To the White Whale: May You Escape Your Hunter

Moby Dick

Moby Dick is written by Herman Melville and is about Captain Ahab's monomania in search of a very particular white whale, christened Moby Dick. If you read the unabridged version, you are educated on Melville's deep knowledge of whaling and whales in general. He describes in great detail why he thought whales were a fish, which is quite interesting. However, the unabridged version produces major ennui, so you're better off reading the abridged version.

The story is very well-written as far as subject matter. I thought the conclusion was incredibly anti-climactic, considering Ahab's bloodthirsty  revenge on this lone whale- that's if you read it at face value. 

Melville wrote this in 1851 at the very height of the Romantic period, and, also, during the heart of America's pioneer period.  Moby Dick is considered symbolic of the American dream. Ahab is the dreamer and the whale is the American dream that is unattainable. I think Moby Dick is more a symbol of the freedom that the American spirit represents. Ahab would be the influences that try to capture that spirit. The ending spoiled this book for me. I had attempted about three or four times to read it from start to finish, and did when I forced myself to finish it on the last try.

Some tidbits I've picked up from learning about whales on my own:

• Right whale: named because it was the right whale to hunt; most lived near the surface and were the easiest to catch. There were plenty to hunt, and provided the right amount of oil for whalers to plunder. 
• Dolphins and porpoises are small whales.
• Orcas: The largest dolphin in the world. Nothing hunts killer whales, so they're at the top of the oceanic food chain.
• When whales, porpoises, and dolphins jump out of the water, it's called porpoising.

Narhwal

• Nobody knows why narwhals have the long tusk. Males, alone, have it. Scientists don't know if it's used for mating or not.