The Book Moby Dick.

I have the book by Herman Melville which is Moby Dick, in my M. A. Final Year syllabus. The book is among the most important works of American literature. The book was first published in England on 18 October, 1851, and on the following month in the United States. The writer was a popular author, but Moby Dick gained in popularity, after the First World War. The work was deemed important, and a great American contribution to the arts, much later after it was published. I believe, like some great American icons, this book too, is an icon in American literature. Modern Library has an Hardcover Edition, like it does of Mr Gibbons' 'The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire'. There are many subtle psychological meanings in the book, pertaining to the writer. The Captain Ahab, leaves on his voyage, on Christmas Day. This could mean, that the day was auspicious, or that the good Captain did not observe Christmas. If Mr Melville had been captain, of the Pequod, then, how would this event have been interpreted? The Captain is said to be magnanimous, and of great intellect. But, he disregards these qualities of his own, and embarks on a very strange voyage.