About Moby Dick
The story (no spoilers)
Ishmael signs on to the whaling ship Pequod and meets Captain Ahab, a man with one leg and one goal: to find and kill the great white whale that took the other.
Who it's for
Readers who want the famous story without the famously long original: five parts that keep the sea, the ship and Ahab's obsession.
- Level
- CEFR B2
- Length
- 5 parts · about 2,700 words
- Reading time
- about 22 minutes (~4 min per part)
- Author
- Herman Melville
If you liked this, read
- Treasure Island · B2
- Frankenstein · B2
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde · B2
Looking for something easier or harder? See Easy English books by level (A1–B2).
Reading Moby Dick in English: quick answers
- What English level is Moby Dick on SeoJae Story?
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville is retold in simplified English at CEFR B2 (upper-intermediate). It is split into 5 short parts, and every sentence has a Korean translation you can show or hide, so a learner at that level can follow the story without a dictionary.
- Is Moby Dick hard to read in English?
- The original is written for native readers, with long sentences and older vocabulary, so most learners find it hard. This retelling keeps the story but uses simpler English at CEFR B2 (upper-intermediate), so if you read English at that level you can follow it, and the Korean translation is there for any line that stops you. If it feels too hard, start with an easier book one level down.
- How long does it take to read Moby Dick in simple English?
- About 22 minutes of reading in total — roughly 4 minutes per part across 5 parts. Listening to the audio narration, reviewing the vocabulary and taking each part's comprehension check adds a little more.
- Is this the full, unabridged text of Moby Dick?
- No. It is an abridged graded retelling written for English learners that follows the story of the original in 5 parts. Every part also lets you read the matching unabridged chapters from the original, split into short readings.
- Is Moby Dick free to read here?
- Yes. All 5 parts are free to read online, with the Korean translation, audio narration, vocabulary flashcards and comprehension questions included.
- Is Moby Dick in the public domain?
- Yes. Herman Melville's Moby Dick is in the public domain, and the original text is freely available from Project Gutenberg (eBook #2701). SeoJae Story's simplified retelling and Korean translation are original text written for learners.