Moby Dick Part 1 Author:Herman Melville The terms 'allegory' and 'monomania' impose themselves on any description of this great tale. Melville's monumental work and a classic of world literature, Moby-Dick has won particular acclaim for its engagement on multiple levels: it is at once an adventure story, replete with danger, novelty, and historical details; a psychological examination... more » of the obsessed Captain Ahab; and a grand philosophical metaphor for the vanity of all human pursuits.« less