Moby Dick

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is the “American Renaissance”? Aside from Herman Melville, what writers represent this literary period? What subjects, themes, and motifs are associated with this literary period?

Teaching Suggestion: Herman Melville is one of the foremost authors of the American Renaissance, a period of literary flourishing in the US during the mid-19th century. The class might discuss and name works by notable authors of the American Renaissance, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman. Encourage students to think about topics associated with these authors and to identify some common themes in their work (e.g., the relationship between human beings and nature; democracy and American nationalism).  

• This 35-minute presentation from Learning Language Arts provides a comprehensive short introduction to the literature of the American Renaissance. For a shorter selection, the excerpt 2:12-7:40 provides key characteristics and a brief discussion of the ways in which American Renaissance works fit into the history of American literature.
• This famous essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson (“The Poet”) embodies many of the preoccupations of the American Renaissance.

2. What imagery or facts commonly come to mind regarding seafaring and whaling in the 19th century? What were ships like during this period, and why were they so important?

Teaching Suggestion: An overview of the role of 19th-century seafaring and whaling will be essential to help the class understand the novel’s background. It may also be beneficial to emphasize the autobiographical elements of the novel (Melville drew heavily on his own experiences as a sailor, especially his time on the whaling ship Acushnet, while writing the novel). Melville’s novel also draws on other historical events, including the sinking of the Nantucket ship Essex in 1820 and the pursuit of the albino sperm whale Mocha Dick in the 1830s.

• This National Geographic article provides a brief introduction to the history of whaling. (Content Warning: Images of animal death may be graphic to some.)
• This article from Smithsonian Magazine discusses the history of Mocha Dick, the real-life inspiration for Melville’s Moby Dick.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

We sometimes use the term “white whale” to describe a hard-to-achieve objective that one pursues zealously. What is your “white whale?” Have you ever obsessively pursued something that constantly seemed to elude your grasp? What are some healthy and some unhealthy ways to react to this kind of obsession?

Teaching Suggestion: Moby Dick is often interpreted as an allegory for the dangers of obsession, leading to the popularization of the term “white whale” to describe any hard-to-achieve object that one pursues obsessively. While determination and resolution can often be good qualities, they can also be harmful or even dangerous when taken too far. Students might think introspectively about their own experiences with obsession: How can one recognize the dangerous symptoms of obsession before it is too late? An introspective approach can help students relate to and understand the complex psychology of Melville’s Captain Ahab as they read the novel.