Literature – 3º ESO

• 1819 born in New York• 1830 family bankrupt• 1832-3 family falls apart and Herman drops out of school • 1839 1st voyage at sea• 1841-1848 experiences at

sea and 37 books about them• 1851 Moby Dick• 1866-1886 Job in Custom

House; sons die• 1886 Inheritance• 1891 H.M. dies • 1920 H.M. rediscovered as an

author

Moby Dick or The Whale (1851)

Ishmael .- He survived the fight against Moby Dick. Captain Ahab .-He wanted to kill Moby Dick. Queequeg .-He was Ishmael’s good friend. Starbuck .- He opposed to Ahab’s quest for Moby

Dick and had the chance to kill Captain Ahab, but he didn’t.

Stubb .- He always laughed and told funny stories. Fedallah .-He was one of Captain Ahab’s men. He

could see the future, too. Captain Gardiner .-He was looking for his son.

Ishmael

narrator

mysterious

fascinated by

whales

intelligent

Moby Dick Moby Dick

The struggle against Moby Dick lasts THREE DAYS

On the first day, Ahab spies the whale himself, and the whaling boats row after it. Moby Dick attacks Ahab’s boat, causing it to sink, but Ahab survives the ordeal when he reaches Stubb’s boat.

Despite this first failed attempt at defeating the whale, Ahab pursues him for a second day. On the second day of the chase, roughly the same defeat occurs. This time Moby Dick breaks Ahab’s ivory leg, while Fedallah dies when he becomes entangled in the harpoon line and is drowned.

When Ahab and his crew reach Moby Dick, Ahab finally stabs the whale with his harpoon but the whale again tips Ahab’s boat. However, the whale rams the Pequod and causes it to begin sinking. In a seemingly suicidal act, Ahab throws his harpoon at Moby Dick but becomes entangled in the line and goes down with it.

• Only Ishmael survives this attack, for he was fortunate to be on a whaling boat instead of on the Pequod. Eventually he is rescued by the Rachel, the ship whose captain had asked Ahab to help find his missing son (Ahab refused when he learned that Moby Dick was nearby).

a. Ishmael decides to go to sea.b. Ishmael meets Queeqeg.c. A man named Elijah warns Ishmael against joining the crew

of the Pequod.d. Ishmael sees a group of mysterious men join the ship.e. The Pequod meets a ship (the Rachel) sailed by Captain

Gardiner that has lost a boat during the hunt for the white whale.

f. Ahab sees Moby Dick for the first time.g. The Pequod is struck by an electrical storm.h. Fedallah is pulled from his whaling boat by Moby Dick .i. Moby Dick attacks the Pequod.j. Queeqeg’s coffin floats to the surface of the sea.

MOBY DICK

THEMES

The limits of knowledge

The exploitative

nature of whaling

MOTIVES

Whiteness

Surfaces and Depths

SYMBOLS

Pequod

Moby Dick

Queequeg’s Coffin

a Ishmael ….. b Queequeg ….. c Captain Ahab ….. d Starbuck ….. e Stubb ….. f Fedallah ….. g Captain Gardiner …..

1) He wanted to kill Moby Dick. 2) He had the chance to kill

Captain Ahab, but he didn’t. 3) He was Ishmael’s good friend.

He could see the future. 4) He was one of Captain Ahab’s

men. He could see the future, too.

5) He always laughed and told funny stories.

6) He was looking for his son. 7) He survived the fight against

Moby Dick.

WORKSHEET

A) In your opinion, is Ahab crazy to be angry with an animal, as Starbuck suggests, or is it normal for him to want revenge for his lost leg? Could the crew have stopped him trying for revenge?

B) Like Queequeg, do you believe that we can choose whether or not to live or die ? Or, as Fedallah accepted his death, do we have to accept fate?

C) Were you surprised by the end of the story? Is it a believable ending that Ishmael managed to survive?

WORKSHEET