Moby Dick is a well-known novel by a renowned American writer Herman Melville. It was published in 1851 during the American Renaissance, a period of a new spirit of the national literature. "Call me Ishmael" is probably one of the most famous opening sentences in literature of all time. The novel tells a story of Ishmael, who is a sailor and the main storyteller. He takes part in the obsessive quest of Ahab, the captain of the whaler Pequod. Ahab is seeking revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale which on an earlier voyage totally destroyed his ship and severed his leg at the knee. Ahab is ready to sacrifice everything, including his life, the members of the crew and even the ship itself. The only thing he cares about is destroying Moby Dick, the bane of Ahab's life. Ahab's mad obsession affects every character of the novel and Ishamael as well. These two characters are considered one of the brightest examples of opposite archetypes in the American literature.

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