FAQ About Moby Dick

The book is called "Moby-Dick" after the giant white sperm whale that serves as the central focus of the story. The whale is named by the sailors of the Pequod after a whale with the same name that was killed and processed for oil by a sailor named Mocha Dick, who was famous for his size and strength, and who was rumored to have killed several whalers. In the novel, Moby Dick represents both the object of Ahab's obsessive quest for revenge and a symbol of the destructive power of nature.