Moby-Dick

Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville published in 1851, is considered one of the finest novels in the English language. The facts concern an obsession by one Captain Ahab to hunt and kill an albino whale named Moby-Dick. The meaning addresses the human struggle for meaning, happiness, and salvation. Historians view Moby-Dick as the epitome of American Romanticism. "Call me Ishmael" is the famous beginning of the book, and it cites other biblical figures and themes throughout its story.

The initial reviews of the novel were critical, and it was not until the 20th century that it received immense praise. Now, 155 years later, it is less popular among teachers. The shifting popularity of the novel may reflect the shifting views toward Christianity in American schools, as the novel's invocation of religion was perhaps too superficial for schools in the 1850s but too much for schools today.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville were contemporaries, and in 1850, they lived near each other in the Massachusetts Berkshires. They met for the first time for a hike up Monument Mountain, leading to a brief friendship, but later had a falling out. Hawthorne was an early admirer of Melville's writing. In one of his books, a story-teller talking to children in the Tanglewood area, tells them about all the distinguished literati living in the area, and says:

But, here in Lenox, I should find our most truthful novelist, who has made the scenery and life of Berkshire all her own. On the hither side of Pittsfield sits Herman Melville, shaping out the gigantic conception of his 'White Whale,' while the gigantic shape of Graylock[sic] looms upon him from his study-window.

Melville called his house in the Berkshires "Arrowhead." He lived there from 1850 to 1862. It has been preserved by the Berkshire Historical Society, which offers tours to visitors. The Society has managed to preserve not only the house, but the view of Mount Greylock from his study window. From this angle of view, the mountain resembles the profile of a sperm whale, and was one of the inspirations for his story.

The movie

A famous 1956 screen adaptation was directed by John Huston and starred Gregory Peck, with a skillful screenplay by Ray Bradbury. When it was released, New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther "devoutly recommended it as "one of the great motion pictures of our times." He said it was "composed like a symphony" and that "Space does not possibly permit us to cite all the things about this film that are brilliantly done or developed."