Based on Melville's years of experience aboard whaleships as well as the real-life disaster of the Essex whaleship. A complex, multi-layered novel that tells the story of Captain Ahab's obsessive quest to hunt down and kill the great white whale, Moby-Dick,who had previously bitten off Ahab's leg during a whaling expedition. The first-person narrator, Ishmael, who turns to the sea for meaning, depicts the three-day chase of the White Whale, and the eventual, inevitable disaster when the whale kills Ahab and smashes the Pequod, killing everyone except Ishmael.
On a deeper level, it can be read as an allegory of the whole human condition. From the beginning, it is clear that the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod will be a symbolic voyage and that the great white whale, represents God or fate, despite being given a great deal of factual information about whale-hunting in order to make the world of this book seem real. This interest for making what we are told "real" gives the novel a tremendous power.
- Obsession & Revenge: Captain Ahab's relentless pursuit of Moby-Dick is a symbol of the destructive power of obsession, exploring the consequences of pursuing a single-minded goal.
- The Nature of Evil: (Good vs Evil) Moby-Dick is often interpreted as a symbol of evil, chaos, or the unknowable mysteries of the universe. The novel examines the question of whether evil is an external force or something inherent in human nature.
- Man vs Nature: The novel deals with the relationship between humanity and the natural world, particularly the brutality of the whaling industry. It raises questions about humanity's impact on the environment and the consequences of exploiting nature.
- Fate & Free Will: The novel raises questions about the role of fate and free will in human life. Ahab's quest is often seen as a tragic fate, a predetermined path that he cannot escape. However, the crew members of the Pequod are manipulated by Ahab into thinking that the quest for Moby Dick is their common destiny, and their decisions are shown to shape their destinies.