Moby-Dick
Ahab's white quarry
Moby-Dick is the title of Herman Melville's 1851 novel about Captain Ahab's obsessive pursuit of a white sperm whale.
The whale itself, also called Moby Dick, has become a symbol for any all-consuming obsession or unattainable goal that drives someone to self-destruction.
His quest for the perfect investment became his Moby-Dick.
The novel's opening line, "Call me Ishmael," ranks among the most recognized in American literature.
- IshmaelCast-out firstborn son
- PequodFictional whaling ship
- coffinBurial container for remains
- doubloonHistoric Spanish gold currency
Ahab · Queequeg · Starbuck · harpoon · whaling · Nantucket · American literature · 19th century
Giant toothed marine mammal
- harpoonBarbed spear for whales
- blubberMarine mammal fat
- breachingBreaking through something
- flukeChance stroke of luck
spout · Nantucket · scrimshaw · whale oil · ambergris · leviathan · cetacean · harpooner
Fictional whaling ship
- seaSaltwater body, not ocean
- oceanMassive saltwater body
- voyageJourney by sea
- sailingWind-propelled water travel
crew · captain · maritime · nautical · ship · sailor · mariner · navigation
Fixation on single idea
- vengeanceRetaliation for injury
- pursuitAct of chasing something
- fixationPersistent mental attachment
- white whaleConsuming, elusive pursuit
Ahab · madness · fate · doom · hubris · defiance · single-mindedness · relentless
Herman Melville
Ahab · Queequeg · Starbuck · doubloon · harpoon · whaling · Nantucket · American literature · 19th century · symbolism
sperm whale
Giant toothed marine mammal
fluke · spout · Nantucket · scrimshaw · whale oil · ambergris · leviathan · cetacean · harpooner · chase
Pequod
Fictional whaling ship
sailing · crew · captain · maritime · nautical · ship · sailor · mariner · navigation · horizon
monomania
Fixation on single idea
Ahab · white whale · madness · fate · doom · hubris · defiance · single-mindedness · relentless · fanaticism
fate
Predetermined course of events
- destinyPredetermined course of events
- natureInherent quality or disposition
- GodSupreme spiritual authority
evil · whiteness · inscrutability · free will · revenge · mortality · isolation · knowledge · power · chaos
- Classic BooksPride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby
- American ClassicsThe Scarlet Letter, Walden, Leaves of Grass, Little Women, Huck Finn
- American LiteratureThe Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Scarlet Letter, Grapes of Wrath, Invisible Man
- sea talespirate story, sea stories, sea story, mermaid tale, ghost ships
- 19th century literaturenovel, short story, realism, Victorian novel, Dickens
- Victorian ClassicsPride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist
Moby-Dickflash fiction
Ultra-short story genre
six-word story · microfiction · short story · haiku · novella
Moby-Dickbeach read
Light vacation novel
airport novel · easy read · pulp fiction · potboiler · dime novel
Moby-Dickblockbuster
Enormously successful entertainment property
runaway success · crowd-pleaser · The Da Vinci Code · Uncle Tom's Cabin · Gone with the Wind