In the center of Melville's novel "Moby Dick, or the White Whale" is a deadly confrontation between the brave captain of the whaling ship Ahab and a giant white whale, personifying the evil of the world. Against the backdrop of epic seascapes, the crew of the Pequod is perceived as a symbol of humanity wandering through the ocean of life and fearlessly defying hostile destructive forces.Not accepted by the writer's contemporaries, "Moby Dick" returned from oblivion only at the beginning of the last century and is still considered one of the greatest American novels.