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Moby- Dick

Moby- Dick. By Herman Melville. “Call me Ishmael” - Moby Dick; or, The Whale.

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Moby- Dick

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  1. Moby- Dick By Herman Melville

  2. “Call me Ishmael”-Moby Dick; or, The Whale Furious waves crash over the side of the small boat you’re rowing in. The harsh wind from the sea pelts your face, but you’re more concerned with the sharks circling around your boat. Suddenly, something enormous and white shoots from the sea, and your heart almost stops. In front of you is the largest and most terrifying creature you’ve ever seen. The sailor next to you mutters an oath and says in a low voice, “It’s her. It’s Moby Dick.”

  3. Moby Dick; or, The Whale In Moby Dick, Herman Melville uses destiny to twist lives of his characters in a way they don’t expect. This theme can be seen in an unlikely friendship, the circumstances in which our narrator begins his journey, and the prophecy of Captain Ahab’s death.

  4. Herman Melville • Aug. 1st, 1819: Birth • 1839: Melville goes on his first sea voyage as a cabin boy • 1841-1844: Melville sails on Acushnet, stays on a Marquesas Islands, and then sails on USS United States, all of which provides inspiration. • 1846- late 1800’s: Most of Melville’s writing is done. • 1850: Melville moves to Massachusetts and meets Nathaniel Hawthorne. • 1851: Moby Dick is published. • Sept. 28th, 1891: Death

  5. The Story • “Ishmael”, a sailor, travels to Nantucket. • “Ishmael” meets Queequeg, a harpooneer, and the two find work on the Pequod, a whaling boat. • Captain Ahab is introduced, and the crew learns that they are hunting Moby Dick. • Captain Ahab’s prophecy is revealed, misleading Ahab. • Starbuck (the 1st mate) tries to keep everyone alive. • The Pequod spots Moby Dick and begins the chase.

  6. Characters • Ishmael • Queequeg • Captain Ahab

  7. Ishmael • Narrator • First time on a whaling boat • Only survivor at the end

  8. Queequeg • Cannibal Prince • Very well mannered • Always sticks to his morals • Excellent Harpooneer • Becomes a friend of Ishmael

  9. Ishmael and Queequeg’s friendship • Afraid of each other when they first meet (insert story) • Both seem very different from one another • Educated American • Cannibalistic Prince • Both become friends, and end up sailing together on the Pequod.

  10. Friends? • “Had not the stranger stood between me and the door, I would have bolted out of it quicker than ever I bolted a dinner.” –Ishmael upon seeing Queequeg (Melville 24) • “You no speak-e, I kill-e.” -Queequeg upon seeing Ishmael in his bed (Melville 26) • “and said that henceforth we were married; meaning, in his country’s phrase, that we were bosom friends; he would gladly die for me, if need should be.” -Ishmael talking about his new friendship with Queequeg (Melville 56)

  11. Choosing the Pequod • Makes more sense for Queequeg to choose a boat, since he’s been a whaler • Insists that Ishmael must choose (according to Yojo) • Seems like a supernatural force is guiding them • Shouldn’t there be a happy ending then?

  12. Yojo • “Yojo earnestly enjoined that the selection of the ship should rest wholly with me,…and.., had already pitched upon a vessel…and in that vessel I must immediately ship myself, for the present irrespective of Queequeg.” - Ishmael referring to his conversation with Queequeg about choosing a boat. (Melville 73)

  13. Captain Ahab • Lost his leg to Moby Dick • Maddened with need for revenge • Insane • “He’s a queer man, Captain Ahab- so some think- but a good one. Oh, thou’lt like him well enough; no fear, no fear. He’s a grand, ungodly, god-like man, Captain Ahab; doesn’t speak much; but, when he does speak, then you may well listen. Mark ye, be forewarned; Ahab’s above the common;” -Peleg to Ishmael (Moby Dick 85)

  14. Ahab’s Destiny? • Prophecy: • Fadallah’s death • Two coffins • Hemp can only kill him

  15. Destiny • Captain Ahab is misled by his death prediction, and thinks he cannot die at sea. “Drive, drive in your nails, oh ye waves! To their uttermost heads drive them in! ye but strike a thing without a lid; and no coffin and no hearse can be mine: - and hemp only can kill me! Ha! ha!” -Captain Ahab (Melville 607)

  16. Finis “A person often meets his destiny on the road he chose to avoid it.” -Jean de La Fontaine The characters of Moby Dick had their own destinies twisted in a way they did not expect. Examples of this can be seen in Queequeg and Ishmael’s friendship, the start of Ishmael’s journey on the Pequod, and Captain Ahab’s reaction to his prophecy.

  17. Credits • Music • Enya • Lord of the Rings • Memoirs of a Geisha • Pan’s Labyrinth • Pirates of the Caribbean • Saw • Yiruma • Excerpts: • Moby Dick; or, The Whale

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