He is out there – in the ocean. But he is here too – in my dreams, always in my dreams. He will never leave me. He is whiter than the first beautiful snow in winter – whiter than the stars in the sky on a warm summer’s night. But he brings only death. He is Moby Dick – the white whale.
My name is Ishmael and this is my story. I'm a sailor and I work on different ships. I love my life on the ocean. It's sometimes dangerous but never, never boring. I feel sad when I'm not on a ship.
One November day I thought, "I want to work on a whaling ship. " Why did I want to be a whaler? I can't tell you. The life of a whaler is very dangerous. The men are away from their homes and families for years. Many never come back. Their wives wait at home. They stand and look at the ocean with sad eyes. But I wanted to visit exciting new places and I wanted to see the whales.