In Defense of Moby-Dick

I’m a bad bookworm. Why?

I hate Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.

Yes, I wrote a prize-winning essay on a book that I can’t stand. But that’s a story for another article (which you can read in the link below).

There is so much that I can say against it that it could take up an entire post. However, that is not why I am writing this review. No, in a rare turn, I’m going to actually praise the classic. Because, I begrudgingly admit, there are some points to Moby-Dick that do make it a true classic.

1.      Timeless Themes

From obsession and revenge to fate versus free will, this novel covers the gambit of themes that outlast the actual topics that the book covers. Today’s readers don’t know much about sailing on the sea or whaling anymore, but they do know the feeling of being obsessed with something to the point of it taking over their lives, especially something like revenge. The theme of fate versus free will is also an endlessly discussed subject by everyone from theologians to philosophers to the common man. This book may not provide new perspectives on these themes, but it does continue the conversation and encourages the reader to as well.

2.      Encourages Readers to Think

Whether you like the book or not, it makes you think—perhaps because it is such a thick, tedious read or because it is genuinely engaging to you. The aforementioned themes, metaphors, and layered writing forces readers to have to actively participate in the reading, rather than passively letting the words wash over them as they skim through the pages. Considering that it is often assigned as homework in college or—heaven forbid—high school classes, this active participation is especially important for readers.

3.      Well-researched

My least favorite part of the book might be the whaling and how much time Melville devotes to it. Nevertheless, one cannot say that he did not do his research in that regard. It is incredibly detailed, particularly when one considers the true-life event that inspired the tale in the first place (the sinking of the Essex; see the link below). Whatever Melville’s obsession with whaling, he certainly used it to his advantage and incorporated it into his writing…perhaps just a little too much.

4.      Never-ending

For whatever reason, this book is not going away. That, I think, is its greatest strength. It has managed to survive all the criticisms, all the negative reviews, and come out on top. It has ridden the waves on the backs of reluctant students all across the English-speaking world and landed on the shores of Literary Paradise. We use it to teach what the pinnacle of “novel writing” is, and I doubt that that is going to end any time soon.

For better or for worse, Moby-Dick is loved by many readers, including one of my favorite professors from my undergraduate years. I will never quite understand why he loved it so much—and I mean he adored it—but I can find some good points in it alongside the bad. That does not mean that I am going to change my own opinion about it. To me, it will always be the thick tome that haunts my daytime hours and reminds me of the family members of mine who suffered from the sinking of the Essex (yes, I had distant relatives on that ship). But, unfortunately, it has earned its place in history as one of the works that we thrust upon the next generation as one of those timeless pieces that we call literary classics.

Author's Note: This work is for Sasha Desideri's "Geek Out! Upside Down" Challenge, the link to which you can find below.