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- Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.
The narrator, who introduces himself as Ishmael, joins the crew of the Pequod, a whaling ship commanded by Captain Ahab. Ahab is obsessed with hunting Moby Dick, a giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on a previous voyage. The novel explores themes of obsession, revenge, and man's relationship with nature.