Herman Melville's classic 1851 sea tale about the vengeful sea Captain Ahab who seeks to kill the great white whale who took his leg and is willing to forego the safety and endurance of his crew to do it. The tale is told from the vantage of the only surviving member, Ishmael, a young man who joins the crew of the Pequod for his first seafaring with the aid of his harpoonist friend, Queequeg.