Books with title Moby Dick: or The Whale

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by Herman Melville, first published in 1851. This novel was inspired by true life events. It is considered to be one of the Great American Novels and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab has one purpose on this voyage: to seek out Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg, which now drives Ahab to take revenge. In Moby-Dick, Melville employs stylized language, symbolism, and the metaphor to explore numerous complex themes. Through the journey of the main characters, the concepts of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of God are all examined, as the main characters speculate upon their personal beliefs and their places in the universe.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville is said to be a strange, disturbing and at the same time beautiful novel, and it certainly is. Though the novel failed to raise public interest when it was first published in 1851, it was – and still is – considered to be one of the Great American Novels.The story of Moby Dick and Captain Ahab is told in the novel by a sailor called Ishmael. The Captain became obsessed with hunting down the whale after the animal had destroyed the Captain’s previous ship and had injured the captain himself, severing one his legs under the knee. Ahab’s obsessive quest for the white whale is long and dangerous, claiming lots of lives and sacrifices and it is also unsuccessful. Captain Ahab’s ship is eventually destroyed by the whale and Captain Ahab himself becomes not only mentally and emotionally, but also physically attached to the creature, pursuing his quest till his last breath. Moby Dick is an incredibly dense text that opens up immense possibilities for interpretation, raising profound questions that have as many answers as there are readers. The novel can be read at many levels – it provides interesting and useful information about how whaling was done in Melville’s time as well as about what life was like on a whaling ship and how whale oil was extracted and preserved in liquid form; it also provides a detailed account about whale anatomy and lots of useful details on other marine life forms, but what is most striking about the book is its account of passion turned into obsession, of man’s struggle against forces much more powerful than himself.Moby Dick is a complex and difficult read, but it is also highly entertaining and enjoyable, with its long descriptions that have nothing to do with the plot itself, with the suspense it generates and with its philosophical and theological implications.

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking peoples hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

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Excerpt: ...creature, here spoken of, it is included among the class of cuttle-fish, to which, indeed, in certain external respects it would seem to belong, but only as the Anak of the tribe. CHAPTER 60. The Line. With reference to the whaling scene shortly to be described, as well as for the better understanding of all similar scenes elsewhere presented, I have here to speak of the magical, sometimes horrible whale-line. The line originally used in the fishery was of the best hemp, slightly vapoured with tar, not impregnated with it, as in the case of ordinary ropes; for while tar, as ordinarily used, makes the hemp more pliable to the rope-maker, and also renders the rope itself more convenient to the sailor for common ship use; yet, not only would the ordinary quantity too much stiffen the whale-line for the close coiling to which it must be subjected; but as most seamen are beginning to learn, tar in general by no means adds to the rope's durability or strength, however much it may give it compactness and gloss. Of late years the Manilla rope has in the American fishery almost entirely superseded hemp as a material for whale-lines; for, though not so durable as hemp, it is stronger, and far more soft and elastic; and I will add (since there is an aesthetics in all things), is much more handsome and becoming to the boat, than hemp. Hemp is a dusky, dark fellow, a sort of Indian; but Manilla is as a golden-haired Circassian to behold. The whale-line is only two-thirds of an inch in thickness. At first sight, you would not think it so strong as it really is. By experiment its one and fifty yarns will each suspend a weight of one hundred and twenty pounds; so that the whole rope will bear a strain nearly equal to three tons. In length, the common sperm whale-line measures something over two hundred fathoms. Towards the stern of the boat it is spirally coiled away in the tub, not like the worm-pipe of a still though, but so as to form one round, cheese-shaped...

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ <title> Moby Dick: Or The Whale<author> Herman Melville<publisher> Scribner, 1902<subjects> Ahab, Captain (Fictitious character); Whales; Whaling

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an epic sea adventure told by Ishmael, the sole survivor of the Pequod, a whaling ship driven to ruin by its captain’s monomaniacal obsession to hunt and destroy a white sperm whale, Moby Dick. Captain Ahab is driven to seek revenge on the ferocious whale, who destroyed Ahab’s ship and severed his leg at the knee on a previous voyage. The opening line, “Call me Ishmael” is among the most famous in all literature. The following narrative was radical at the time for its use of a variety of styles and techniques, some quite unconventional, and covers topics ranging from the techniques of whaling to life aboard ship to explorations of class and status, good and evil, and the nature of God. Moby-Dick was a commercial failure and out of print by the 1890’s but was rediscovered in the 1920’s. It is now regarded as a seminal work on the American themes of religion, fate, and economic growth and opportunity as well as a radical experiment that prefigured Modernism with its enormous scope and kaleidoscope of forms.

Moby-Dick is an 1851 novel by Herman Melville. The story tells the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaling ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Often considered the embodiment of American Romanticism, Moby-Dick was first published by Richard Bentley in London on October 18, 1851 in an expurgated three-volume edition titled The Whale, and later as one massive volume, by New York City publisher Harper and Brothers as Moby-Dick; or, The Whale on November 14, 1851. This a photo-mechanical reprint of that edition. The first line of Chapter OneÑ"Call me Ishmael."Ñis one of the most famous in literature. Although the book initially received mixed reviews, Moby-Dick is now considered one of the greatest novels in the English language and has secured Melville's place among America's greatest writers.