The Characters and Plot There are numerous characters in Moby Dick, but only a few of them have any impact on the story. A common sailor named Ishmael is the narrator. The book, however, focuses on Captain Ahab, the one-legged commander of the whaling ship Pequod. Ahab has sworn to kill the gigantic whale Moby Dick, who took away his leg. Starbuck is the first mate of the Pequod. Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo are the …showed first 75 words of 1712 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1712 total…our environment. This different frame of reference makes it very difficult to appreciate the symbolism in this novel. The main focus of the novel, however, is on obsession and its destructiveness. One of the most important elements in a great literary work is universality. The main idea of the novel (destructive obsession) is universal, even though the symbolism is not. Moby Dick was clearly a great novel, although it was nothing like what I expected.