How Whaling Shaped Herman Melville, Moby Dick, and America

Herman Melville, born into a privileged family in New York, faced hardship after financial loss and his father's death. He worked at sea, including on a whaling ship, gaining experiences that influenced his writing. Whaling was a major 19th-century industry, crucial to the US economy. Melville's novel, Moby Dick, draws from his sea adventures, focusing on Captain Ahab's revenge quest against a white whale and Ishmael's search for knowledge.

How did Melville's adventures overseas contribute to his literary works?

Explain the main plot of Moby Dick and the motivations of its two main characters.