Moby Dick

Character Guide

Spoiler-free — fuller detail (with spoilers, if you want them) lives in the reader's Guide tab.

Ishmael

The novel's narrator, a restless young sailor who signs aboard the whaling ship Pequod seeking adventure and to 'see the world.'

Queequeg

A tattooed harpooneer and former prince from a South Pacific island, who becomes Ishmael's close friend and shipmate.

Captain Ahab

The Pequod's brooding, one-legged captain, who reveals to the crew his secret purpose: to hunt down the white whale that maimed him.

Starbuck

The Pequod's sober, devout chief mate, who questions the wisdom and morality of Ahab's obsessive quest.

Stubb

The ship's second mate, easygoing and quick with a joke, who takes life and danger with cheerful indifference.

Flask (King-Post)

The short, pugnacious third mate, eager and fearless in the hunt despite his small stature.

Tashtego

A Gay Head Native American harpooneer known for his keen eyesight and skill.

Daggoo

A tall, imposing African harpooneer serving aboard the Pequod.

Captain Peleg

One of the Pequod's retired co-owners, who helps sign Ishmael aboard and describes Ahab's character before the voyage begins.

Captain Bildad

A thrifty, devoutly Quaker co-owner of the Pequod involved in outfitting the ship.

Elijah

A strange, ominous stranger on the docks at Nantucket who drops cryptic warnings about Ahab and the voyage to come.

Fedallah

A mysterious, turban-wearing harpooneer who appears secretly aboard the ship, closely and unsettlingly bound to Ahab.

Glossary

Parmacetty

Archaic sailor slang for the sperm whale, the species hunted throughout the novel.

Gunwale

The upper edge of a boat's or ship's side, frequently referenced during whaleboat chases.

Loggerhead

A stout post rooted in a whaleboat's keel used for securing (taking turns with) the harpoon line.

Monomania

An old psychological term for an obsessive fixation on a single idea, used to describe Ahab's fixation on Moby Dick.

Try-works

The onboard brick furnace and pots used to boil whale blubber into oil.

Harpooneer

A crew member specially skilled in throwing the harpoon to strike whales, often lodging with the mates in whaling hierarchy.

Gam

A friendly meeting and exchange of news between two whaling ships at sea.

Doubloon

A gold coin Ahab nails to the mast as a reward for the first man to sight Moby Dick.

Thole-pins

Wooden pins set in a boat's gunwale to hold oars in place while rowing.

Leviathan

A biblical term for a great sea monster, used throughout the book as a grand name for whales.

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