Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an American maritime adventure novel published by Herman Melville in 1851. The novel follows the protagonist, Ishmael, on board the whaling ship Pequod as its mentally unstable captain Ahab brings them on a doomed voyage in search of his nemesis, an albino sperm whale dubbed Moby Dick. This book is considered a quintessential classic American novel, and has been widely referenced by subsequent literature and media for generations. It is partly based on the real-life whaleship Essex, which was sunk by its intended victim, a large bull sperm whale, in the Pacific Ocean in November of 1820.
