IES MARÍA ZAMBRANO LEGANES Madrid Literature

IES ‘MARÍA ZAMBRANO’ – LEGANES (Madrid) Literature – 3º ESO Moby Dick by Herman Melville

HERMAN MELVILLE 1819 - 1891 • • • 1819 born in New York 1830 family bankrupt 1832 -3 family falls apart and Herman drops out of school 1839 1 st 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

Literary Production • Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life (1846) • Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas (1847) • Mardi: And a Voyage Thither (1849) • Redburn: His First Voyage (1849) • Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851) • Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852) • The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade (1857) • Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land (1876) (epic poem)

Moby Dick or The Whale (1851)

CHARACTERS 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.

CHARACTERS mad superstitious charismatic obsessed AHAB

narrator intelligent Ishmael fascinated by whales mysterious

Moby Dick Anxiety displacement Representati on of evil Allegoric al represen tation of God A profitable commodity Destruction of the environmen t

THE PLOT 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).

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN THE STORY a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. Ishmael decides to go to sea. Ishmael meets Queeqeg. A man named Elijah warns Ishmael against joining the crew of the Pequod. Ishmael sees a group of mysterious men join the ship. The Pequod meets a ship (the Rachel) sailed by Captain Gardiner that has lost a boat during the hunt for the white whale. Ahab sees Moby Dick for the first time. The Pequod is struck by an electrical storm. Fedallah is pulled from his whaling boat by Moby Dick attacks the Pequod. Queeqeg’s coffin floats to the surface of the sea.

MOBY DICK THEMES MOTIVES SYMBOLS The limits of knowledge Whiteness Pequod The exploitative nature of whaling Surfaces and Depths Moby Dick Queequeg’s Coffin

WORKSHEET MATCH THE NAMES WITH THE CORRECT CHARACTERS 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 MOBY DICK… IS KNOWN AS THE STORY ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL’S STRUGGLE AGAINST FATE OR AGAINST NATURE AND ABOUT THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, THE GREAT WHITE WHALE SYMBOLIZING EVIL. HOWEVER, AHAB’S DETERMINATION TO DESTROY THE WHALE CAN BE SEEN AS EVIL AND WICKED TOO. ” 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?