Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Herman Melville (Author), Tony Tanner (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: July 16, 1998

This classic story of high adventure, manic obsession and metaphysical speculation was Melville's masterpiece. This edition includes passages from Melville's correspondence with Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which the two discuss the philosophical depths of the novel's plot and imagery.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'In his great whaling epic Melville roamed both the seas, and the secret places of men's minds. In the alternate playfulness and ferocity of the great white whale he found the perfect metaphor within which to develope his views on life, death and God.' The Sunday Times

'An attractive edition to a field rather overcrowded with inexpensive editions. However, the Hawthorne matyerial gives this one an edge.' Andrew Lyman, Leicester University. ' Much better annotations than any other available edition.' H. Merritt, CCAT Cambridge.

About the Author

Tony Tanner is at King's College, Cambridge.

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192833855
• ISBN-13: 978-0192833853
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best things in life come to those who wait, April 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Patience is a virtue; and if patience is needed to truly appreciate Melville's Moby-Dick, then virtuous am I. I admit, there were many places in this novel where I "just wanted to get through it". However, when the reader takes a step back to truly examine this work, it soon becomes an obvious masterpiece. For myself, the most interesting aspect of Melville's writing is his tendency to use Biblical characters: Ishmael, Ahab, and even the ship "Rachel" searching for her children. There are literally hundreds of links to their Biblical counterparts. This was most fascinating for me to discover. I challenge readers to see this novel as more than just a story, but rather, a work which calls for in-depth examination.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the effort, August 19, 2000

By 

R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics Hardcovers) (Hardcover)

Yes this is not for the faint of heart...tough sledding at times but the reward of allowing Melville's poetry to seep into your soul makes it well worth it. I read this in my 20's and didn't get it. Reading it again 20 years later I found the prose to be less dense and the story stands on it's own as one of the greatest. Forget the symbolism and enjoy the ride.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pinnacle of American Literature in My Opinion, August 24, 2007

By 

Alyosha (MidCoast, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Skimming some of these reviews I see a lot of descriptions of 'Moby Dick' as being "grueling," "confusing," and even downright "boring." I don't deny that Moby Dick is all of these things, at times. Conversely though Herman Melville's masterpiece also contains some of the most beautiful writing that one is ever likely to come across. This is no doubt at least a small part of why this novel is one of the most divisive in American literature and why there are still such widely diverging views as to its meaning. Either way you don't get to just cop out and write this one off simply because there are sections that are difficult to sift through.

The cast was, I believe, intended to be symbolic of the American idea, the American dream. The crew of the Pequod is sort of a rag-tag hodgepodge of folks from all corners of the globe. It's a ship where folks who had maybe gone bankrupt or previously experienced failures and hardship earlier in life can come to start over again. Ishmael perhaps representing the archetypical American "cowboy," joining the Pequod without any real purpose other than for the adventure, the freedom afforded by the open seas, and the excitement of venturing out into the unknown.

More than this was intended to be symbolic of the changes going on in American society the Pequod's expedition was, I believe, intended to be deeply representative of the issues that are at the heart of man's place in this world. While ostensibly the story is about whaling, it is more symbolically a story of each man's personal odyssey to give purpose to his own existence amidst sneaking suspicions (brought on by science and philosophy) that this life might ultimately be meaningless. The frequent encounters that the Pequod has with other ships reminds me of what Karl Barth called "sign posts" which are more or less symbolic events in our lives that point to something further, that beckon us to continue on our path. The captains of other vessels mention having heard of the "White Whale," so there are signs that the Pequod should continue though the general sense amongst all with the exception of Ahab is that they're chasing a phantom, a myth, nothingness. With God in exile and religion out of most peoples lives there has been a similar feeling by many that life might be pointless. That all of our daily toil and efforts might be for nothing all the while never falling quite so deep into despair as to give up on this world completely.

Ahab shows the most obvious manifestations of some people's growing mistrust of technology. Of how science can quantify our world without really telling us anything meaningful about it. His rage at having lost his leg is a reflection of the growing sense of despair over what seems to be the sheer randomness of events in our lives, at the way nature seems to act without reason, and how the most terrible tragedies can befall us without any provocation. Ahab's futile attempts to kill the White Whale are violent lashings out at the world, at nature; they are frustrated and misguided attempts to push back on the forces acting on him. This is an intrinsically human reaction, namely we seek to destroy whatever we can't bring under our thumb.

Obviously this book is just loaded with symbolism and allegory so there are many ways in which to interpret this book. One shouldn't forget this fact because Moby Dick is a book that was meant to be read more than once. I personally have only read it once but it is a book that begs to be gone over repeatedly in order to get the most out of it and I do sincerely hope to read this wonderful book again someday.
What probably prevents alot of folks from going over it again are the seemingly endless descriptions about whales and the 19th Century whaling industry. Like, about half this book is a treatise on whaling. It's difficult to understand exactly why this is done. I'm guessing one reason could be that this was written at a time when alot of folks didn't have things like "Free Willy" or the Discovery Channel that would allow them to truly appreciate the majesty of the whale or even what a whale was or looked like. Another reason could be that this whale chronical may have been another way to show how we can quantify nature, we can describe it, but we still end up powerless against it in the long run.

Whatever his reason's for adding this I don't think Melville made his novel any more compelling or meaningful with all the whale talk. To be perfectly honest it can be a real chore to get through some of those parts. Still, I'm giving this book a 5 because of it's exquisite imagery and because of its incredibly insightful look at humanity, at our contradictions, and how the intensity of our desires seems to blind us to how fragile and vulnerable we really are. Melville is able to express modern man's confusion and despair without leaving the reader in a state of hopelessness. Quite an incredible accomplishment really, something few philosophers seem capable of. Also, I would think the collective weight of the world academic community outweighs alot of these negative reviews.

Classic.