Moby Dick or the Whale

Moby-Dick; or The Whale is an epic sea-story of Captain Ahabs voyage in pursuit of Moby Dick a great white whale and is considered one of the Great American Novels and a leading work of American Romanticism. Narrated by Ishmael the story follows the voyage of the whaleship Pequod commanded by Captain Ahab who sole mission is revenge on Moby Dick a ferocious white whale which had destroyed Ahabs ship and severed his leg at the knee. Herman Melville was an American writer of novels short stories and poetry. Melville was a schoolteacher for a short time and a seaman. On his first voyage he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. His first book Typee was an account of that time and became a bestseller and Melville became known as the man who lived among the cannibals. Public indifference to Moby-Dick put an end to his career as a popular author. It was not until the Melville Revival in the early 20th century that his work won recognition.