Chapters 14 - 22
On Nantucket
Island, they sign on the whaleship Pequod,
commanded by the sinister Captain Ahab. A wharfside
character called Elijah warns them that their souls are in
danger on that ship. The Pequod leaves Nantucket bound "around the world" on
Christmas Day.
Chapters 23 - 25
Various observations by Melville. [Skim
on first reading.]
Chapters 26 - 35
Introduction to the characters of Ahab,
the mates Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask, the harpooneers
Queequeg, Daggoo, and Tashtego, and the ship's boy
Pip. [Note: Chapters 31, 32, 33, and 35: various / skim.]
Chapters 36 - 37
Very important. Captain Ahab nails a gold coin to the
mast as a reward, making the crew swear that they will assist him in killing the white
whale Moby Dick for revenge. Only Starbuck is against this.
Chapters 38 - 47
See Table of Contents for Chapters to skim
on first reading.
Chapters 48 - 50
Introduces
Fedallah, the leader of Ahab's boat-crew of
Parsees, smuggled on board as stowaways by Ahab.
Chapters 51 - 54
Various observations concerning Moby
Dick's supernatural powers.
Chapters 55 - 92
Various observations about whales and
whale hunting, including further reference to Moby Dick's ability to wreak death and
destruction.
Chapter 93
Little black boy
Pip jumps from a whaleboat, is abandoned and rescued, but
goes insane as a result.
Chapters 94 - 105
More on whales, whaling, and Moby
Dick's doings.
Chapters 106 - 108
Ahab gets a new leg made by the
ship's carpenter.
Chapter 109
Confrontation between Ahab and Starbuck,
where Ahab threatens to kill Starbuck with a gun.
Chapter 110
Queequeg decides he is dying, has the
carpenter make him a coffin; then he decides he won't die after all. His coffin plays an
important role in the story after that.
Chapters 111 - 116
The Pequod reaches the Pacific Ocean
by way of the Indian Ocean and the China Sea. Ahab has the ship s blacksmith forge him
a special harpoon, tempered in blood, for Moby Dick.
Chapter 117
Fedallah makes three predictions concerning
Ahab's death.
Chapters 118 - 122
Ahab smashes his quadrant, deciding to
navigate by dead reckoning; he faces down a typhoon, gaining the respect of the crew
and the revulsion of Starbuck. Ahab leaves the Sea of Japan to head for the Equator where
he knows Moby Dick is waiting.
Chapter 123
Starbuck comes close to shooting Ahab in his
sleep, but chickens out.
Chapters 124 - 125
Ahab magnetizes a needle as a compass
to the amazement of the crew. Then he befriends poor little Pip, showing a tender side to
his gruff personality.
Chapters 126 - 127
Eerie wails are heard one night, and
the next morning a sailor falls down from the rigging into the sea, and disappears along
with the ship s life buoy. Another one is made from Queequeg's coffin, and it is
prophetically hung over the stern of the ship
Chapter 128
The Pequod meets the Nantucket whaleship
Rachel whose Captain is searching for his son who is lost in a missing whaleboat. Ahab
refuses to help in the search, because he is losing time .
Chapters 129 - 132
Chapters preparatory to the assault on
Moby Dick. Ill omens occur, and Starbuck makes a final, failed plea to Ahab to stop
seeking revenge on Moby Dick and take the ship back to Nantucket.
Chapters 133 - 135
The final three days -- Moby Dick is
attacked each day. On the first two, the White Whale smashes the boats and drives them
back on to the Pequod. On the third day Moby Dick sinks the Pequod and kills Captain
Ahab by catching his neck in the harpoon-line and yanking him under water, fulfilling the
three prophecies of Fedallah.
Epilogue
Ishmael survives to tell the tale and spin the
yarn. It was the life buoy made of Queequeg's coffin that saved him until he was rescued
by the Nantucket whaleship Rachel.
On to Table of Contents