Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick is thick, weighty, famous and complete. But the
story itself is rather easily summarized. The reason for this is that about
half the book is made up of chapters which go into detail about every facet of whaling that you can think of. And then half a dozen more than you can’t think of. If you want to know about how whales have fared in history, in the arts, as related to the story of Jonah, then you will find it here. You will also find chapters dealing on
whale anatomy, the history of whale hunting and treatises examining both the good and evil symbolism of whiteness. But if you just need to know the actual
events that take place, then you must begin in one place.
Call the narrator Ishmael. He decides to go to sea on a whaling ship, bunks with a cannibal named Queequeg and gets hired on the
ship helmed by Captain Ahab, the one-legged monomaniac determined to give up everything in order to track down the white whale who delegged him.
Along the way, Ahab’s ship the Pequod will come into contact with various whales that aren’t Moby and various ships that have either seen or heard of Moby. Every ship has a different story to tell about Moby and each one drives Ahab further along toward madness, or at least single-minded devotion to finding Moby. Ahab sees Moby as evil, something that must be captured whatever the cost to humanity or economy. He offers up a reward to the first crewmember that spots the white whale.
The Pequod’s adventures takes Ishmael from Nantucket to the South Atlantic to the Indian Ocean to sea of Japan. Ahab’s first mate Starbuck, whose lasting legacy will be to one day be the inspiration for chain of stores that sell cups of coffee for ten bucks, tries desperately get Ahab to give up his mad chase, but he may as well be trying to convince 21st century western leaders that they can stop terrorism.
The final chase takes
place over three days with everyone but Ishmael dying, including Ahab who gets tied to Moby’s neck with his own harpoon’s rope and dragged down into the depths. Ishmael survives by holding on to the coffin made for Queequeg when he grew deathly ill earlier. Ishmael is rescued by The Rachel, a ship that the Pequod had encountered earlier.
Moby Dick is a masterpiece based not on the mere events of the story told, but on the depth of symbolism and profound meaning to found in the seemingly simple events that take place.
More reviews about the Moby Dick