Moby Dick, Melville 9780142000083 (Penguin anniversary edition) - Book Report/Review Example

His experiences also contributed to his whaling voyages on the ‘Acushnet and the writing the 139 chapters of the Moby Dick. The author has used the book to tell his experiences at sea, especially the ‘whaling voyage.’ The plot of the book has a setting time of the early 1800s where cruising and conquering the rough seas were the main activities. The storyline is based on a journey to the South Pacific. Herman has categorized the plot in various chapters in his book. The story is narrated in first and third person.

The plot begins with a narrator, Ishmael, who wants to board a sailing ship as a ‘whaler but not a ‘sailor (Melville 11). It would gain him more fame since he will have to overcome whale fears. He boards the Pequod and meets more characters that have been introduced in the story. The ships captain, Ahab, has had his leg lost to a whale that he refers to as the Moby Dick (Melville 144). He is seen a veteran because he uses false leg made from the teeth of a whale. Ahab is so interested in the Moby dick that he promises gold to the first crew to see the whale.

Despite numerous whale sighting in the southern tip of Africa, there were no successful hunts. The crew later makes whale hunts and process them for their oil will dangers of sinking the ship and loosing crewmembers. The Moby dick is later sighted and hunted for three days with no avail. Most of the team members are lost in the fight with the whale, including the ships captain. The narrator, Ishmael escapes and is helped by Rachel. The author has incorporated characters with various behaviors to portray different aspects of the story.

Personality diversity also helps in presenting the audience or reader with a variety of traits; hence eliminating boredom. Herman has started by introducing the protagonist, Ishmael, who has been used as a perfect entry for other characters. Ishmael acts as