+ Ishmael

The narrator of Moby Dick. We don't get much personal information about our ostensible hero, save that he is a young schoolteacher who occaisionally grows weary of land and sets out to sea. Ishmael as a narrator is rather prone to rambling...he seems to have a particular interest in Cetology and goes off on all sorts of tangents about that subject. He's a dreamer at heart, an amateur philosopher and wanderer who has a drive to know as much about the world as he can. He seems to be a bit of a loner inasmuch as he only really forms a relationship with one person, the cannibal Queequeg whom he shares a room with at the beginning of the book. Savage and schoolmaster become fast friends. Ishmael provides an intellectual and philosophical perspective on the madness that is is his fateful voyage on the Pequod.

+ Queequeg

A cannibal prince from an unnamed South Sea island, Queequeg cuts a very intimidating figure at first. Tall, swarthy, heavily tatooed, and quite unabashed about his collection of shrunken heads and knowledge of the culinary uses of human flesh, Ishmael seems perfectly justified in being terrified of Queequeg at first. However, he soon learns that despite Queequeg's frightening appearence and strange mannerism, Queequeg is really quite noble and gentle, and prooves to be a very loyal companion. Queequeg was once the son of an island chief, but he was overcome with a desire to see the rest of the world and stowed away on a whaling ship. Now he feels his contact with the unscrupulous Christian world has made him unfit to ascend the pure throne of his pagan ancestors. This fact is underscored by the acts of primitive selflessness that Queequeg exhibits, such as rescuing a man from drowning despite the fact that the man had just insulted him. In fact, Queequeg proves to be one of the most admirable characters in the entire Pequod crew.

+ Captain Ahab

Perhaps the most famous figure from Moby Dick is the grim Captain Ahab, mad for the death of the white whale.Although the position of protagonist properly belongs to our narrator Ishmael, Ahab is in many ways the central figure.The captain of the ill-fated whaler Pequod, Ahab is regarded by many of his fellow captains with both reverence and fear -- many say he is mad. Ahab has one overriding obsession: the destruction of Moby Dick, the legendary white whale who bit off his leg during their last encounter. He has a leg of ivory to replace the one he lost to Moby Dick. Ahab's single-minded drive for revenge eventually consumes him until he has no other thought but finding and killing the White Whale -- he gives up all other pursuits and seems to grow increasingly unhinged. However, while Ahab obsession with vengeance eventually leads to his death and the death of his crew, he retains a kind of power and nobility; his futile struggle against the brute forces of nature and his determination to see his madness through to the end strike many people as strangely admirable. Ahab remains a cold, distant, and unassailable figure, a "great ungodly, godlike man;" the only person he shows any real feeling for is Pip, the unfortunate cabin boy whom Ahab kind of adopts after the boy goes made while lost at sea.

+ Starbuck

The first mate on the Pequod, Starbuck is a force for order and godliness and whatnot. Starbuck is horrified at Captain Ahab's obsession with killing the White Whale, arguing that vengeance on something that only hurt him through instinct is an evil act. Like Ahab, he has a family on land. Starbuck is a staunchly moral and upright character, even to the point of appearing a bit holier-than-thou; he is a devout Christian and tends to see everything in terms of religion. Also, he is rather humorless, especially when compared to the second mate Stubb; brave but not foolish, he is one of the most level-headed crew members. He clearly sees that Ahab's course of action will bring disaster, and alone among the crew attempts to warn him whether Ahab will listen or not. His major failing, as Ahab suggests, is that he is "too good a fellow'; he sees things as black-and-white questions of right and wrong.

+ Stubb

The second mate of the Pequod, and Starbuck's opposite number. Stubb is a carefree and happy-go-lucky mariner who cares about little more than a good time and a good meal. Stubb couldn't be less interested in anything resembling The Big Picture -- as far as Stubb is concerned, if you can't see, hear, or feel it, it isn't much worth thinking about. Stubb smug but not arrogant, and is neither overly brave or overly cautious, but mostly quite indifferent. He puts far more stock in astrology than in religion, and regards death with a sort of cheerful fatalism; he'll figure that mess out when the time comes, which God willing won't be too soon. All in all, Stubb is a good-natured fellow who lets nothing trouble him too much. He habitually smokes a pipe; indeed, he is rarely seen without it.

+ Flask

Flask is the Third mate. He mainly forms an opposition to Stubb and Starbuck, being an absolute realist. Faced with the awesome power of the whale, Flask sees another fish to be caught and sold. His lack of regard for the whale makes him something of a braggart. His nickname aboard the Pequod is "King-Post," after the central timber in a whaling ship that braces the hull. Flask is a dull but dependable sort, always to be relied upon in a pinch.

+ Tashtego & Dagoo

Tashtego and Dagoo are the harpooneers of Stubb and Flask, respectively. Of both of them we hear but little. Tashtego is an Indian from somewhere in the vicinity of Martha's Vinyard, a place called Gay Head. Tashtego seems to have moved directly from hunting in the woodlands to hunting larger prey on the seas; he approaches his whaling with the same noble skill.

Dagoo is a regal and imposing African, much like Queequeg in that he has retained his barbarian virtue. He joined a whaling ship in his youth for reasons best known to himself, took to the trade well, and other than that little else is known about him. He has the distinctive trait of sporting a pair of enormous gold rings in his ears.

+ Pip

Pippin (shortened to Pip) is the black cabin boy on the Pequod. A young, naive boy from Alabama who somehow managed to find himself aboard the Pequod, Pip is a small, simple child who seems rather lost among the dangerous world of whaling. He is clever underneath his seeming simpleness but inexperienced and a bit cowardly. However, he is infectiously exuberant and can often be found playing the tambourine and singing, to the delight of weary sailors. Unfortunately, he is swept overboard and spends a few harrowing days barely alive in the ocean; he is eventually rescued but it soon becomes clear that little Pip has lost his mind. He cheerfully spouts cryptic and mildly prophetic nonsense with a sort of manic glee. In his mad state he is befriended by Ahab, who knows a kindred affliction when he sees one.

+ Fedallah

Fedallah is the head of Ahab's mysterious, phantom-like crew that handles his lowering boat. A Parsee fire-worshipper clad in a black turban, Fedallah is so sinister that the rest of the crew speculate that he is the devil himself, come to take Ahab's soul. Fedallah make three prophecies regarding Ahab's demise: He will have neither coffin nor hearse, but he will see two hearses on the water, one not made by mortal hands and of wood grown in America, before he dies; Fedallah, ever his pilot, will go before him; and finally, only hemp may kill him. Ahab grossly misinterprets these predictions, to his own doom.