Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The Characters and Plot

There are numerous characters in Moby Dick, but only a few of them

have any impact on the story.   A common sailor named Ishmael is the

narrator.   The book, however, focuses on Captain Ahab, the one-legged

commander of the whaling ship Pequod.   Ahab has sworn to kill the

gigantic whale Moby Dick, who took away his leg.   Starbuck is the

first mate of the Pequod.   Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo are the

three   harpooners.

The story begins with Ishmael becoming restless.   He decides to go

out to sea on a whaling ship.   In the port of New Bedford, he meets

and shares a room with a harpooner named Queequeg.   The two of them

become close friends, and agree to ship out together.

The day after they reach Nantucket, Ishmael begins searching for a

whaling ship preparing to leave harbor.   Out of three ships ready to

leave, he chooses the Pequod.   The owners of the ship, Captains Peleg

and Bildad are excited to hear of Queequeg from Ishmael and gladly

let him join the crew.   They are told the captain of the ship is

named Ahab.   Peleg and Bildad say that he is a good man, but because

of some strange illness, he is confined to his cabin.

On Christmas day, and with Ahab still in his cabin, the Pequod sets

sail in the Atlantic.   As the weather begins to warm up (several

months after leaving port), Ahab is finally seen on deck.   The

strangest thing about Ahab is his leg.   Instead of flesh and bone, he

has a white ivory peg leg.

As the weeks wear on, Ahab starts to become friendlier.   One day, he

calls the crew before him.   He tells them that the sole mission of

the Pequod is to kill Moby Dick.   Moby Dick is a gigantic sperm whale

with a crooked jaw and a deformed forehead.   He has never been

defeated, and has attacked and sunk entire ships.   Ahab admits he

hates Moby Dick for taking his leg away, and wants revenge.   The crew

agree to this challenge, and swear to hunt him down.   The only who is

not excited about hunting down... [continues]

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