Symbols and Meanings in “Moby Dick” The novel begins with the famous statement by the book’s narrator. “Call me Ishmael”. He has the habit of going to sea whenever he begins to grow “hazy about the eyes.” He goes to sea as a laborer, not as a Commodore, a Captain or a Cook, but as a simple sailor. He does so because he may be paid and because it affords him wholesome exercise and …showed first 75 words of 2740 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2740 total…for achieving clarity and peace. In Ahab stating that Moby Dick is “chiefly what I hate”, he is giving greater significance to the whale. Also, Ahab finds that the whale represents all the mysteries of his life, which leads to an interesting duality. The hunt to find Moby Dick is therefore both an external conflict between Ahab and the whale as well as an internal conflict within Ahab for a sense of peace and happiness.