《白鲸》（Moby Dick）或《鲸鱼》（The Whale）是梅尔维尔的长篇小说，于1851年出版。这部关于捕鲸航行的现实故事对人类与命运之间的冲突进行了象征性的描述。亚哈船长宣称，“眼睛所能见到的一切东西,都不过是硬纸板做的面具。”持有这一论点的梅尔维尔，通过冒险叙事的表现方式，形成了善、恶白鲸的概念，并将其寓意深深地嵌入相关事件中。
被遗弃的年轻人伊什梅尔（Ishmael）在灵魂深处感到“11月，细雨蒙蒙”，他前往新贝德福德，在那里，他在佩奎德（Pequod）号捕鲸船上签下了一次航行任务，并拉上魁魁格，（Queequeg）作为他的室友。他的室友是一位波利尼西亚王子，两人成为了同志。伊什梅尔调查了小镇并听了马普尔神父的象征性布道后，俩人登上捕鲸船，在圣诞节离开南塔克特。
船长亚哈是一个偏执狂，他的唯一目的是捕捉凶猛狡猾的白鲸，因为白鲸在他们最后一次相遇时咬掉了他的腿。他在甲板下静处了一段时间后，最终宣布了自己的目的，并在桅杆上张贴了一个斗蓬，作为对首先发现白鲸的人的奖励。水手们的性格从他们的反应中可以看出。大副星巴克，认真、谨慎、烦躁，不喜欢这种做法。二副斯塔布，运气好，遇到危险有冒险精神。三副弗拉斯克遇事缺乏思考，对他来说，捕杀鲸鱼只是一种职业。船员中的其他人包括费达拉和他的神秘亚洲人；美国印第安鱼叉手Tastego；非洲人，Daggoo；还有黑人小木屋男孩皮普。佩奎德号的这次航迹几乎环绕世界，其间对鲸鱼的本性、与鲸鱼有关的科学和艺术史以及捕鲸业的事实进行了全面的讨论。
在追捕过程中捕获到了鲸鱼，但情况似乎对亚哈不利：风暴、闪电、指南针丢失、一个人溺水，以及亚哈最爱的皮普已精神错乱。白鲸终于被发现了，在第一天的追逐中，它击碎了一艘捕鲸船。第二天，另一艘船被掀翻，船长的象牙腿被折断。第三天，鲸鱼被用鱼叉叉起来，但亚哈被困在钓线上，被缠到白鲸身上，白鲸向着佩奎德号冲过来。船被击沉，当最后的桅杆沉入水中时，其中一名男子曾在桅杆上钉的一只天鹰啄食着信号旗。唯一的幸存者伊什梅尔被另一艘捕鲸船拉结号救起。
Moby-Dick，or The Whale, novel by Melville ， published in1851.Within this realistic account of a whaling voyage is set a symbolic account of the conflict between man and his fate.Captain Ahab declares, 'All visible objects are but as pasteboard masks,' and Melville, holding this thesis, strikes through the surface of his adventurous narrative to formulate concepts of good Moby-Dick and evil deeply imbedded as allegory in its events.
The outcast youth Ishmael, feeling 'adamp, drizzly November' in his soul,goes to New Bedford, where he signs for a voyage on the whaler Pequod, drawing as his roommate Queequeg,a Polynesian prince. The two become comrades, and, after Ishmael investigates the town and hears a symbolic sermon by Father Mapple, they join their ship,which leaves Nantucket on Christmas Day.
The captain, Ahab, is a mono-maniac whose one purpose is to capture the fierce, cunning white whale, Moby-Dick, which had torn away his leg during their last encounter. He keeps below deck for some time, but finally declares his purpose and posts a doubloon on the mast as a reward for the man who first sights the white whale. The characters of the sailors are revealed by their reactions.The chief mate, Starbuck,earnest, prudent, and fretful, dislikes it.Stubb, the second mate, is happy-go-lucky,and takes perils as they come. Flask, the third mate, is incapable of deep thought and for him killing whales is simply an occupation. Others in the crew include Fedallah and his mysterious Asiatics; the American Indian harpooner, Tashtego; the African, Daggoo;and the Negro cabin boy, Pip. Thrugh the plot of the voyage, which carries the Pequod nearly around the world, runs a comprehensive discussion of the nature of the whale, the history of science and art relating to the animal, and the facts of the whaling industry.
Whales are captured during the pursuit, but circumstances seem to conspire against Ahab:storms, lightning, loss of the compass,the drowning of a man, and the insanity of Ahab's favorite, Pip. The white whale is finally sighted, and in the first day's chase he smashes a whaleboat. The second day, another boat is swamped, and the captain's ivory leg is snapped off.On the third day the whale is harpooned, but Ahab, fouled in the line, is pinioned to Moby-Dick, who bears down on the Pequod. The ship is sunk and, as the final spars settle in the water, one of the men nails to the mast a sky-hawk that pecks at the flag he is placing as a signal. Ishmael，the only survivor，is rescued by another whaler，the Rachel.
