What is the first line of "Moby-Dick"?

The first line of Moby-Dick is “Call me Ishmael.” Its direct, conversational voice introduces the novel’s narrator before the story moves into Ishmael’s decision to go to sea.

The line is famous because it establishes both identity and uncertainty at once. Ishmael gives readers a name, but the wording does not explain whether it is his full identity, a preferred name, or simply the name he wants the audience to use. The narrator then describes his restlessness on land and his attraction to the sea.

Ishmael eventually travels to New Bedford, meets Queequeg, and signs onto the Pequod. He narrates the voyage in retrospect, combining personal observations with long discussions of whaling, theology, history, biology, and symbolism. The opening is often mistakenly attributed to Captain Ahab, but Ahab enters later and is the subject of Ishmael’s account rather than its narrator.