Moby Dick as an Epic and Captain Ahab as an Epical Hero

Moby Dick is not an epic in a strict sense but it has many qualities of an epic. Its elevated theme written in an elevated style raises it above the level of an ordinary novel. In few pages, Melville has proved that how to transform a common man from daily walks of life to a legend. It is not the extraordinary birth that creates great heroes but great deeds of common men. Ahab although suffers a terrible defeat at the hands of Moby Dick but still his undefeated will could be seen till his last breath which makes him a true hero.