Originally published as Moby-Dick, or, the whale (1851), Herman Melville's masterpiece, is one of the greatest American novels. The deceptively simple novel of the sea is filled with allegories and is open to interpretation, both religious and agnostic, amongst others. At the simplest level, The novel narrates Captain ahab's murderous obsession with the titular character, the whale, Moby-Dick after he loses his leg to it on a whaling mission. His quest for revenge drives him insane and deeply affects those around him.