Reading Moby Dick, or any great classic, requires patience. I'm up to chapter 25 and the crew hasn't even departed Nantucket to start looking for a whale. But it's obvious that Herman Melville had a lot to say in this novel, though it did not sell well during his lifetime and he was largely forgotten by the literary community when he died.
Like most people, I first watched the movie by Gregory Peck well before reading the novel. Though the movie was good, the book goes deeper into themes and character that the movie cannot due to limited time and format. If you take your time and have patience you'll understand why this novel is a classic.
What could be more full of meaning?- for the pulpit is ever this earth's foremost part; all the rest comes in its rear; the pulpit leads the world. From thence it is the storm of God's quick wrath is first descried, and the bow must bear the earliest brunt. From thence it is the God of breezes fair or foul is first invoked for favorable winds. Yes, the world's a ship on its passage out, and not a voyage complete; and the pulpit is its prow.
You can read this book online at several sites for free, but paperbacks are cheap and well worth the price.
