G. Melville, "Moby Dick, or White Whale": a summary. "Moby Dick" - a novel based on real events

Today we will consider the most famous of the American writer Herman Melville, or rather his brief content. "Moby Dick, or White Whale" - a novel based on real events. It was written in 19651.

About the book

"Moby Dick, or White Whale" (a brief summary below) was the main product of G. Melville, a representative of American Romanticism. This novel abounds in numerous lyrical discourses, has references to biblical subjects, is full of symbols. Perhaps, that is why it was not accepted by contemporaries. Neither the critics nor the readers understood the depth of the work. Only in the 1920s the novel was re-discovered, giving due credit to the author's talent.

History of creation

The plot of the novel was based on real events, which can be confirmed by a brief retelling. Herman Melville ("Moby Dick" became the pinnacle of his work) took as a basis for the work a case that happened with the ship "Essex". This ship went fishing in 1819 in Massachusetts. For a year and a half the crew was engaged in whaling, until one day the great sperm whale put an end to it. November 20, 1820 the ship was defaced by a whale several times.

After the shipwreck, 20 sailors survived, who managed to reach the island of Henderson on boats, which was uninhabited in those years. After a while, some of the survivors went to seek the mainland, the rest remained on the island. Travelers for 95 days wandered into the sea. Only two survived: the captain and another sailor. They were picked up by a whaling ship. They told about what happened to them.

In addition, Melvin's personal experience, which went on a whaling ship for a year and a half, also fell on the pages of the novel. Many of his then acquaintances turned out to be heroes of the novel. So, one of the co-owners of the ship appears in the work under the name of Bildad.

Summary: "Moby Dick, or White Whale" (Melville)

The main character is the young man Ishmael. He is experiencing strong financial problems, and life on land gradually starts to bore him. Therefore, he decides to go to a whaler, where you can make good money, and really get bored in the sea at all.

Nantucket is the oldest American port city. However, by the beginning of the 19th century, it had ceased to be the largest fishing center, it was pressed by younger ones. However, it is important for Ishmael to hire a ship here.

On the way to Nantucket, Izmail stops in another port town. Here you can meet on the streets of savages, who pestered to sea vessels on some unknown island. Buffet racks are made of huge whale jaws. And the preachers in the churches climb the rope ladder to the pulpit.

In the hotel, a young man gets acquainted with Quiquega, the harpoon-natives. Very quickly they become good friends, so they decide to enter the ship together.

Pecod

Still only at the very beginning is our summary. "Moby Dick, or White Whale" is a novel, the outset of which takes place in the port city of Nantucket, where Izmail and his new friend are hired by the Pecod ship. The whaler is preparing for a round-the-world voyage, which will last 3 years.

Izmail gets the story of the captain of the ship. Ahab in the previous voyage, having entered the fight with the whale, lost his leg. After this event, he became melancholy and morose and spends most of his time in his cabin. And on the way from the voyage, as the sailors say, even was out of his mind for a while.

However, this and some other strange events related to the ship, Izmail did not attach particular importance. Having met a suspicious stranger on the dock, who predicted the death of "Pekoda" and his entire team, the young man decided that it was just a beggar and a rascal. And the obscure dark figures, who had risen on board the ship at night, and then seemed to have dissolved on it, he considered simply the fruit of their fantasies.

Captain

Oddities associated with the captain and his ship, confirms and a summary. "Moby Dick" continues with the fact that Ahab left his cabin only a few days after the start of the voyage. Ishmael saw him and was amazed at the gloominess of the captain and the stamp of incredible inner pain on his face.

Especially for the one-legged captain to be able to keep his balance during a strong pitching, small holes were cut in the deck boards into which he placed his artificial leg made from the jaws of the sperm whale.

The captain orders the sailors to look out for the white whale. Ahab does not communicate with anyone, he is closed and demands from the team only unquestioning obedience and instant execution of his orders. Many of these teams cause the subordinates to be perplexed, but the captain refuses to explain anything. Izmail understands that in the gloomy reverie of the captain there is some dark mystery.

First time in the sea

"Moby Dick" is a book, the brief content of which tells about the feelings experienced by a person who first went to sea. Ishmael closely watches life on a whaling ship. Melville devotes a lot of space to this description on the pages of his choice. Here you can find descriptions of all kinds of auxiliary tools, and rules, and basic methods of hunting for whales, and the methods that are extracted from fish spermaceti - a substance consisting of animal fat.

There are chapters in the novel that are devoted to a variety of books about whales, surveys of the structures of whale tails, fountains, skeletons. There are even references to the made statuettes of sperm whales from stone, bronze and other materials. Throughout the novel, the author inserts information of a different nature about these extraordinary mammals.

The Gold Doubloon

Our brief summary continues. "Moby Dick" is a novel that is interesting not only for its reference materials and information about whales, but also for a fascinating plot. So, somehow Ahab collects the whole team of "Pecoda", who sees a gold medal knocked to the mast. The captain reports that the coin will be given to the one who first sees the approach of the white whale. This albino sperm whale is known among whalers as Moby Dick. He brings terror to the sailors with his ferocity, enormous size and unprecedented cunning. His skin is covered with scars from harpoons, as he often came into conflict with people, but invariably emerged from it as a winner. This incredible rebuff, which usually ended with the loss of the ship and crew, trained whalers to make no attempt to catch it.

About the terrible meeting of Ahab and Moby Dick tells a summary of the chapters. Mr. Melville describes how the captain lost his leg when, being among the wreckage of the ship, he rushed furiously at the sperm whale with one knife in his hand. After this story, the captain reports that he is going to pursue a white whale until his carcass is on the ship.

Hearing this, Starbeck, the first mate, protests to the captain. He says it is unreasonable to take revenge on a creature deprived of its reason for the actions that it did, obeying a blind instinct. Moreover, there is blasphemy in this. But the captain, and then the whole team, starts to see the embodiment of the universal evil in the form of a white whale. They send curses to the sperm whale and drink for his death. Only one young man, Negro, Pip, prays to God, asking for protection from these people.

The pursuit

The summary of the work "Moby Dick, or White Whale" tells how Pecod first met sperm whales. On the water begin to lower boats, and at that moment there are those most mysterious dark ghosts - Ahab's personal team, recruited from South Asians. Until this moment, Ahab hid them from all, holding him in the hold. Supports unusual sailors of the elderly malevolent man named Fedalla.

Despite the fact that the captain pursues only Moby Dick, he can not completely give up hunting for other whales. Therefore, the vessel tirelessly leads the hunt, and the barrels with spermaceti are filled. When Pecod meets with other vessels, the captain first asks if the sailors saw a white whale. Most often in response, you hear a story about how Moby Dick killed or crippled someone from the team.

There are also new ominous prophecies: a distraught sailor from an epidemic-infected ship warns the crew against the fate of the sacrilegious who ventured into battle with the incarnation of God's wrath.

Once the fate brings the "Pecod" to another ship, whose captain mewed Moby Dick, but as a result was seriously wounded and lost his hand. Ahab speaks to this man. It turns out that he does not think to take revenge on the whale. However, he reports the coordinates where the ship collided with the sperm whale.

Starbek again tries to warn the captain, but all in vain. Ahab orders to forge the harpoon from the hardest steel that is on the ship. And for the hardening of a formidable weapon is the blood of three harpooners.

Prophecy

More and more for the captain and his team becomes a symbol of evil Moby Dick (Moby Dick). The brief description focuses on the events taking place with Quique, Ishmael's friend. The harpooner gets sick from the hard work in the damp and feels a quick death. He asks Ishmael to make for him a funeral canoe on which his body would slip on the waves. When Quiquet is on the mend, the canoe is decided to be converted into a rescue buoy.

At night, Fedalla tells the captain a terrible prophecy. Before he dies, Ahab will see two hearse: one - made by an inhuman hand, the second - from American wood. Only the hemp can inflict death on the captain. But before that, Fedal himself will have to die. Ahab does not believe - he is too old to be on the gallows.

Approximation

More and more signs that the ship is approaching the place where Moby Dick lives. A summary of the chapters describes a ferocious storm. Starbeck is convinced that the captain will lead the ship to destruction, but does not dare to kill Ahab, trusting fate.

In the storm the ship meets another vessel - Rachel. His captain reports that he pursued Moby Dick the day before, and asks Ahab to help in search of his 12-year-old son, who was carried along with the whaleboat. However, the captain of "Pecoda" refuses.

At last in the distance a white hump is seen. Three days the ship pursues a whale. And here "Pecod" overtakes him. However, Moby Dick immediately attacks and snacks in two in the captain's whaleboat. With great difficulty, he manages to save. The captain is ready to continue hunting, but the whale is already sailing away from them.

Toward morning the sperm whale is overtaken again. Moby Dick breaks two more whaleboats. Drowning sailors are taken aboard, it turns out that Fedalla was gone. Ahab begins to fear, he remembers the prophecy, but can not abandon persecution.

The third day

He beckons Captain Moby Dick behind him. The summary of all the chapters draws pictures of gloomy portents, but Ahab is obsessed with his desire. The whale again destroys a few whaleboats and tries to leave, but Ahab on a single boat continues to pursue him. Then the sperm whale turns around and rams the "Pecod". The ship begins to sink. Ahab throws the last harpoon, the wounded whale sharply goes to the depths and carries away the captain, entangled in the hemp rope. The ship draws into the funnel, and the last whaleboat, where Ishmael is located, also pulls into it.

Decoupling

Only Ishmael leaves the entire crew of the ship Melville alive. Moby Dick (a summary of this confirms), the wounded, but alive leaves in the depths of the ocean.

The protagonist miraculously manages to survive. The only thing that survived from the ship - the failed and tarred coffin of his friend. It is on this structure that the hero spends the day in the open sea, until it is found by sailors from the ship "Rachel". The captain of this ship still hoped to find his lost child.