Research Paper on:
Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
literary structure by his mastery of a technique described by critic Terry W. Thompson as "framing" (130). According to Thompson, Moby Dicks carefully structured narrative controls the novels cohesion,  and ultimately brings the "action, characters, theme, plot... full circle" (130). It is more than just a nineteenth-century sailing yarn about a massive whale; it is a thoughtful commentary  on the human condition, and how civilization frequently conflicts with the natural order of Gods universe. In terms of plot, Moby Dick is a tale in which the action is  seen through the eyes of and interpreted by Ishmael, a young nomadic sailor who dreams of sea adventures and longs to work on whaling ship. While staying in a  New Bedford inn that lodges whalers, Ishmael meets up with a primitive Maori (New Zealand) harpooner named Queequeg, and the duo join forces and sail to Nantucket, where they secure  passage on a battered whaling ship, the Pequod. They are startled when they meet the ships captain, a dramatic-looking one-legged pirate named Ahab. Captain Ahab boldly announces that  his single-minded purchase is retribution against the mighty white whale that maimed him, Moby Dick. Ishmael details the ships destinations to the far corners of the globe, and also  describes the whaling operations. Queequeg becomes ill and is so convinced he is dying that asks a carpenter to carve a canoe-like coffin, which is used as a buoy  for the Pequod after he recovers. Meanwhile, Ahab remains steadfast in his desire to capture the notorious Moby Dick. When a typhoon hits, Ahab interprets this as a  positive sign that a confrontation (and his success) is imminent, but his first mate Starbuck thinks otherwise. The whale has already attacked two other ships, the Rachel and the