An Analysis of Herman Melville and Moby Dick "Moby Dick is a biography of Melville in the sense that it reveals every corner of his imagination." (Humford 41) This article is a psychological study of Moby Dick. Moby Dick was written based on Melville's personal experiences. Moby Dick is the story of the adventures of a person named Ishmael. Ishmae is a lonely and alienated individual who wants to see the "watery part of the world". Moby Dick begins with the main character, Ishmael, introducing himself with the phrase "Call Me Ishmael". (Melville 1) Ishmael tells the reader his background and creates a depressed mood in the reader. Call me Ishmael. “Some years ago, no matter how exactly, having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on land, I thought I would sail a little and see the aquatic part of the world.” (Melville 1) Ishmael tells the reader about his travels through various cities such as New Bedford, Nankantuket. Eventually, while in Nankantuket, Ishmael signed up for a whaling voyage on the Pequod. The Pequod was the whaling ship that Ishmael sailed on, on which characters such as Queequeq, Starbuck, and the ship's captain, Ahab, all traveled together. Not long after being at sea, the ship's captain, Ahab, reveals his plan to hunt a white whale named Moby Dick. Ahab was a veteran sailor, a man who had a heart of stone. Ahab had a personal grudge against Moby Dick. Moby Dick was responsible for amputating Ahab's leg on an earlier voyage. Ahab's plan was essentially an unauthorized takeover, which the whaling company did not have in mind. Ahab was very irrational and ridiculous; his plan seals the fate of him and the Pequod's crew. In the tragic ending of Moby Dick, all the characters die except Ishmael. Ishmael survived the attack of Moby Dick's ship with the help of a coffin built by his close friend Queequeq. Ishmael from Moby Dick was a special character because he was closely linked to the author's life. There is a lot of symbolism between Ishmael from Moby Dick and the life of Herman Melville. The name Ishmael can be traced back to the Bible.