| Description | Character |
| Captain of the Pequod; has a peg leg | |
| Third harpooner on the Pequod; described as 'a gigantic, coal-black negro-savage' | |
| First mate of the Pequod; Quaker from Nantucket | |
| Second mate of the Pequod; from Cape Cod | |
| Third mate of the Pequod; from Martha's Vineyard | |
| Cannibal harpooner from Kokovoko; narrator's friend | |
| Narrator of the novel; you know what to call him | |
| Stubb's harpooner; craves rum | |
| Strange, “oriental” old Parsee; prophet to Ahab | |
| Retired whaleman of Nantucket; takes care of hiring the crew (generous one) | |