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Melville and "Moby Dick", 2002.
A selective list of periodicals where critical studies of "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville appear.
1,040 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 32 sources, MLA, £ 25.95
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Abstract
As one of the most popular and criticized books of the past, we can find many books and hundreds of articles on Melville and Moby Dick. Written in 1851, "Moby-Dick'' tells the story of whaling and of the hunt for Moby-Dick, a fierce white whale known to the sailors of Melville's time. This paper provides a highly selective list of biographical and critical studies where articles on "Moby Dick" appear, and a summary of each article.
From the Paper
"Michael V Adams in his article "Whaling and Difference: Moby-Dick Deconstructed" published in the New Orleans Review (1983) analyzes the myth of Moby Dick. He presents the allure of the whale and what makes it so fascinating to the Captain's like Ahab. He covers the basic myth through a study of the society and times and suggests how the whale came to dominate Ahab. By demystifying Moby, Adams creates a more inherent understanding of Ahab and allows the reader to perceive the whole event in a more human manner and thus, more acceptable."
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Moby Dick and Julius Caesar, 2008.
A discussion on the main players in "Moby Dick" by Herman Mellville and "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare.
874 words (approx. 3.5 pages), 2 sources, MLA, £ 21.95
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Abstract
This paper compares the similarities of two literary characters. More specifically, the paper compares and contrasts the character of Ahab from Herman Mellville's "Moby Dick" with the character of Julius Caesar from Shakespeare's famous story of the same name. The paper concludes that like "Moby Dick", "Julius Caesar" is a historical incident which Shakespeare puts meaning into in retrospect, imbuing the characters with traits which we admire or hate and placing around them others who seemingly act only in accordance with fate.
Outline:
Ways in which Ahab and Julius are similar
Ways in which Ahab and Julius Caesar are different
From the Paper
"Caesar is hard to like. Ahab is also hard to like, but he appears more sympathetic as he is so dogged in his quest of the white whale. Ahab is shown to be a brooding and dark character that we sometimes see in literature, ambiguously evil, yet we sympathize with his madness. He sacrifices everything, including his life and his crew to capture Moby Dick, whom he has sought for so long: "Now it was that there lurked a something in the old man's eyes, which it was hardly sufferable for feeble souls to see. As the unsetting polar star, which through the livelong, arctic, six months' night sustains its piercing, steady, central gaze; so Ahab's purpose now fixedly gleamed down upon the constant midnight of the gloomy crew." (Melville, Chapter 130).
"The book Moby Dick is about a quest and a challenge to the universe in which Ahab lives. He will fight it to the death because he believes he can conquer it. He does not know that no matter how big he may be, it is bigger than he, but he will die in the attempt. "He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it." (Melville, Chapter 135). Like Moby Dick, Julius Caesar is a historical incident which Shakespeare puts meaning into in retrospect, imbuing the characters with traits which we admire or hate and placing around them others who seemingly act only in accordance with fate."
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"Moby Dick", 2007.
A review, with the author's personal reflections, of the book "Moby Dick," written by Herman Melville.
1,809 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 1 source, MLA, £ 40.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the book "Moby Dick," written by Herman Melville. The paper discusses the many references to the Bible and the Christian perspective that can be found in the book. It then describes the author's own ideas and personal relationship to God, as well as his perspective and reactions as he read the book "Moby Dick."
From the Paper
"My grandfather used to do construction work on tall buildings. Sometimes, he would be ten or twelve or fifteen floors up, walking across two-by-fours and narrow planks stretched across like bridges. A fall to the bottom could kill him. Somebody afraid of height couldn't do it. But somebody with no fear at all was no good either. He said, "You wanted to work with a calm person when you were up there--somebody steady with good sense--who wouldn't do anything sudden-like. You didn't want to be with somebody who might forget where they were and do something stupid." The ideal partner in a dangerous situation is what Melville calls "careful.""
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Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", 2002.
This paper discusses the role of various characters in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick".
1,845 words (approx. 7.4 pages), 1 source, MLA, £ 41.95
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Abstract
The paper states that "Moby Dick" tells a story of obsession, with the object of Ahab's obsession being Moby Dick, the White Whale who cut of Ahab's leg. The paper discusses that the central character in the story is Ishmael who is curious about the White Whale. The author believes that Pequod is symbolic of human life adrift on the dangerous sea, and the White Whale is the unnatural symbol of death that seeks out the ship and destroys it.
From the Paper
"The different members of the crew each have their own personal journey where the physical and the spiritual meet, and this multiplicity of reasons reflects the dominant idea that each action in this world can have many causes and many consequences. For Ishmael, the telling of the story is announced in the first line, "Call me Ishmael" (29). For Ahab, the entire journey is directed to one goal--to find Moby Dick. Stubb tells him that as long as they are making this trip, they should capture other whales and fill the casks as they would do on a "normal" voyage. Ishmael is also on a spiritual journey: he is perhaps the most aware individual on the ship. His specific purpose in going to sea is to learn about life and to achieve a closer connection with the natural world and the world of man both, though at first he speaks as if his journey is only a way to break the routine:"
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An Analysis of "Moby Dick", 2007.
This paper analyzes various symbols in Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick."
1,201 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, £ 28.95
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Abstract
This paper approaches the novel "Moby Dick" from several vantage points. It analyzes Ahab's pursuit of Moby Dick from a religious and psychological perspective. The author also explores the other crew members' impression of whales and what they represent. The whales are given a pseudo-humanity and so reflect the same range of good and bad as do human beings.
From the Paper
"Allegory is a strong element in Melville's Moby Dick, the primary allegory being the battle of good against evil on the sea of life. Melville develops conceptions of good and evil and imbeds them as allegory in the events of the novel. At the same time, this theme is developed with images of entrapment and enclosure representing the plight of man in the universe as well as the specific plight of the crew of the Pequod. In Moby Dick, the physical journey that takes place in search of whales becomes a spiritual journey on the part of Captain Ahab as he searches for the white whale, which represents his own inner turmoil. He and every member of his crew are entrapped on the Pequod, surrounded by the dangers of the sea, but each man is also surrounded by spiritual dangers which and the constant threat of death."
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Evolution's Influence on "Moby-Dick" and "Clarel", 2006.
A look at the impact of Darwin's theory of evolution on elements in Herman Melville's novel, "Moby-Dick" and his poem "Clarel".
1,820 words (approx. 7.3 pages), 4 sources, MLA, £ 40.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how Herman Melville struggled to reconcile the implications of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution with his Protestant beliefs. This paper traces the rise of pre-Darwinian and Darwinian evolutionary ideas and their impact on the characters in "Moby-Dick", specifically Ahab, who sees his crew in evolutionary terms and his struggle with the white whale as survival of the fittest. The theme is explored further through an examination of the poem, Clarel, in which Melville conducts a theological debate with himself through the characters. Some of Melville's biographical information is included to reinforce the thesis.
From the Paper
"The nineteenth century proved to be a time of great upheaval and change in both religion and science. Even before the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species in 1859, advancements in the fields of biology and geology had begun to demonstrate that life on Earth had not always been as it is today and that the biblical account of creation could no longer be held as a literal truth. This conclusion led many to question man's role in the universe and his previously assumed superiority over the world. Furthermore, these findings brought into question the nature of God and the very existence of God itself."
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Blasphemy in "Moby Dick", 2006.
A review of Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick", focusing primarily on Captain Ahab's blasphemies.
1,043 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 0 sources, MLA, £ 25.95
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Abstract
This literary essay details Herman Melville's use of blasphemy and blasphemous images in the novel "Moby Dick". The paper further discusses how it leads to Ahab's eventual downfall.
From the Paper
"Many struggle to ever find religion in their life or understand its meaning and purpose on a personal level. In a time of crisis for those spiritual ones that do find religion, faith in a higher power can be questioned, leaving a person lost in existential deliberations or possibly cursing the heavens in anger. This topic of religious abandonment and the consequential sacrilegious actions that may follow has been explored in several works of literature. In Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick, Captain Ahab's blasphemies, which include his extreme vengeance for Moby Dick, his relationship with the dark Fedallah, and his numerous impious actions toward God, result in his ultimate downfall."
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"Moby Dick" and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", 2002.
A comparison of the novels "Moby Dick" and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".
1,854 words (approx. 7.4 pages), 2 sources, APA, £ 41.95
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Abstract
A discussion of the similarities and differences between Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick'. It compares the stories' content and characters as well as their literary properties. It discusses the similarity between the main themes as well as the narrator's significance. It includes several excerpts form both books and analyzes them. Finally, it concludes that Coleridge and Melville seem to be delivering the same message. They urge us, as humans to accept the mysteries of the universe, however harsh we find them, or we will end up destroying ourselves.
From the Paper
"'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and 'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville are rich in thematic parallels. Both works are highly symbolic and are centered on the sea, which can be equated with the sea of life. Both stories are dramatic, fantastic, exciting and full of supernatural portent. Symbolism seen through nature is a major theme in both as the Mariner and Ahab share monomanical obsessions with albatross and whale. Both works are narrated by the only soul to survive the experience and both narrators, Ishmael and the Mariner with his ?glittering eye?( Coleridge l. 13) can be imagined to be similar strange figures who might corner a listener to tell the tale which haunts him. Both Ishmael whose liferaft is a coffin and the Mariner, whose skeleton ship disintegrates are ghostly reminders of their creators advice about dealing with life?s mysteries."
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Herman Melville?s ?Moby Dick?, 2004.
This paper discusses Captain Ahab as a romantic hero in Herman Melville?s ?Moby Dick?.
960 words (approx. 3.8 pages), 2 sources, MLA, £ 23.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that one of the ways that Melville's establishes Ahab's superiority is by naming his protagonist after a biblical king, Ahab. The author points out that Captain Ahab is the perfect example of a romantic hero because he pursues the whale that in a previous voyage had caused him to lose a leg with a murderous obsession, but he wants only information about the whereabouts of Moby Dick. The paper states that, in Ahab, the reader can see exceptional courage, endurance, strength of purpose, and admirable heroic willpower; but at the same time, he is a destructive madman who has substituted egotism and self-love for the humility and self-abnegation of a true believer.
From the Paper
"Ahab is preeminently fearless, a deep diver, a water-gazer, and a philosophical man given, to symbolic hermeneutics. The shearing off of his leg has brought home to him the problem of evil in the world, has in fact deranged him. For him Moby Dick could be merely a beast, but the creature seems to be much more than that; he may indeed be an agent of a malign power in the universe, the principle of evil itself. Captain Ahab is the dark brooding captain of the Pequod. He is portrayed as a brilliant, creative, sensitive as well as competent captain, yet the dark side of Ahab emerges in his obsession of the white whale, Moby Dick. In his mad pursuit, he does not consider anything or anybody (including his crewmembers) else important."
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Foreshadowing in "Moby Dick", 2005.
A look at the application of the literary style of foreshadow in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick".
1,234 words (approx. 4.9 pages), 1 source, MLA, £ 29.95
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Abstract
Explains how, in Melville's masterpiece of American literature, there are many events and situations related to the plot and the characters that signal things to come, meaning that these events and situations represent foreshadowing devices. It discusses how it is nearly impossible not to notice these devices in the novel and it is clear that without them Moby Dick would not be nearly as effective and thrilling.
From the Paper
"The novel begins with Ishmael, the main protagonist and narrator, on the streets of Manhattan. Ishmael, a young man from New York, has decided to seek his fortune and adventures on a whaling ship, for he is drawn by "the overwhelming idea of the great whale himself. Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity". With this statement, the reader is given a hint of what is to come in the life of Ishmael. He then says "there floated in my inmost soul, endless processions of the whale. . . one grand hooded phantom, like a snow hill in the air". This is one of the first foreshadowing devices in the novel, for it symbolizes Moby Dick himself, the great "White Whale" that toward the end of the novel rises from the sea like a "snow hill" and comes down hard to kill all those aboard the Pequod except for Ishmael."
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Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", 1971.
This paper discusses Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" on its literal level and on its allegorical abstract level by focusing on the function of imagery.
4,725 words (approx. 18.9 pages), 18 sources, £ 93.95
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From the Paper
"A great deal of Herman Melville's passion was in "Moby Dick" while he wrote the book. In December, 1850, he wrote to his friend Duycknick: "I have a sort of sea.feeling. My room seems a ship's cabin; and at nights when I wake up and hear the wind shrieking, I almost fancy there is too much sail on the house, and I had better go up on the roof and rig in the chimney."
That a great deal of Ahab's passion was also in Melville while he created "Moby Dick " is indicated by the statement made by Melville to Hawthorne that he had written an evil book, a book that was baptized, like Ahab's harpoon, in the name of the Devil, although Melville conversely came away from the task feeling, he said, as innocent as a lamb.
The imagery of constraint, frustration, and the obscure mystery of frustration is so pervasive in Moby Dick that one is ... "
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Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "The Possessed" and Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", 1994.
This paper examines the problem of individual freedom as represented in two novels, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "The Possessed" and Herman Melville's "Moby Dick": Main characters are doomed and controlled by irrational urges beyond their control.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 2 sources, £ 32.95
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From the Paper
"This study will examine the problem of individual freedom as it is represented in two novels, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "The Possessed" and Herman Melville's "Moby Dick". The study will argue that both authors are portraying human beings as creatures controlled by urges and impulses beyond their control. In this context, the books are arguments against individual freedom, at least in the specific cases illustrated in the two novels.
Melville paints the picture of an obsessed man driven to revenge against the whale who took his leg. Dostoyevsky paints the picture of many obsessed men who try to change a country but who in the process lose themselves.
The lesson which Ahab refuses to learn is the lesson that he is not God, that his only real freedom is surrendering to God that drive to vengeance so that he can remain a sane human being."
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?Moby Dick?, 2002.
Examines the strong element of allegory in Herman Melville's novel.
2,363 words (approx. 9.5 pages), 5 sources, MLA, £ 50.95
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Abstract
Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" is a novel constructed as an allegory, with different representations of entrapment and imprisonment delineating man's place in the universe. The paper shows that these also have a spiritual element as the Pequod represents all mankind adrift on God's sea, beset by dangers on all sides and constantly tested for spiritual strength. The paper describes how images of death are also found throughout the book, foreshadowing the death of the ship and all its crew except the outcast, Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale by holding onto a floating coffin. Ishmael is free as he holds onto the ultimate prison, the prison that holds the dead.
Outline
Introduction
Allegory and Moby Dick
Images of Entrapment and Enclosure
C. The Pequod as an Enclosure for the Crew
II. The Novel
A. Motivations for Different Crew Members
1. Ishmael
2. Ahab
3. Stubb and Starbuck
B. Symbolism
1. The Pequod
2. The Sea
3. The Crew
4. Symbolic Chapters
C. Relationship Between the Pequod and the Whale
D. Imagery of the Whaleman's Chapel
E. Theme of Isolation
F. Death and Entrapment Intertwined
1. The Ship
2. Ahab
3. Queequeg
III. Conclusion
From the Paper
"Melville makes much use of symbols in Moby Dick, and many objects stand as symbols of other entities. The Pequod is one of the main symbols, and the ship becomes a symbol of the world, self-contained and moving across the sea. The crew represents all of humanity. The voyage itself has symbolic meaning, as a representation of the journey from birth to death. Queequeg's coffin becomes a symbol of death and then ends up as a symbol of life with Ishmael clinging to it after the Pequod goes down. In different chapters there are symbols that are explored at length, such as Chapter 60, "The Line," in which a rope attached to a harpoon represents all the things that bind people, tie them down, and pull them through life."
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Universal Truth in ?Moby Dick? and ?Dark Tower?, 2006.
Examines the theme of universal truth in these works by Herman Melville and Stephen King.
1,756 words (approx. 7.0 pages), 6 sources, MLA, £ 39.95
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Abstract
Stripped of all minor details and subplots, both "Moby Dick" and the "Dark Tower" are tales of the on-going search for universal understanding. The main ideas and symbols of both books represent man's gradual increase in understanding. They tell of desire, which was turned into obsession and even madness. The paper shows how Roland in "The Dark Tower" and Captain Ahab of "Moby Dick" are both on a quest for truth. Also, both are damned because of their quests. Both protagonists bring along with them, unwillingly, captives of their madness. The paper shows that these two books are very similar in other details as well. These works by Herman Melville and Stephen King are very similar in many ways including the main protagonists, their quests, those who accompany them, and the means by which they try to attain their ultimate goal.
From the Paper
"Neither Ahab nor Roland is alone in their quests. The Pequod's crew is originally ignorant of Ahab's true intent when they leave shore. They become unwilling partners in Ahab's madness (Melville 247). After killing the Man in Black, Roland must "draw" three people from our world to join him. These three, a heroin addict named Eddie, a crippled young black woman named Susannah, and a serial killer, Jack Mort, are not drawn of their own free will. They are even called, at times, just another notch along Roland's path. Mort, the murderer, is killed and later replaced by a young boy named Jake (King, Waste: Argument 3). By no choice of their own, they join the gunslinger and "...for the first time in untold years, Roland of Gilead is no longer alone in his quest for the Dark Tower" (King, Waste: Argument 4)."
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