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No. In Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick is not reported dead. He attacks and sinks the Pequod, but the ending does not say what happens to the whale afterward.
What happens to Moby Dick in the final chase?
During the final chase, Moby Dick rams the Pequod. The ship sinks, and Ahab and the rest of the crew are lost. The novel narrates the destruction of the ship, but does not describe the whale dying or explicitly show him swimming away. So the careful answer is that Moby Dick survives as far as the book establishes: his death is not stated.
Does Ishmael survive?
Yes. Ishmael is thrown from a boat and drawn toward the sinking ship’s vortex. The coffin made into a life-buoy rises to the surface, and he clings to it until he is rescued. That survival allows him to tell the story.
In the epilogue, Ishmael explains: “The drama’s done. Why then here does any one step forth?—Because one did survive the wreck.” The passage identifies a survivor, not a later fate for Moby Dick. Read the novel’s full text, including “The Chase—Third Day” and the epilogue, at Project Gutenberg.
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