In 1851, Herman Melville published Moby-Dick, a novel about a whaling ship called the Pequod and the captain who leads it to destruction. The story is told by Ishmael, a young man who goes to sea partly for work and partly to escape the restlessness of life on land. He joins the Pequod in Nantucket, expecting a long voyage in search of whales whose oil can be sold upon their return.
The captain, Ahab, has something else in mind. On a previous voyage, a massive white sperm whale known as Moby Dick destroyed Ahab’s boat and sheared off his leg. In the novel, Ahab returns to the sea intending to find that particular whale and seek his revenge.
