Moby Dick
Herman Melville
Contributed by Jerrold Mcmenamin
Chapter Summaries
Chapter Summaries Table
Chapter Summary
Etymology and Extracts
Etymology The novel Moby Dick starts with the etymological derivation of the word “whale”. The narrator first introduces the person who prepared t...
Chapters 1–9
Chapter 1: Loomings Moby Dick begins with the famous brief sentence, “Call me Ishmael.” Ishmael, who is a sailor by profession, describes a typica...
Chapter 10–21
Chapter 10: A Bosom Friend Ishmael starts admiring Queequeg’s serene comportment, he develops a great respect for his new friend, and notes that “...
Chapter 22–31
Chapter 22: Merry Christmas Pequod leaves Nantucket on a cold Christmas Day. Peleg and Bildad pilot the ship out of the port. Captain Ahab is still no...
Chapter 32–40
Chapter 32: Cetology “Cetology,” as Ishmael explains, "is the science of whales”. Ishmael attempts to classify whales scientifically in this and...
Chapter 41–47
Chapter 41: Moby Dick Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale. He is of the view that sperm whale attacks have increas...
Chapter 48–54
Chapter 48: The First Lowering As the crew launches the harpoon boats for the first time on the voyage, Ahab’s secret crew emerges from the hold and...
Chapter 55–65
Chapter 55: Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales Ishmael turns his attention to popular graphic depictions of whales. Men who have actually hunted whal...
Chapter 66–73
Chapter 66: The Shark Massacre The crew lashes the sperm whale they have caught to the side of the ship in daylight. But the men are forced to poke wi...
Chapter 74–81
Chapter 74: The Sperm Whale’s Head — Contrasted View The two whale heads hanging from the Pequod give Ishmael an opportunity to give a lesson on �...
Chapter 82–92
Chapter 82: The Honor and Glory of Whaling Ishmael turns his gaze to the heroic history of whaling. He draws from Greek mythology, popular British leg...
Chapter 93–101
Chapter 93: The Castaway Pip, the Pequod’s cabin boy, is replaced as an oarsman in Stubb’s harpoon boat. Having done passably in the first attempt...
Chapter 102–114
Chapter 102: A Bower in the Arsacides Ishmael tries to understand more about the whale by measuring its bones. In an effort to establish his credibili...
Chapter 115–125
Chapter 115: The Pequod meets the Bachelor Still on the lookout for Moby Dick, Pequod encounters the Bachelor, a festive Nantucket whaler, on its way ...
Chapter 126–132
Chapter 126: The Life Buoy As the Pequod nears the equatorial fishing ground, the sailors hear wailing mermaids or ghosts. The Manxman informs the sai...
Chapter 133-Epilogue
Chapter 133: The Chase—First Day Ahab can sense the presence of Moby Dick by the smell of a whale in the air. He climbs up to the main royal mast an...
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