deep in his blubber (or lard?) they found a piece of the now antique harpoon, close to shoulder and neck. According to scientists it must have bothered the whale all the time. The animal was approximately 130 years old. Whales like this can become 200 years old. No stone lance-head, but a series of events similar to the description in chapter 81 of Moby Dick. Oeps!

Posted By Oeps! at Thu 4 Oct 2007, 5:02 PM in Moby Dick || 0 Replies

Need help with Moby Dick.

Okay, maybe I am just not smart enough for this book but why does anybody think Moby Dick was a good book. I seriously think it should have been titled everything you never wanted to know about early 19th century whaling. There is just about enough story development in this giant book to make a small novella or a large short story. But good God, does any non-cetation bioligist want to read hundreds of pages about the difference between butchering different kinds of whales? Or how about the long winded lecture in which we learn of property laws when a dead whale with harpoons in it washes up on a beach (an event that does not even happen in the story proper.) Sure Ahab is an intresting character, but he does not make it worth it. Somebody please tell me why this is a good book.

Posted By JADJARHD at Sat 7 Jul 2007, 5:06 AM in Moby Dick || 15 Replies

Is Moby Dick really about Whaling?

I can't get rid of the thought that Mellville was describing something else than just a whaling advanture. Maybe the boring parts are exactly the parts where Mellville by using analogy explains something else. The book is about a journey or an expedition all right, but what kind of journey? Is it only an advanture book? I wonder why Mellville would write a book which became responsible for his drop in popularity at the time, and why he didn't even try to be popular again. Maybe he didn't know what he was doing writing the book. But then again one can read in Wikipedia aobut him: "In his later life, his works were no longer popular with a broad audience because of their increasingly philosophical, political and experimental tendencies." Maybe he knew exactly what he was writing; maybe we can't read between the lines as he intended for us to do. What is/was he trying to tell us?

Posted By Eddie@hotmail at Sun 22 Apr 2007, 3:04 AM in Moby Dick || 9 Replies

a language problem!

Hi! I have just read the book and, to tell the truth, I find it GREAT! The only thing I complain about is that I read the Italo Calvino's translation (which is the best one in Italian, by the way) and I'm afraid the style and the language lose something..... Unfortunaly I'm not able to read the English version, because I'm not so good at English yet and Melville's vocabulary is too a complex one for my present level (actually, there are tecnical words I do not understand even in Italian!). The reason why I joined this community is that I'm really, really, really keen on books and I'm starting to read them in English, both because I want to get exactly the same meaning the author is giving and because I think it's a good way to improve my skills (I'm 17 and I'm attending a language school in Milan).... It would be wonderful if you answered me so that we can share opinions. :D thank you! silvia

Posted By Silvia at Sun 14 Jan 2007, 1:11 PM in Moby Dick || 39 Replies

No Subject

Quite simply, Moby Dick supercedes all other novels i have read. The class I am currently taking on it spends a semester going through Moby Dick, and only Moby Dick, and probably doesn't even come close to completely understanding its mysteries. The depths to which the book goes continually amaze me. It is not a story about whaling, but a journey into human nature. Yes, as a narration, the story is slow and at times drags to a stop, but the quality of the writing is what sets it apart from everything else. I think going through it only several chapters at a time allows me to gain an understanding of it that i otherwise would not have been able to grasp. Moby Dick abounds with satire and philisophical commentaries. Surely an American classic if not the American Classic.

Posted By Unregistered at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Moby Dick || 0 Replies

Moby Dick

Moby Dick was an interesting read for me as I am an outdoorsman/surfer/fisherman/ with an interest in whales and wildlife in general. I always wondered what is was like to be on a whaling ship and was very intrigued by many parts of the story. For example,the writing about the stone spearhead found inside that one old spermwhale they killed but then sank. I agree that some portions of the book were just ridiculously boring and so many words and examples to describe a point that would be easily conveyed by far fewer words. When he began describing the various species of whales for example, although interesting, I was really hungry for the story to move on and get exciting. I really wanted something exciting to happen then, like, hurry up and catch a dang whale or something! Some of it was so repetative. But much of it was interesting to me and I enjoyed it. Oh yeah, I skipped over all that poetic crap starbuck would spout off with when in hot pursuit. Boring. All in all I liked it and recommend it for the well rounded reader.

Posted By Ibis at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Moby Dick || 0 Replies

Forgive & Forget, we're all different

People, please! Now, I have read through almost all of these comments, and all I can say is: Please grow up! All of you! I am in my Junior year of High School and I am required to read the book, Moby Dick, and do projects over it. Personally, it is not my favorite, but I can live with it. I realize that it is an American classic, but I have also realized that many of you don't take in consideration that everyone can have a different opinion of a book. Some people will like it, while others will not. The book is made up of words, not feelings. It's not going to care whether you like it or not! And neither should you! This website has a comment/review section so someone can tell they're opinion/view on the book!! Not for someone else to berate them because they think differently of things. Many of you have replied berating someone else with how they spelled a word or what words they chose to describe their opinion of the book. For example, "Blah". So what if that person chose to use that particular word? It might not be the best word in the dictionary, but you know what he meant by it, so get on with your life! You'll live!

Now I know I will probably be getting a few replies on this subject and I will be interested in what I get, but just one tip. I won't care if you berate me by the words or used or whatever else you do, that will just show me that you have not yet taken my point to this message and grown up! Now, please, let's be civilized people here, not 2 year olds.

Posted By Ethan at Fri 11 Jun 2004, 1:00 AM in Moby Dick || 2 Replies

Post a New Comment/Question on Moby Dick

Moby Dick

(1851)

Related Links:

Quizzes on Moby Dick

Recent Forum Posts on Moby Dick

Attention Bookworms: