The facts (which take up about 1/3 of the text, the remaining 2/3 of the book is more of an encyclopedia of the American whaling industry) concern an obsession by one Captain Ahab to hunt and kill an albino whale named Moby-Dick, in revenge for the whale's prior attack on Ahab leaving him with only one leg. The novel 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 facts (which take up about 1/3 of the text, the remaining 2/3 of the book is more of an encyclopedia of the American whaling industry) concern an obsession by one Captain Ahab to hunt and kill an albino whale named Moby-Dick, in revenge for the whale's prior attack on Ahab leaving him with only one leg. The novel 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. |