Book Review – Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale”
A couple of weeks ago I finished reading Herman Melville‘s classic novel, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale.
This was my first time reading Moby-Dick. Although this book tends to be a required reading for high school students (or, at least it used to be), I never encountered it as a student. I had heard of the book and its characters, but that’s about it.
To be honest, I had never really expressed any interest in reading Moby-Dick until recently. Something changed and all of a sudden I had a desire to read the book. That’s what bring us here today.
Herman Melville — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
First published in 1851, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is considered to be a prime example of Romanticism and the American Renaissance. I really don’t care about analyzing books to that level, so that’s the last you’ll hear of that terminology. We’re here to focus on the story and its strengths and weaknesses.
“Call me Ishmael.”
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an American whaling story narrated by the character Ishmael, a man who has the yearning to go to sea. Ishmael arrives in New Bedford, Massachusetts where he meets Queequeg, a Polynesian harpooner from the fictional island of Rokovoko. Despite their clash in backgrounds, Ishmael and Queequeg quickly become friends. The two of them seek a spot on a whaling ship, and they eventually are hired to work on the Pequod.
The adventure begins when the Pequod sails on Christmas Day and begins its ill-fated journey. The crew is manned by Starbuck, the first mate, Stubb, the second mate, and Flask, the third mate. In addition to Queequeg, the other harpooners include Tashtego and Daggoo.
As most people know, the captain of the Pequod is none other than Ahab, a man hell-bent on seeking revenge against Moby Dick, a white sperm whale that removed one of Ahab’s legs from the knee down. To help him walk, Ahab has an artificial leg that was created from the jawbone of a whale. Ahab promises a doubloon (a gold coin) to the first man who spots Moby Dick.
Captain Ahab decides to sail the Pequod south through the Atlantic Ocean and around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope on an eastward voyage to the traditional sperm whale hunting grounds in the Pacific Ocean. Along the way the ship meets other whaling ships and has traditional meetings with the other sailors, the crew hunts the occasional sperm whale, and the crew tend to their shipboard duties while keeping an eye out for the white whale. On board the ship the oil is processed and stored in barrels.
Meanwhile, we, the readers, are thoroughly educated about whales, from their anatomy to how material from their bodies is collected, and how people throughout history have thought about whales. The middle part of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is part textbook, part sailing story.
While passing through the Indian Ocean, Queequeg catches a cold and nearly dies from it. He becomes so ill that the ship’s carpenter builds him a casket so that Queequeg can have a burial at sea. Just after he tests the casket and approves of it, Queequeg suddenly recovers from his illness. He makes a quick recovery and soon resumes his tasks on the ship. The casket becomes a sea-chest, and it’s later caulked and pitched to replace the Pequod‘s lifeboat.
When the Pequod finally reaches the Pacific Ocean, Captain Ahab smells the water and recognizes the scent of Moby Dick. He orders the ship’s blacksmith to forge him a special harpoon to use against the whale. It’s not long until other whale ships report sightings and fatal encounters with Moby Dick. This sends Ahab into a frenzy and he spends twenty-four hours a day searching for the whale.
It’s Captain Ahab who spots the whale first and claims ownership of the doubloon. He had smelled the whale and then climbed a mast for a better view. That’s when he spots the white whale off in the distance. Ahab orders for the boats to be lowered, and he leads the harpooners into battle. Moby Dick ultimately attacks Ahab’s boat, biting it in half and scattering the crew. They survive and retreat back to the Pequod to repair their boats and prepare for the next encounter.
On the second day of battle, Moby Dick successfully smashes three of the boats and ends up killing Fedallah, one of the harpooners that Ahab brought on board the Pequod. Fedallah sees signs in certain events and he makes prophesies about them. One of his prophesies is that he will die before Ahab.
On the third and final day of battle, Ahab leads his remaining boats back into the fight against the whale. But the white whale is simply too strong and powerful. Moby Dick destroys the boats as well as the Pequod, killing most of the sailors. When Ahab tries to stab Moby Dick for a final time, the whale races past him and snares Ahab with one of the ropes. Ahab is swiftly pulled into the ocean and drowned by the whale. Ishmael is the lone survivor from the attack. He uses the coffin that was originally prepared for Queequeg as a lifeboat until a nearby whale ship rescues him.
“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
So is Herman Mellville’s Moby-Dick; or, The Whale a good book?
Yes, this is a fantastic book that should be read in today’s high school classrooms. The catch is that with all of the terminology throughout the book, it may take the extra help from teachers and classmates to fully understand the material.
You have to pay attention to the details to get the most out of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. I consider myself a fairly well-read person who can easily read books from authors ranging from Tom Clancy to Stephen King to Michael Crichton and James Rollins, but some parts of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale were difficult for me to understand. It’ll take a little bit of effort for most people to make it through this book and understand the events and characters.
That being said, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a great story if you can handle reading it. It’s not for everybody. Many of today’s readers, especially the younger crowd, may have trouble reading this book.
One thing is for sure.
After reading Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, I now have a much better understanding and greater appreciation for those older mariners who risked their life on the whale boats.
