Herman Melville's idea of human obsession as demonstrated in Moby Dick is clearly a sign that it shall be man's downfall. How can someone analyze a book such as this, and its true meaning, when everyone's opinion is different? In the following statements it is show that what is state is definitely a direct link to what Melville truly had in mind in his novel.
Throughout the years many have studied Moby Dick is hopes to find the true meaning, or just deep literary value the book provides. A few, though, have gone a little bit deeper into the pages of the book and have come up with a bunch of theories. All of these however prove my point. Many think that the novel can be classified as a struggle of man versus God. Of course with Ahab being the man, the whale being "god", and the crew being tempted by the devil, which can also be Ahab depending how you look upon it. As with all classic stories if a character will try to mess with Mother Nature, that character will loose. Was this the case here? Possibly. Now there is the usual setup for a classic battle of man versus god/nature. Can this also have a deeper meaning that man isn't all powerful as thought by many, and that when a man builds himself up so high, he .
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will fall? That is up to the reader, decide. Although in both of these theories, Ahab's obsession is the core of the theory.
To stray away from Ahab, examine the other elements of the story. The crew were innocent young sailors eager for a whaling adventure like they are used to. They say that obsession spreads and the one with the power will influence those without. Just with that statement you can see where it is going to lead. The crew always united, were easily swayed by greed and lust for adventure. Since this crew was a united crew a domino effect happened mid way into the story as the subtle change of attitude takes place. It is almost as if the captains own yearn for the whale, and blinding hate of the creature, not to mention his influence on the crew.