Classics

Moby-Dick or, the Whale

Moby-Dick or, the Whale

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-08 14:55:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Herman Melville
  • ISBN：0142437247
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Summary

"It is the horrible texture of a fabric that should be woven of ships' cables and hawsers。 A Polar wind blows through it， and birds of prey hover over it。"

So Melville wrote of his masterpiece， one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history。 In part， Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself。 But more than just a novel of adventure， more than an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend， the book can be seen as part of its author's lifelong meditation on America。 Written with wonderfully redemptive humour， Moby-Dick is also a profound inquiry into character， faith， and the nature of perception。

This edition of Moby-Dick， which reproduces the definitive text of the novel， includes invaluable explanatory notes， along with maps， illustrations， and a glossary of nautical terms。

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Reviews

Adam Voight ，

Finally got myself to read fiction， and it was well worth it。 While the story does get lost in the middle chapters， overall it's an epic confrontation with ultimate reality。 While you read this， keep asking yourself "What does the White Whale represent？"God？ Satan？ Nature？ Ultimate Reality？ Somthing else？ Finally got myself to read fiction， and it was well worth it。 While the story does get lost in the middle chapters， overall it's an epic confrontation with ultimate reality。 While you read this， keep asking yourself "What does the White Whale represent？"God？ Satan？ Nature？ Ultimate Reality？ Somthing else？ 。。。more

Becky ，

I wished I could have enjoyed this more， but I found it a bit of a struggle。 There is some beautiful prose and the general story is good。 It just took far too long to tell it。

Matthew ，

What an amazing book。 Not at all what I was expecting。 I laughed so hard thru much of it。 Masterpiece。 It didn't disappoint。 What an amazing book。 Not at all what I was expecting。 I laughed so hard thru much of it。 Masterpiece。 It didn't disappoint。 。。。more

Jourdan ，

The amount of impertinent shit in this book made me just about rub the eyebrows off my forehead。 Some parts actually got me excited to continue， the rest however， was dryer than a nuns nasty。

Ronron08 ，

This story is interesting。 I love the characters。 It would be wonderful if you will write some more。 Also， there is a competition happening this April on the NovelStar app， I hope you can consider joining。 https://author。starlight。inkIf you have more stories like this， you can also publish them there 🙂 This story is interesting。 I love the characters。 It would be wonderful if you will write some more。 Also， there is a competition happening this April on the NovelStar app， I hope you can consider joining。 https://author。starlight。inkIf you have more stories like this， you can also publish them there 🙂 。。。more

Krishna ，

Herman Melville's magnificent sea adventure has Captain Ahab， having lost a leg to the legendary white whale Moby Dick， pursuing the creature in search of his revenge。 Narrated by Ishmael， the the story moves only slowly， with numerous digressions as if we are bored sailors listening to an old salt's yarn。 We read of the classification of whales; their mating habits and family life; the social milieu of the whaling ship with its pecking order and international crew and unique traditions; a histo Herman Melville's magnificent sea adventure has Captain Ahab， having lost a leg to the legendary white whale Moby Dick， pursuing the creature in search of his revenge。 Narrated by Ishmael， the the story moves only slowly， with numerous digressions as if we are bored sailors listening to an old salt's yarn。 We read of the classification of whales; their mating habits and family life; the social milieu of the whaling ship with its pecking order and international crew and unique traditions; a history of whaling; a section on butchering the whale and extracting the oil; graphic descriptions of whaling boats chasing the whale; descriptions of technical equipment; of references to whales in the Bible and classical literature; of tides and ships。 The cast of characters is also rich。 Queequeg the harpooner， with whom Ishmael strikes up a strange friendship is a heavily tattooed Polynesian。 Daggoo， a gigantic African and Tashtego， a taciturn Native American are the other two harpooners。 The chief mate is Starbuck， a cautious and conscientious man torn between loyalty to his mad captain and his duty to ensure the safety of ship and crew。 Stubb and Flask are the mates。 Fedallah is a silent sinister oriental type， who stows away on ship with the connivance of Ahab and comes out mid-voyage。 And above all others towers， Ahab - monomaniacal， mercurial， a harsh taskmaster， but also a shrewd and charismatic leader who knows how to manage his men even when leading them into grave danger。There are so many summaries and critical reviews online that it is not worth rehashing the plot， so I will only add a few personal observations。 First， is how broadminded Melville is and by extension， Ishmael the narrator。 Ishmael is willing to concede equivalence between his own Christian beliefs and the island faith of Queequeg。 He also， on numerous occasions criticizes the shallowness and rapacity of missionaries in the tropics and makes fun of elements of Christian doctrine。 It is no wonder that New England preachers railed against the book and even got it banned on occasion。 But simultaneously， it is very evident that Melville knows his Bible。 The book is steeped in Biblical references， imagery and metaphors。 This Norton Critical Edition has excellent footnotes - without which many of the references would have escaped me。 The edition also contains a lot of reference material， including a glossary， the list of whaling and seafaring books in Melville's library; critical essays; maps of the voyage， even diagrams of a whaling ship and descriptions of its parts。 The edition has all the materials for a college-level course in Moby Dick。 。。。more

Chris Pearse ，

Wanna give it a 4。5 （my university bookstore manager would be disappointed it wasn’t a 5）。 I mean， you really can’t choose to sit down with this unless you know why you’re getting into， and I loved the parts I think most people would find boring。 Also just some of the best writing I’ve ever read。

Princess Gomez ，

I really enjoyed reading your book。 I read enthusiastically and understood the story。 。。。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Steve ，

Very long saga。 Very Descriptive。 Written in old English so needed a dictionary （phone） to decipher some text。 Really spent time with the description of the Whales and ships。 Wish the fight was longer。I am glad I made it through。 I try to do one classic per year。

SheShe ，

I have so many torn feelings。 It should be stated that I went into the book knowing virtually nothing about it。 There is an infamous white whale， and whalers that chase it。 That's all I knew。 Why on earth did I choose to read this monstrous novel when I have never read a book even half its size or age？ Three reasons。 I was completely ignorant to how large and old it is。 Second， I wanted to become a classic novel reader。 Lastly， because I knew so little about this tale。 So， what tore my feelings？ I have so many torn feelings。 It should be stated that I went into the book knowing virtually nothing about it。 There is an infamous white whale， and whalers that chase it。 That's all I knew。 Why on earth did I choose to read this monstrous novel when I have never read a book even half its size or age？ Three reasons。 I was completely ignorant to how large and old it is。 Second， I wanted to become a classic novel reader。 Lastly， because I knew so little about this tale。 So， what tore my feelings？ I found my feelings changing in ebs and flows。 Often taking long， deep， dives of frustration。 Initially， once getting past the old talk and coming to terms with the fact that there were many words ahead that I would not understand， I was pulled into its very intriguing beginnings， not to mention how well it was written。 There were also times， after reading parts of it several days in a row， I found myself conversing with words I forgot I knew。 On the flip side， I found myself at times not finding the words I knew must exist。 I felt smarter， I felt dumber。 The main reason that my rating lacked two stars out of five （and almost one more）， was due to the fact that there were so many pages and even whole chapters that I felt were completely unnecessary。 They seemed to ramble on and on。 As I am a methodical reader and refuse to skip any part of a story regardless of the redundancy of it， there were many occasions I found myself wanting to tear my hair out and audibly saying to the air "Get on with it！" That being said， it really took me by surprise。 I felt very attached to some of the characters。 And it was surprisingly moving at times， especially the ending。 In fact， by the time I completed the last sentence， and closed the book， I was tempted to forget the earlier frustrations and give it a four star rating。 To surmise: It was well written， had enjoyable characters， and overall was a good story。 However， if you find my review long and boring， this most definitely is not the book for you。 Either way， I highly recommend the abridged version。 。。。more

Lizzie ，

I swear I have read this or an abridged version because I just know it in my head I can visualize it

Thomas ，

This is the story of a mighty hero who stood between his family and aliens who’d invaded his world in their strange ships with their superior weapons and technology。 As the aliens slaughtered his people， only the chosen one could take them on。 One alien captain， whom he had once defeated， was out for vengeance against our hero。 Who will win， the alien invaders or the one who alone stood a chance against them？I can’t blame you if you love this book。 It is a classic。 Apparently， lots of people lov This is the story of a mighty hero who stood between his family and aliens who’d invaded his world in their strange ships with their superior weapons and technology。 As the aliens slaughtered his people， only the chosen one could take them on。 One alien captain， whom he had once defeated， was out for vengeance against our hero。 Who will win， the alien invaders or the one who alone stood a chance against them？I can’t blame you if you love this book。 It is a classic。 Apparently， lots of people love this book。 I wanted to love it too， but I just couldn't。 This book annoyed me。 I feel as though Herman Melville was saying to the reader， “You don’t get to read this book about whaling and one captain’s obsession with getting revenge on the whale that took his leg without appreciating the subject on as many levels as I do。 Therefore I have added a great deal of supplementary reading which makes up more of the book than the actual story。” The extra stuff was interesting at times， though much of it is about the latest on cetacean research as it existed in 1851 and， of course， a great deal of information about the business of slaughtering whales。 And how can I ever forget that fascinating chapter on how the color white is evil。 Also， is it really true that 19th-century sailors spoke as if they were in a Shakespeare play？ Did they really start spouting soliloquies in the middle of life-or-death action？ Near the end of this book， I longed to tell Ahab to shut up。 If he wanted to kill that blasted whale so badly， he should get on with it。 Naturally， I was rooting for the whale。I will admit that there were moments when I found the writing to be exceptional and I understood why this book has attained the status that it has。 I just wish there were more of them。 I get it。 Melville was a product of his times and the endless tangents about this and that was perhaps a legitimate part of a profound novel back then。 I am also a product of my times， so I would like to recommend the John Houston directed 1956 adaptation starring Gregory Peck。 It gives you the gist of the story without taking nearly so long to get through。Don’t get me wrong， I don’t regret having read this book。 It did have its moments and I feel like I’m a better man for having made it all the way to the end。 Now I can say， at least， that I read it。 。。。more

David ，

Letteratura americana

Amanda White ，

Worst book ever

Gözde ，

Moby Dick için， yani Beyaz Balina'nın kendisi için devasa sözcüğünü kullanmak herhalde yerinde bir seçim olurdu。 İsmini verdiği bu kitabı "devasa" diye tanımlamak ise bana yine de kitaba biraz haksızlık ediyormuşuz， onu olduğundan da küçük gösterme tehlikesine giriyormuşuz gibi bile geliyor。 Bu dev balinanın， balinacılığın， Pequod'un dünyanın küçük bir temsili olan gemicilerinin， hikayenin anlatıcısının， Starbuck'ın， Pip'in ve elbette kitabın sonuna kadar kavga ettiğim Ahab'ın hikayesini okumak Moby Dick için， yani Beyaz Balina'nın kendisi için devasa sözcüğünü kullanmak herhalde yerinde bir seçim olurdu。 İsmini verdiği bu kitabı "devasa" diye tanımlamak ise bana yine de kitaba biraz haksızlık ediyormuşuz， onu olduğundan da küçük gösterme tehlikesine giriyormuşuz gibi bile geliyor。 Bu dev balinanın， balinacılığın， Pequod'un dünyanın küçük bir temsili olan gemicilerinin， hikayenin anlatıcısının， Starbuck'ın， Pip'in ve elbette kitabın sonuna kadar kavga ettiğim Ahab'ın hikayesini okumak benim 1。5 senemi aldı。 1。5 senede okunacak kadar zor ve yorucu bir kitap olduğundan değil。 Tam tersi， kısa bölümleri， aşırı gerçekçi anlatımı， her sayfada tadına doyum olmayan， İncil'den alınsa ya da bu kısmı Shakespeare yazmış deseler yadırganmayacak pasajları， ve her şekilde sonuna doğru heyecanını arttırmayı beceren yapısı ile aslında okuması oldukça hızlı ve kolay olabilecek bir kitap。 Bense yavaş yavaş， aheste aheste ve kimi zaman çok uzun süreler ara vererek okudum ve işte bugün bitirdim Moby Dick'i。 Tek sebebi， bitmesini hiç istemememdi。 İşin komik tarafı， Moby Dick benim Moby Dick'imdi uzun yıllar， başlayıp bıraktığım， okumayı çok isteyip bitiremeyeceğimi sandığım o nispeten az sayıdaki 'göz korkutan' kitaptan biri。。。Şimdi bitirince bakıyorum da altını çizmeye değer o kadar çok satır， hatırlamak istediğim o kadar çok pasaj var ki， her birinin altını çizseydim altı çizili olmayan yerler azınlıkta kalacaktı。 O yüzden， bütün kocamanlığına rağmen yeniden okumak istediğimi biliyorum bu kitabı。 Bazı kitaplar var， kapattığınızda o dünyayı olduğu kadar yazarın tarzını ve anlatışını özlüyorsunuz。 Moby Dick - sen benim için hep özlediğim güzel beyaz balina olacaksın。 Ve eminim o masmavi sularda artık özgürce sürdürdüğün krallığının hükmü hiç bitmeyeceğinden， yeniden karşılaşacağız。 "Tatlı bir sevinç， güçlü bir huzur sarar gibiydi hızla ilerleyen Beyaz Balina'yı。 Ak bir boğa biçimini alıp kaçırdığı genç kıza， boynuzlarına tutunan Europa'ya， o güzel gözleriyle yan yan bakan Zeus bile， Girit kıyılarındaki düğün yatağına büyülü bir hızla giderken， daha haşmetli， daha görkemli olamazdı o tanrılar gibi yüzen Beyaz Balina'dan。" 。。。more

King Rand ，

An unique story。 If you like classical adventure， fiction， then you should try this book。

Catalina Azul ，

Fue maravilloso。

Michael Molyneaux ，

I am conflicted about this book。 I have thoughts。 I think this esquire article sums it up well of why you should read it - https://www。esquire。com/uk/culture/bo。。。But I also am writing my thoughts here: https://twitter。com/MMolyneaux/status。。。 tl;dr - you should read this book but only if you want to I am conflicted about this book。 I have thoughts。 I think this esquire article sums it up well of why you should read it - https://www。esquire。com/uk/culture/bo。。。But I also am writing my thoughts here: https://twitter。com/MMolyneaux/status。。。 tl;dr - you should read this book but only if you want to 。。。more

Juan Pablo Forero ，

¿Qué se puede decir de Moby Dick que no se haya dicho o que hayan leído en otros comentarios？ Es un libro difícil， debo decirlo， no es un libro para todo el mundo y por eso mismo le pongo cuatro estrellas aunque queriendo ponerle cinco porque aunque es difícil， no es aburrido。 Pero a muchos sí les parecerá aburrido porque gran parte del libro habla de cosas que parecen extrañas en un libro de literatura， tanto que llegué a dudar que estuviera leyendo el libro que era， así de extraño es。 Porque h ¿Qué se puede decir de Moby Dick que no se haya dicho o que hayan leído en otros comentarios？ Es un libro difícil， debo decirlo， no es un libro para todo el mundo y por eso mismo le pongo cuatro estrellas aunque queriendo ponerle cinco porque aunque es difícil， no es aburrido。 Pero a muchos sí les parecerá aburrido porque gran parte del libro habla de cosas que parecen extrañas en un libro de literatura， tanto que llegué a dudar que estuviera leyendo el libro que era， así de extraño es。 Porque habla de las formas de las diversas ballenas， de su anatomía， de su caza， de como se saca sus partes， etc， etc， etc。 Y es así durante GRAN parte del libro。 Pero así mismo， ese creo que es su gran acierto。 Porque nos hace entender ese mundo a profundidad como si fuéramos científicos que se adentran a entender la importancia de la ballena。 Si no estuviera todo ese montón de información， creo que no le daríamos la importancia que tiene su caza， sería simplemente un libro de una aventura que podría importarnos poco。 Pero luego de leer toda esa información， de ver como la caza era algo grandioso （a pesar del dolor que uno puede sentir por esos animales）， al mostrarnos todo ese mundo vemos que para los balleneros， cazar tiene algo de majestuoso， de impetuoso， de mucho riesgo pero de inmensa admiración por las ballenas。 Las matan， sí， y es horrible si lo vemos desde nuestra perspectiva del siglo XXI， pero así como suena terrible， es por eso mismo de tanta información que entendemos su importancia。 E insisto en ese punto， hay una inmensa admiración por estos seres， algo de miedo que se ve principalmente con Moby Dick， un personaje que se ve poquísimo， pero de ahí su grandiosidad por contraste。 Como digo， es un libro que aburrirá a muchos y que debe leerse entendiendo que habrá partes lentas y tediosas （aunque ahora que lo veo ya terminado， nunca me aburrieron）， pero habrá muchos que disfrutarán con toda esta información。 No se dejen descorazonar por los que digan que es un libro aburridísimo， porque sí podrá parecerles。 Pero deben leerlo por si mismos。 Así como hay libros muy admirados que me han parecido aburridos， este libro que a muchos les parece aburrido， les podrá impresionar。 Pero tengan en cuenta eso， hay MUCHA información que podría parecer irrelevante （como dije， no lo es）， y que les costará avanzar porque parece que no sirve de nada。 Pero si tienen en cuenta lo que dije， verán que está ahí por algo importante。 Ya dije， sin esa información， no tendría tanto peso su caza y no entenderíamos lo importante que es cazarlas。 Por último debo decir que ya escrito esto， creo que tengo que cambiar mi puntaje a cinco estrellas pero con un asterisco inmenso， porque sí hay parte que me costaron aunque está tan bien escrito， que no son tan pesadas。 Pero ya haciendo esta reseña， debo ser consecuente y ponerle sus cinco estrellas。 Y no dejen que otros les digan que es malo， vean por ustedes mismos si logran superar lo aburrido， porque en conjunto es un excelente libro。 Pero repito， NO ES PARA TODO EL MUNDO。 。。。more

Jeffrey ，

Either the grand American epic that metaphorically posits the strivings of man against a holy， terrifying God and His seeming acts of serendipitous predestination， or a really cool fish story with weird homoerotic overtones。

Stuart McArthur ，

“Poet， painter and philosopher” a reviewer once called Melville。 His challenges to the reader， and within his subject matter， are as welded together as firmly as the 12 intertwining steel rods that make up Ahab’s harpoon and the fate of Ahab and the whale itself。 The epic process of reading through to the final confrontation mirrored The Pequod’s journey to same。 As the end approached and I caught whiff “through one nostril” of the white whale’s proximity in the final pages， I deliberately slowe “Poet， painter and philosopher” a reviewer once called Melville。 His challenges to the reader， and within his subject matter， are as welded together as firmly as the 12 intertwining steel rods that make up Ahab’s harpoon and the fate of Ahab and the whale itself。 The epic process of reading through to the final confrontation mirrored The Pequod’s journey to same。 As the end approached and I caught whiff “through one nostril” of the white whale’s proximity in the final pages， I deliberately slowed down my reading to more fully appreciate the journey， and because by now my reading eyes had synced with Melville’s Shakespearean rhythms， swirling poetry， dry wit， and grandiloquent turn of phrase， the final chapters were equally joy as reward。 The wit （after the crew had hauled all the heavy oil barrels up on deck）:“top-heavy was the ship， as a dinnerless student with all Aristotle in his head”。 。。。and pith:“The （whale’s） milk is very sweet and rich; it has been tasted by man; it might do well with strawberries。”The poetic:“In the face of all the glad， hay-making suns， and softcymballing， round harvest-moons， we must needs give in to this: that the gods themselves are not for ever glad。 The ineffaceable， sad birth-mark in the brow of man， is but the stamp of sorrow in the signers。”The tormented Shakespearean soliloquizer:“what cozening， hidden lord and master， and cruel， remorseless emperor commands me; that against all natural lovings and longings， I so keep pushing， and crowding， and jamming myself on all the time; recklessly making me ready to do what in my own proper， natural heart， I durst not so much as dare？ Is Ahab， Ahab？ Is it I， God， or who， that lifts this arm？ But if the great sun move not of himself; but is as an errand-boy in heaven; nor one single star can revolve， but by some invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating， does that thinking， does that living， and not I。”The philosophical:“consider them both， the sea and the land; and do you not find a strange analogy to something in yourself？ For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land， so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti， full of peace and joy， but encompassed by all the horrors of the half known life”and the haughty self-aware:“To produce a mighty book， you must choose a mighty theme。 No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea， though many there be who have tried it。”Never was a book’s plot more secondary to its themes。 It is man versus everything; fate， circumstance， demons， ego， expectation， classism， religion， morality （Ahab puts his egocentric quest above helping a fellow captain search for his son）， God， nature， empathy， understanding， brotherhood， the universe， loss itself。 An unforgettable and rightly hard-earned experience。 。。。more

Myshkin ，

I learned a lot about whales！

Peggy ，

I effing did it！ This book。 I understand it's a classic。 Much of its writing and language is beautiful。 However， I still don't see why there needs be so many tangents so thoroughly explored， entire chapters about rope and such。 It makes it feel as though this is just about creating a very long book out of a not so long story。 I believe that I would not have finished it for many more years if not for the audiobook。 But now I have。 I'm glad to have。 But I look forward to having it behind me。 I effing did it！ This book。 I understand it's a classic。 Much of its writing and language is beautiful。 However， I still don't see why there needs be so many tangents so thoroughly explored， entire chapters about rope and such。 It makes it feel as though this is just about creating a very long book out of a not so long story。 I believe that I would not have finished it for many more years if not for the audiobook。 But now I have。 I'm glad to have。 But I look forward to having it behind me。 。。。more

Claire Holmes ，

i plan on never reading this book， this is a placeholder for the thousands of words of fanfiction ive read this month bc it’s stupid and classist and sexist that we don’t count those as “real” reading。 anyway。 this is to help track my 2021 book goal， nothing more nothing less。 good luck on the fishing， my dudes。

Kaity ，

*steeples fingers*The only thing I can think of to describe this book is *sad whale sounds*I was legit excited to read this book， mainly because of just how classic it is。 I'm never really one to not read school fiction reads/classics for classes。 I actually very much enjoy that。 However， nobody has the right to come for Victor Hugo and his long tangents on Waterloo and convents， and sewers， while killing Joly， Combeferre， Lesgles， and the rest in one sentence， because this book is basically jus *steeples fingers*The only thing I can think of to describe this book is *sad whale sounds*I was legit excited to read this book， mainly because of just how classic it is。 I'm never really one to not read school fiction reads/classics for classes。 I actually very much enjoy that。 However， nobody has the right to come for Victor Hugo and his long tangents on Waterloo and convents， and sewers， while killing Joly， Combeferre， Lesgles， and the rest in one sentence， because this book is basically just an encyclopedia of whales with a slight story about this guy who had OCPD about hunting a whale。 And it wasn't even that thrilling a narrative。 Besides， Ishmael is an unreliable narrator and so how can we be sure anything he just told us was true？ Melville actually needed to cut this down because his author idol told him to cut out many many of the whale facts。 And yet we still get this？ And if you're lucky （read: unlucky） enough to have a professor obsessed with Quizball， get ready for a load of literature questions that are about tiny facts， like how big the waist of a female whale is。 （I think it's 18ft btw。）Really， I'm not one to say "oh， just watch the movie。" Not even for Dahl's works。 You should definitely read Dahl's books if you want to see the movies too。 But literally， just watch the dang Gregory Peck movie。 Or even that one scene in Pagemaster。 Skip it all together and just watch that segment of Fantasia 2000 where there are whales that fly。 That's aesthetic。 I could only assume that an abridged version would be better， but like， then you get left with Guy goes on boat。 Guy realizes captain is strange。 Guy thinks he's just going whaling。 Guy realizes the captain wants to kill a very specific whale and that whale only。Captain gets entire crew and himself killed。 Guy is the only survivor。 I mean， at least you get a better story with an abridged copy of Les Miserables。 But Moby Dick is just。。。 *sad whale sounds* 。。。more

Gavin ，

There’s a reason why this is a classic。 This is a must-read book。

Drew Clancy ，

Loved this book。 What a writer。。。

Jbear62 ，

A tough read but impressive by every definition of the word。 The GAN as dar as I am concerned at this moment

Samantha Taylor ，

3。5 stars。 This was a good classic。 I was not expecting it to be funny and I even tabbed some quotes too。 I really liked the two main characters in the beginning。

Margot ，

I'm reading Moby Dick for the fifth time knowing each decade it would read completley differently。 I see the balance of Starbuck and Ahab more clearly on this read， the image of Queequeg in comparison to George Washington as a nation's leader and I am exploring how much Nathaniel Hawthorne influenced Melville's Moby Dick。 The structure of the book， it chapter headings， waiting 27 chapters before Ahab appears on deck， then only a few chapters for Moby Dick to be sited， and the madness of Ahab inc I'm reading Moby Dick for the fifth time knowing each decade it would read completley differently。 I see the balance of Starbuck and Ahab more clearly on this read， the image of Queequeg in comparison to George Washington as a nation's leader and I am exploring how much Nathaniel Hawthorne influenced Melville's Moby Dick。 The structure of the book， it chapter headings， waiting 27 chapters before Ahab appears on deck， then only a few chapters for Moby Dick to be sited， and the madness of Ahab inciting the sailors to kill the whale at their own peril--was this Hawthorne peaking the highs， building the arc， staccatto'ing the chapters？ I'm still reading。。。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Moby-Dick or, the Whale

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Moby-Dick or, the Whale&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Moby-Dick or, the Whale&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0