Tired of ads?
Join today and never see them again.
Advertisement - Guide continues below
Revenge
(Click the themes infographic to download.)
Hey, the phrase "white whale" entered the lexicon as "something you obsess over until it destroys you" because of Moby-Dick. This isn't just a book about revenge; it's a book that added new phrases to the revenge dictionary.
Moby-Dick is, fundamentally, a revenge tragedy. It’s about one man’s maniacal obsession with vengeance. It’s about finding an object on which to pin all your anger and fear and rage, not only about your own suffering, but also about the suffering of all mankind. It’s about the way that the desire for revenge can eat away at you until it becomes something inhabiting your body, something separate from your own personality.
Ahab’s quest for revenge on the White Whale is impossible from the beginning, because it’s foolish to try and wreak vengeance on a non-sentient animal in the natural world.
Ahab’s quest for revenge on the White Whale represents mankind’s struggle against the cruelty and arbitrariness of fate and human suffering.
Join today and never see them again.
Please Wait...