Moby-Dick; or; The Whale (1851) is a novel by Herman Melville; in which Ishmael narrates the monomaniacal quest of Ahab; captain of the whaler Pequod; for revenge on the albino sperm whale Moby Dick; which on a previous voyage destroyed Ahabs ship and severed his leg at the knee. A commercial failure and out of print at the time of the authors death in 1891; its reputation grew immensely during the twentieth century. According to D.H. Lawrence; it is "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world;" and "the greatest book of the sea ever written."Dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne; "in token of my admiration for his genius;" Moby-Dick is considered a Great American Novel and an outstanding work of the Romantic Period in America; a period also known as the American Renaissance. "Call me Ishmael;" is one of world literatures most famous opening sentences.The product of a year and a half of writing; the book draws on Melvilles own whaling experience; on his reading in whaling literature; and on literary inspirations such as Shakespeare and the Bible. The detailed and realistic descriptions of whale hunting and the process of extracting whale oil; as well as life aboard ship among a culturally diverse crew; are mixed with exploration of class and social status; good and evil; and the existence of God. In addition to narrative prose; Melville uses a wide range of styles and literary devices ranging from songs; poetry and catalogs to Shakespearean stage directions; soliloquies; and asides.The author changed the title at the very last moment in September 1851; and so the work first appeared as The Whale in London in October 1851; and then under its definitive title Moby-Dick in New York in November. The British edition of five hundred copies was not reprinted during the authors life; the American of almost three thousand was reprinted three times at approximately 250 copies; the last reprinting in 1871. These figures are exaggerated because three hundred copies were destroyed in a fire at Harpers; only 3;200 copies were actually sold during the authors life.
#1074779 in eBooks 2014-10-06 2014-10-06File Name: B00O846QF2
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1 of 6 people found the following review helpful. goodBy sunnysunpaper is in high quality. brand new.a lot of essays contained required by class. easy to readMy first review
