The setting is the Pacific and Indian Oceans on a whaling ship called the Pequod. Some of the main characters are Moby Dick, a large whale, Ishmael, narrator of the book, Captain Ahab, captain of the Pequod who was in search for Moby Dick who bit off his leg, Queegueg, Ishmeael’s best friend and a great harpooner, and Tashtego, an Indian American harpooner.
The story begins when Ishmael was walking around and saw a big sign that told people to go to the Spouter Inn to go on a big whaling ship. As soon as he got to his room he went to bed. At about 12:00 a strange looking tattooed guy walked in. He found out his name was Queequeg and they soon became really good friends.
They boarded the ship the next morning and set out to find whales. Captain Ahab was looking for only one whale… the biggest whale ever spotted, Moby Dick. Captain Ahab wanted revenge! When they were cruising on the ship Tashtego fell in the water. Queequeg quickly jumped in after him and brought him back into the ship. When he got back on the boat he started to get really seasick. So they put him in a little canoe and he went to bed.
At the end of their journey they saw Moby Dick and started to throw harpoons at him. He got mad and started charging towards the ship. With one wag of his tail, the ship was airborne captain Ahab threw his harpoon one last time but the rope attached to the harpoon got wrapped around his neck and strangled him. The rest of the crew fell in the water and drowned except for Ishmael who lived to tell the story.
My thought
This is a story of Captain Ahab, a one-legged fanatic who has sworn vengeance on the mammoth white whale that crippled him. Narrated by Ishmael, a wayfarer, this is the story of that voyage, and of the men who embraced hardship and nameless horrors.
Everyone should read about the first 5 chapters, it helps your perspective on people and life. Afterwards, it starts to slow down.The language and diction of the book is not to difficult to understand. Images of the scenes can be painted in the reader’s mind while reading Moby Dick. Not only does the book have obstacles to overcome, but it also has humor, with saying such as “Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk Christian.” Overall, this book is a classic gem, and I recommend it to all who love a good read
