Herman Melville's Moby Dick: A Casebook

by Andrew Delbanco (Editor)

Moby-Dick is an 1851 novel by Herman Melville. It describes the ill-fated voyage of the whaling ship Pequod to find and destroy the eponymous white whale, driven by the obsessive Captain Ahab. The language is highly symbolic and many themes run throughout the work. The narrator's reflections, along with complex descriptions of the grueling work of whaling and personalities of his shipmates, are woven into a profound meditation on hubris, providence, nature, society, and the human struggle for meaning, happiness and salvation. Moby-Dick is often considered the epitome of American Romanticism. Typee is Herman Melville's first novel, based on his actual experiences after having jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Extremely popular at the time of its initial publication, it provoked disbelief among its readers until the events it described were corroborated by Melville's fellow castaway, Richard T. Greene

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006

About the author

Andrew H. Delbanco (born 1952) is Director of American Studies at Columbia University and has been Columbia's Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities since 1995. He writes extensively on American literary and religious history.