Moby Dick or the whale

Melville's Moby Dick endures as a literary classic because it explores foundational themes such as the battle of good versus evil, man's quest to conquer nature, racism and obsession. Moby Dick however explores these themes with a combination of pluck, humor and exhaustive explorations of whaling culture and vocation. Melville has also crafted a progenitor of the "epic male novel" which would later influence the works of Hemmingway and Ellison. The encyclopedic diversion contained in the book are structurally echoed in Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body. Moby Dick is a rich work brimming with imagery well worth the commitment to reading.