Реферат: Moby Dick Essay Research Paper English 12

that it would be about seafaring and the whale Moby Dick. Instead,

Moby Dick is a story about Captain Ahab?s obsession. There is very

little in the story about the revenge itself, just about Ahab?s

monomania. Out of 465 pages, only forty-two of them deal with the

actual battle between Ahab and Moby Dick.

The novel places very little emphasis on actual seafaring. Ishmael

never even steps on a boat until page seventy-four. Even when the

ship finally leaves port, the mention of anything involving sailing

or the life of sailors is kept to an absolute minimum.

There is, however, plenty of emphasis is on whaling, the anatomy of

whales, and their behavior. The book goes into great detail

describing the whalers of Nantucket, and gives in-depth explanations

of the different types of whales, quoting several outside sources in

the process. The narrator mentions the awesome size of the sperm

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

inconsistency 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 focus on Ishmael?s thoughts and

actions. He introduces the reader to whaling and describes the

Pequod. After the ship sets sail, he seems to vanish from the story.

At certain intervals, however, he plays minor roles, and it is

Ishmael that survives to tell the story.

From chapter twenty-four onward, the novel is almost completely

about Ahab hunting for Moby Dick. He has the blacksmith construct a

special harpoon, made from the finest iron, and soaked in the blood

of the three harpooners. The forging of the harpoon is somewhat