History Characters / MobyDick

* FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator: He's the narrator of the book but has a very minor role in the story. Once he boards the Pequod, the narration drifts away from his perspective to the point that it essentially becomes an omniscient third-person voice, including descriptions of things that Ishmael couldn't have seen himself.

* SeadogPegLeg: Captain Ahab is one of the {{Trope Codifier}}s - he lost a leg during a previous whaling voyage while hunting the white whale and now has a grudge against it. In fact, his missing leg is the main force that drives his revenge plot against the titular whale. Notably, Ahab's peg leg was apparently made with ''whalebone''. In fact neither character has this trope as usually portrayed — Silver's leg is missing from the hip, and he moves about on a crutch; Ahab apparently has a mid-thigh amputation, judging by the scene in which he works out sextant shots on a specially-shaped area of his prosthesis.

* SeadogPegLeg: Captain Ahab is one of the {{Trope Codifier}}s (to the point that some examples on this page are [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of either him or Long John Silver, the other TropeCodifier). Captain Ahab lost a leg during a previous whaling voyage while hunting the white whale and now has a grudge against it. In fact, his missing leg is the main force that drives his revenge plot against the titular whale. Notably, Ahab's peg leg was apparently made with ''whalebone''. In fact neither character has this trope as usually portrayed — Silver's leg is missing from the hip, and he moves about on a crutch; Ahab apparently has a mid-thigh amputation, judging by the scene in which he works out sextant shots on a specially-shaped area of his prosthesis.

Characters appearing in the novel Literature/MobyDick.

* CassandraTruth: Despite a few low blows, all of his warnings about Ahab and the ship are correct but go completely unheeded.

* BigDamnHeroes: Too late to do much genuine heroism, but they save the life of Ishmael, at least.
* CensoredChildDeath: Some of the missing whalers they're searching for are children, related to the crew, [[TruthInTelevision because back then, children were often brought aboard whale-ships as apprentices]].

* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Ishmael. The "heterosexual" part is debatable.

* MayDecemberRomance: Ahab is pushing sixty and married to a woman considerably younger than him (whom he cares almost northing for).

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: A realistic expression of this trope. Promotion to captain of a whaling ship means being an exceptional whaler. Ahab earned his position and is generally admired for it.

* AFatherToHisMen: This obviously goes off the rails in the end, but Ahab is a surprisingly humane and evenhanded captain. His crew is willing to go along with him chasing a terror of the sea for a reason.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Vaguely described as insane (monomania has not been a valid diagnosis for over a century). However, the symptoms he does exhibit most closely resemble Bipolar 1 disorder and PTSD.

* AdultFear: Some of the missing whalers they're searching for are children, related to the crew, [[TruthInTelevision because back then, children were often brought aboard whale-ships as apprentices]].

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: As a result of ScienceMarchesOn and SocietyMarchesOn, more modern interpretations of Moby Dick portray him as this. With many species of whales under threat of extinction, it would be little wonder why Moby would have no qualms killing humans because of [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters what they're doing to Cetaceankind]] and [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse trying to justify their actions.]]

* ButtMonkey: The captain is nearly as inept as de Deer, having caught two already-dead whales whose blubber and oil will be of very little value. Stubb tricks him into cutting one of them loose so he can recover valuable ambergris from the carcass.

* NoNameGiven: An intriguing variation: he does give a name at the beginning of the book, but only instructs the reader to "Call me Ishmael", as opposed to saying "My name is Ishmael". This is often cited as strong evidence that Ishmael is an unreliable narrator. If you can't even be sure that he told the truth about his name, then you can't be sure that he told the truth about anything. See MeaningfulName for why he'd tell you to call him Ishmael if that isn't his real name.
* SoleSurvivor: Of the wreck of the Pequod.

* TheLeader: Of the ''Pequod.''

* UndyingLoyalty: To Ahab; it's a big part of what stops him from killing Ahab although he realizes Ahab's obsession will in turn get everyone killed.

* IHaveAFamily: A wife and son, [[NotSoDifferent just like Ahab]].

* OnlyOneAllowedToKillYou: Has this attitude toward Moby Dick. Whenever he runs into another whaler that's encountered Moby Dick, the first thing he asks if they got him or not.

* FamousLastWords: Some of the most famous in English literature:

* {{Irony}}: Would you believe this vengeful seadog is a Quaker?

* NayTheist: He's a Quaker, so he definitely believes God exists. It's just that Ahab also thinks that God is incompetent.

* DevilInDisguise: One of many theories.
* TheDreaded: Established as having this reputation. See ShroudedInMyth.
* EldritchAbomination: A common interpretation of its stranger characteristics.

* TheJuggernaut: A nigh-unstoppable force of nature [[CurbStompBattle by claims]].

* UncertainDoom: Moby Dick is last seen, heavily wounded, plunging to the depths (and taking Ahab with him). The narration does not clarify if Moby Dick survives the final confrontation or not and readership seems split whether he did or not, with many adaptations leaning to the idea of Ahab and Moby Dick executing a MutualKill of sorts on each other.
* WildCard: He is a sperm whale, a species that have been known to attack ships whether they have been provoked or not. It comes with the territory.

* AdultFear: Some of the missing whalers they're searching for are children, related to the crew. [[TruthInTelevision Because back then, children were indeed brought aboard whale-ships as apprentices]].

[[/folder]]

* {{Foil}}: To Ahab. Both are horribly wounded by Moby Dick, but while Ahab obsesses over having revenge for it, Boomer brushes it off.