moby dick

A STORY
OF

MOBY DICK

by Herman Melville

Synopsis

Ishmael, the narrator, goes to Nantucket to become a whaler.
There he meets Queequeg and they become great friends.

Ishmael signs up to work on the Pequod and the following day
takes Queequeg to the Pequod.

The Pequod sails on Christmas morning. After three weeks,
Captain Ahab appears on deck and tells the crew about Moby

Dick. They learn about his obsession to kill the white whale.
Starbuck tells Captain Ahab that his plan is crazy but the

captain declares that the white whale is evil.

The crew of the Pequod go after their first whale. Ishmael
sees Captain Ahab’s men, including Fedallah, go after the

whale. Due to heavy rain and strong winds, their first
whaling encounter is unsuccessful.

After that, the crew of Pequod successfully hunt many whales.
However, Captain Ahab isn’t happy. He constantly thinks of Moby Dick.

The Pequod meets other ships such as the Albatross and Samuel
Enderby, but Captain Ahab is only interested in information about
Moby Dick. Captain Ahab only talks to Fedallah. He looks at his maps
while Fedallah watches for whales at night. One night, Fedallah spots

Moby Dick. They follow Moby Dick but they lose it.

Many weeks after that, Pip, a young cook, goes on a whaling
trip. However, he jumps out of the boat on the second and
third trips. When he jumps out on the third trip, Stubb leaves him
in the ocean and goes after the whale. Pip is in the ocean a long
time. As a result, he becomes a little crazy. After he is rescued, he
follows Captain Ahab everywhere and thinks Captain Ahab is

God.

Later, Starbuck discovers that they are losing oil in the barrels.
However, Captain Ahab is only focussed on Moby Dick and does not
listen to Starbuck when he pleads for him to stop and fix the barrels.

Later, Captain Ahab stops the ship and tells the men to fix the

problem with the barrels. Queequeg is involved in this hard
and heavy work and falls very ill. He thinks he is going to die
so he asks for a coffin to be built. Ishmael and the others are sad.
Then, one morning, Queequeg declares he has things to do first so

he will die later. The coffin is stored with the barrels.

Captain Ahab tells Fedallah about his dream where he dies and
sees his coffin. Fedallah informs the captain that he will be killed
by a rope. Fedallah also tells Captain Ahab that he (Fedallah) will

die first. The following day, some of the crew members see
Captain Ahab angrily throwing away his maps. Starbuck and the
men are afraid. Captain Ahab also threatens to kill any man who

who tries to turn the Pequod around. Later, Starbuck is in
Captain Ahab’s room and has an opportunity to kill him but
cannot bring himself to do it.

The Pequod crosses paths with the Rachel. Captain Ahab wants to
know about Moby Dick and learns that it is close by. However,
Captain Ahab refuses to help the captain of the Rachel, who is

looking for his 12-year-old son who is missing. Even though some of
the whalers want to help the captain of the Rachel, they have no
choice but to follow their captain who only wants to look for Moby

Dick.

Moby Dick is sighted and Captain Ahab sends his men out.
Captain Ahab and his men are in the first boat. There are
many harpoons in Moby Dick’s body. The battle with Moby Dick goes
on for three days. On the first day, Captain Ahab’s boat is capsized.
On the second day, it capsizes again. On this day, Captain Ahab
also loses his whalebone leg and Fedallah is killed. On the third day –
with only one whaling boat left – Ishmael follows Captain Ahab and
some of the other whalers after Moby Dick. When, Moby Dick
emerges from the ocean, they see Fedallah's body. Captain Ahab
throws a harpoon at Moby Dick. It hits their whaling boat and
and Ishmael falls out. The boat sails away fast, leaving Ishmael in the
water.

Moby Dick targets the Pequod. It hits the ship and it sinks.
Captain Ahab throws another harpoon at Moby Dick. However,

Captain Ahab gets tangled in the rope at the end of the
harpoon and is pulled out of the boat. Ishmael watches the
Peqoud and his friend, Queequeg, go under the water. The
whaling boat with Captain Ahab’s men is also pulled under the

water.

Then, Queequeq’s coffin pops out of the water near Ishmael.
He climbs onto it. Later, he is rescued by the Rachel, whose

crew are still looking for their captain’s missing son.

Plot Climax

Rising Action The crew finally attacks Moby Dick in the Pacific Ocean. The battle
goes on for three days. On the first day, the men spear the whale
The captain of the ship is called Ahab. with their harpoons, but without succes. Moby Dick then swims away.
A mysterious man who rarely makes an On the second day, the crew is able to harpoon the whale. However,
appearance. One day, he meets the Ahab's boat is once again hit by the whale. On the third and final
crew and offers gold to the first man day, Ahab manages to throw his harpoon into the side of Moby Dick.
who spots a big white whale whom he
calls Moby Dick. It soons become clear But Moby Dick rams into the Pequod and destroys it.
that the purpose of the voyage is to kill
Falling Action
Moby Dick.
Everyone on the ship drowns except for
Ishsmael who manages to hold onto
Queequeg's coffin for two days. He is
eventually rescued by another ship.

Exposition Resolution

The story begins with Ishmael arriving in the whaling Ishmael reflects on his experience on the
town of Nantucket. He hopes to be a whaler and looks for a
job in a whaling ship. He be friends with a foreigner called Pequod. He is able to tell his story, and also tell
Queequeq and they both find a job on board the Pequod.
the readers that Moby Dick is still out there

somewhere.

Time SETTING Social

Mid 19th century The Atlantic Ocean Whaling industry
1840's Sailors/whailers
Whale oil for lamps
The Pacific Ocean
Nantucket

The Pequod

Important events: Important events: Important events: Important events:

Captain Ahab throws away the The Pequod is a whaling ship The crew catches many whales Nantucket is an important
map. captained by Ahab. in the ocean. port for whaling ships.
The Pequod experiences a big The crew sees Captain Ahab here The Pequod comes across Ishmael and Queequeg
storm. for the first time. many ships and sometimes the meet and become friends.
Captain Ahab spots Moby Dick The crew learns that Captain captains come on board for a Ishmael arrives here and
and a fierce battle ensues Ahab is obsessed with Moby Dick, visit. looks for a job.
Captain Ahab is thrown into the the white whale. One night, Moby Dick is Both find work in the
sea and disappears, presumably Ishmael meets many people on spotted but swims away. Pequod.
dead. the ship, each with their own Pip, the cook boy, falls into the Ishmael is warned by an old
The Pequod sinks and everyone on story. ocean during a whaling trip. man called Elijah about
boat drowns. Queequeq falls ill. Captain Ahab
Ishmael is saved by the Rachel.

THEMES

Revenge Captain Ahab was persistent of finding and killing Moby Dick
Death He said that he would be free and felt-satisfaction only after he had accomplished his job

Captain Ahab escaped death when he only lost a leg to the white whale
His mission of pursuing the large whale could bring death for his whalers and other crew members
As a result, The Pequod was doomed towards a disastrous ending for everyone on board the ship

The Power The ocean was used to portray how men could use nature to their advantage
of Nature Storms were a threat to ships sailing at sea
The white whale could be a symbol of a power as it was very big as well as strong

Fate The ship have been fated to have bad fortune as being foreseen by Elijah, who thought Captain
Ahab as a devil and his men as the devil's helpers
The other whalers thought that is was fate which they could not avoid

Friendship At the end of the story, Queequeg indirectly helped Ishmael when his coffin floated to Ishmael
Ishmael climbed into the coffin while thinking that his friend had help him for the last time

help others be cooperative be brave in
who are in with everyone time of need

need MORAL be forgiving
VALUES to others
show and
appreciate the be tolerance
love we have to live in
harmony

Character &
Characterization

Ishmael Captain Ahab Queequeq

The narrator and a junior member The egomaniacal captain of the Pequod. Starbuck’s skilled harpooner and
of the crew of the Pequod. Ahab lost his leg to Moby Dick. He is Ishmael’s best friend. He is brave
and generous, and enables Ishmael
Ishmael doesn’t play a major role single-minded in his pursuit of the whale, to see that race has no bearing on
in the events of the novel, but using a mixture of charisma and terror to a man’s character. Queequeg is
calm, honest, generous, faithful,
much of the narrative is taken up persuade his crew to join him. As a
by his eloquent, verbose, and captain, he is dictatorial but not unfair. At and hard-working.
moments he shows a compassionate side,
extravagant discourse on whales caring for the insane Pip and musing on his
and whaling.
wife and child back in Nantucket.

Character &
Characterization

Starbuck Moby Dick Minor Characters

Starbuck is loyal, practical, ethical, The great white whale, Moby Captain Boomer
and cautious, perhaps overly so. Dick also referred to as the Pip
He does not want Ahab to attack White Whale is an infamous Stubb
Moby Dick, and recognized both Fedallah
the physical and moral danger of and dangerous threat to Elijah
seamen, considered by Ahab Captain Gardiner
Ahab's obsession, but he also lacks the incarnation of evil and a Other whalers - Tashtego, Daggoo,
the passion and conviction to Bildad, Flask, Manxman
stand up to Ahab. fated nemesis

Liked Character

Based on the novel "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville, the story unveils an
adventure of a young whaler, Ishmael, who narrated the story of his hunt for a
white whale with Captain Ahab. The character I admire the most is Ishmael as he

was determined, helpful and courageous in his work on the ship.

Firstly, Ishmael was determined to become a whaler though he had no experience
in whaling. He was a sailor and sailed on different ships. He loved the ocean
though it was dangerous. He wanted to become a whaler despite knowing
that is was a hard and dangerous life, and he had to leave his hometown
for many years. He was not afraid of the danger as he was

Liked Character

determined to get a job.

Moreover, Ishmael was helpful as he recommended Queequeg when he looked
for a job as a whaler. He told Starbuck that Queequeg was a good whaler and
they wanted to work on the same ship together. When Queequeg was sick after
the hard work of repairing the barrels, Ishmael was always by his side. He told

his friend that he would get better and he would not die.

Lastly, Ishamel was courageous in hunting and killing the whales. He
and others had to fight sharks which were always around to eat the

dead whales.

Liked Character

They had to face storms and strong winds which could bring damage to their
ship. On the last day when he and the few crews had to board the only boat to
kill Moby Dick, he followed Captain Ahab's command not to leave the boat until
they were attacked by the white whale. They fared badly and everyone died except

Ishmael was the only survivor.
Therefore, Ishmael was determined, helpfu
l and courageous in his work as a
whaler. These qualities deserve my imitatio
n as they would help me to be a

better person in my work and future life.

In preparing this task, I was able to spend time

with beneficial activities and focus more on my

JOURNAL studies to complete this assignment. However,
I also experienced difficulties while completing

this task. Sometimes I can't understand how to

prepare this task because it's all in English, so

I have to search for the words that I don't

know. I'm putting much effort to prepare this ta
sk. I had to search all

the information about the task to make me easier to answer the

questions. It was fun to do and I'm enjoy my study time with preparing

this task. ^^

THE END

Fredolica Eka
3 Efficient