Chapter 1 - 2
Chapter 1 - 2
Loomings/The Carpet-Bag
"Call me Ishmael." Chapter 1, pg. 1 opens the book, one of the most famous opening lines in literature.
Ishmael is a schoolteacher who every so often get the desire to go sailing. When he sails, he normally sails as a merchant sailor, because he is paid and has no responsibility. This time, however, he decides to go on a whaling ship. He believes that fate itself had a hand in his decision.
Topic Tracking: Fate 1
Ishmael packs his things, and heads to Nantucket to find a ship. He chooses Nantucket over other nearer cities, because Nantucket was the first American city to send out whalers.
Topic Tracking: Nature of Whaling 1
He is stuck in New Bedford for two nights and a day. He looks for a place to stay, passing by two inns that are too nice for the amount of money he has; the third place he sees is a black church, which he quickly leaves.
Topic Tracking: Religion 1
Close to the sea, he comes upon one final place, The Spouter-Inn. The building looks old and rundown enough for him to be able to afford it, and he goes inside.
View More Summaries on Moby-Dick
