MOBY DICK

1. MOBY DICK Title: Author: Herman MelvilleDate/Year Published:1851Genre:Epic, adventure story, quest tale, tragedy Name:DylanMcshanClass Period:3rd

2. Setting •  This story takes place aboard the whaling ship the Pequod, in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The strong ocean waves rushing and shooting salty mist into your face. With dangerous creatures in the waves.

3. Characters • Ishmael -  The narrator, and a junior member of the crew of the Pequod. • Ahab -  The captain of the Pequod. Ahab lost his leg to Moby Dick. He is in pursuit of the whale, using a mixture of his lures and terror to persuade his crew to join him. As a captain, he is mean but not unfair.

4. Characters • Moby Dick -  The great white sperm whale. Moby Dick, he is a dangerous threat to seamen. • Starbuck -  The first mate of the Pequod. A good man with a wise heart. • Queequeg -  Starbuck’s skilled harpooner and Ishmael’s best friend. He is a tattooed South Sea Native.

5. Characters • Stubb -  The second mate of the Pequod. A cherry sailor who smokes a pipe. • Tashtego -  Stubb’s harpooner, A long, lean American Indian. • Flask - The third mate of the Pequod. A short, tough sailor. • Daggoo -  Flask’s harpooner. A giant man. • Fedallah - Ahab’s harpooner and advisor. A mysterious man with a nameless crew.

6. Characters • Pelegand Captain Bildad- the owners of the ship, the Pequod.

7. PLOT:CONFLICT •  Ahab dedicates his ship and crew to destroying Moby Dick, a white sperm whale, because he sees this whale as evil. He ignores the physical dangers that this quest entails, setting himself against other men. He only cares about killing Moby Dick and not about how it can hurt his crew. • .

8. Plot: Resolution • The death of Ahab and the destruction of the Pequod by Moby Dick; Ishmael, the only survivor of the Pequod’s sinking, floats on a coffin and is rescued by another whaling ship, the Rachel. So in the end, Ahab and Moby Dick are defeated but at the risk and harm of everyone else.

9. Your Opinion • I thought this book was lame and boring.

10. About the Author • Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819, in New York City. • His dad died when he was 12, leaving his family with little money. • In 1839 he sailed on a merchant ship to Liverpool, England, and back. • In 1841 he sailed on a whale ship throughout the Pacific Ocean for 3 years.

11. About the Author • His first book was called the Typee, a sea story

12. 5 Test Questions • What was the name of Ahab’s ship? The Pequod • Why were whales hunted? For oils • Which body part did Ahab loose to Moby Dick? His leg • What covers QueeQueg skin? Tattoos • What is Ahab’s false leg made of? whalebone

13. Summary • Ishmael wants to sail in a Nantucket whaler. So he heads off to Nantucket. He rests at the Spouter Inn in New Bedford, where he meets Queepeg,a harpooner that appears dangerous with all his tattoos. They become friends and QueeQueg agrees to join Ishmael. So they took a ferry to Nantucket. Queequeg and Ishmael choose between 3 ships for a year journey, and decide upon the Pequod. The Captain of the Pequod, Peleg, is now retired, and owns the boat with, Bildad. The new captain is Ahab. He is moody and secretive since losing his leg in an encounter with the great white whale Moby Dick. Ishmal and QueeQueg set sail with the crew Starbuck, the 1st mate, Stubb the 2nd mate and Flask the 3rd mate . Also, there are the harpooners Tashtego and Daggoo. • Ahab stays in his cabin. Several days into the voyage, Ahab finally appears from his cabin standing on an ivory leg made from whalebone. Ahab tells the crew of the Pequod to look for a white-headed whale with a wrinkled brow: Moby Dick, the legendary whale that took Ahab's leg. Starbuck tells Ahab that his obsession with Moby Dick is madness, but Ahab claims that all things are masks and there is some unknown reasoning behind that mask that man must strike through. For Ahab, Moby Dick is that mask. Ahab himself seems to recognize his own madness. Starbuck begins to worry that the ship is overmatched by the mad captain and knows that he will see an end to Ahab.

14. The Pequod meets the Bachelor, a Nantucket ship whose captain denies the existence of Moby Dick. The next day, the Pequod slays four whales. Ahab and Fedallah pledge to slay Moby Dick and survive the conflict, and Ahab boasts of his own everlasting life. They encounter a Typhoon in the pacific and is soon met by another ship, the Rachel. They request the Pequod's help in searching for their captains son, who may be lost at sea. Ahab refuses when he learns that Moby Dick is nearby. The final ship that the Pequod meets is the Delight, a ship that has recently come upon Moby Dick and has nearly been destroyed by its encounter with the whale. • The struggle against Moby Dick lasts three days. On the first day, Ahab spies on the whale himself, and the whaling boats row after it. Moby Dick attacks Ahab's boat, causing it to sink, but Ahab survives the ordeal when he reaches Stubb's boat. Ahab pursues him for a second day. On the second day of the chase, roughly the same defeat occurs. This time Moby Dick breaks Ahab's ivory leg, while Fedallah dies when he becomes entangled in the harpoon line and is drowned. Starbuck complains to Ahab that he is crazy and selfish an that everyone is going to get hurt. Ahab declares that the chase against Moby Dick is not going to be discussed, and pursues it for a third day.

15. On the 3rd day when Ahab and his crew reach Moby Dick, Ahab finally stabs the whale with his harpoon but the whale tips Ahab's boat. The whale rams the Pequod and causes it to begin sinking. Ahab throws his harpoon at Moby Dick but becomes entangled in the line and goes down with it. Only Ishmael survives this attack, for he was lucky to be on a whaling boat instead of on the Pequod. Eventually he is rescued by the Rachel because its captain continues the search for his missing son.

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17. THE END THE END