Slave to the Great White: The Large Symbol That is Moby Dick

In “Moby Dick and American Political Symbolism” Alan Heimert looks at Moby Dick as a symbol for all of the political feuds during the 1850’s. It is a must read before attempting to tackle the beast of a novel that is, Moby Dick which dives into great issues such as slavery as well as The Compromise of 1850. Alan Heimert gives a harsh but accurate account of who each of the major characters may be based off as, as well as who the other boats they encounter could be. Who knew there could be so much historical representation in such a seemingly already dense book.