Moby Dick (Classic Drama) characters

Appears from the start

A sailor who joins the Pequod and serves as the story's principal witness. Curious, reflective, and drawn to the danger of whaling, he forms a close friendship with Queequeg before the voyage and watches Ahab's private revenge overtake the ship's ordinary purpose.

Appears from the start

A tattooed Pacific Islander and expert harpooner whom Ishmael meets while seeking a berth. His initial strangeness gives way to generosity, steadiness, and courage, and the men become friends before signing onto the same ship.

Also known as Captain Ahab

Appears from the start

The scarred captain of the Pequod, walking on a leg made from whale bone after an earlier encounter with Moby Dick. He turns a commercial whaling voyage into a personal campaign against the White Whale and uses his authority and force of personality to enlist the crew in it.

Appears from the start

The Pequod's first mate, an experienced whaler with a wife and child at home. Conscientious and cautious, he challenges Ahab's decision to risk the ship and crew for revenge rather than pursue the voyage's legitimate work.

Appears from the start

The Pequod's cheerful second mate, a capable whaleman who answers danger with humor and concentrates on the practical business of the hunt.

Appears from the start

The Pequod's third mate, a compact, energetic officer who treats whales chiefly as quarry and commands one of the ship's hunting boats.

Also known as the White Whale

Appears from the start

The huge white sperm whale that destroyed Ahab's leg. Famous among whalers for surviving attacks and damaging boats, he becomes the sole object of Ahab's increasingly destructive pursuit.

Appears from the start

A secretive Parsee harpooner whom Ahab has brought aboard with a concealed boat crew. He serves in Ahab's own whaleboat and shares prophetic warnings about the captain's fate.

Also known as Pippin

First appears in chapter 2

A young Black cabin boy aboard the Pequod. Sensitive and vulnerable among the hardened whalers, he is pressed into service in a hunting boat when another crew member cannot row.

Also known as Captain Gardiner

First appears in chapter 3

The captain of the Rachel, encountered near the end of the Pequod's voyage. He begs Ahab to help search for a whaleboat carrying his missing young son.