Captain Ahab is obsessed with the desire to find and kill Moby Dick, the whale that cost him a leg years ago, and he is on the hunt for it aboard the ship Pequod. The epic is narrated by the sailor Ishmael, who shares a deep friendship with the harpooner from a Pacific island. This work, a staple of American literature, masterfully explores themes such as good and evil, revenge, superstition, courage, and madness. Dossier: A short history of whaling.