What does "Moby Dick" say about America at the time it was written?

Question

Just in case it censors the title, the name of the book is "Moby D!ck".

I think the title line is fairly stright-forward. I'll be honest, I didn't read the whole book (partly because I procrastinate alot, partly because I genuinely dislike the book), but form what I read it seems to tell alot about the culture of New England and Nantucket, the whaling industry.

In the beginning, when he meets Queequeg, Ishmael talks about how it was common for cannabals, or other people from islands to be casually walking the streets. Assuming these people are black, does this mean that New England has no racial tensions? Slavery was going on in the south around that time (or maybe it had just recently ended...hm...?).

As for the whaling industry, here's the part where my inerest severely waned. I gather that it's not necessarily a happy, fun job, and certianly not easy. The sailors who do it, do it because they love it. I gathered that much, but I can't quite get a grasp on what that says about...

...America. Was the whaling industry a very important one?

Also, I think an industrial revolution started around the time of Moby D!ck. Is there are connection between Moby D!ck and technology in the world?

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone can give me some guidance through the ideas that I have started, or propose some new ideas.

Thanks tons,

-Bacon

Answer 1

It says that America is great and is the best place on earth to live. About the whaling industry they do it because they love a challenge.♣