Moby-Dick Moby-Dick Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship "Pequod", for revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, the work's genre classifications range from late Romantic to early Symbolist. "Moby-Dick" was published to mixed reviews, was a commercial failure, and was out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891. Its reputation as
Moby-Dick (opera) the voyage is to find and destroy this one whale, and calls "Death to Moby Dick!". The crew are excited at this call, except for the first mate, Starbuck. Starbuck confronts Ahab about what this mission, viewing it as futile and blasphemous. Starbuck teaches Greenhorn about the dangers of whaling. Starbuck ponders that he'll never again seeing his wife and son. Subsequently, overcome with emotion, he orders Queequeg to complete the lesson. Stubb sights a pod of whales, but Ahab forbids the crew to hunt them, since Moby Dick has not yet been sighted. Starbuck orders the crew to sail