Who is who in Moby-Dick
The people you meet before the ship leaves are not the people aboard her. Those who warn him stay on land, and those who sail are bound together by the oath on deck. Start with whoever you are curious about and jump straight to the chapters they appear in.
Aboard the Pequod 8
Those bound together by the oath on deck, from the captain down to the youngest boy.
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Ahab
captain of the Pequod. He lost a leg to the white whale on his last voyage and now walks on one of ivory. He has not yet shown himself aboard
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Ishmael
the narrator of this story. When his melancholy deepens he goes to sea, and this time he boards a whaling ship. He never says if it is his real name
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Starbuck
first mate of the Pequod. He alone objects to Ahab's revenge, but is swept up in the moment and swears the oath along with the rest
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Queequeg
a harpooner from the fictional island of Kokovoko. His whole body is tattooed, and he keeps a small wooden idol named Yojo. He first meets Ishmael in a shared bed at an inn
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Fedallah
a secret harpooner Ahab brought aboard unknown to the crew. A turbaned Parsee, he and four companions had been hidden below deck until the day the first whale is sighted
Appears in -
Stubb
second mate of the Pequod. Easygoing and wry, he keeps his jokes even in danger, and has no qualms turning to cunning when there's profit to be had
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Pip
the youngest sailor aboard the Pequod, a Black cabin boy. Cheerful and quick to notice things, he runs errands for the crew
Appears in -
Flask
third mate of the Pequod. Practical and down-to-earth, he cares more about immediate gain and convenience than grand causes
Appears in
Met ashore 4
They appear only before the ship sails. Some send him off, some try to stop him.
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Peleg
co-owner of the Pequod, a retired captain, loud-voiced and sharp at bargaining. He calls Ahab 'a grand, ungodly, god-like man'
Appears in -
Bildad
co-owner of the Pequod, a devout Quaker who is nonetheless coldly shrewd when it comes to cutting a sailor's share
Appears in -
Father Mapple
the preacher of New Bedford's whalemen's chapel. He climbs a rope ladder into a pulpit shaped like a ship's bow and preaches on Jonah, a duty fled from
Appears in -
Elijah
a ragged stranger who stops Ishmael and Queequeg at the wharf, warning them about Ahab and the Pequod in riddling words
Appears in
The white whale 1
The one being hunted. Not a person, and yet every relation in this story points his way.
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Moby Dick
a giant white sperm whale, larger than an ordinary whale with a snow-white pattern across his brow and hump. He is spoken of almost like a legend among sailors, tied to a string of accidents and sightings