2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick and Moby Dick by Herman Melville, two distinct and radically different compositions that both explore the self-destructive potential of humanity. Moby Dick, set in the New England region of North America in the mid-to-late 1800s, tells the story of Captain Ahab's quest on the whaling ship, the Pequod, to kill the white whale which paralyzed him during his last journey. Throughout their journey, the crew faces numerous warnings to turn back. In the end, Ahab must make the decision between saving many lives and taking revenge. Ishamel, a well-educated traveler and member of the Pequod's crew, tells the story several years after these events occurred. 2001: A Space Odyssey is the story of humanity's actions after first extraterrestrial contact. Dr. Dave Bowman sets out on a journey to Jupiter to discover the source of a signal emanating from an obelisk buried beneath the moon's surface. At the end of his journey, Bowman is the only survivor of his ship's crew and must destroy the computer that guided them, HAL, to survive. Moby Dick takes place in Massachusetts where “nearly a third of the population are Quakers.” » (Pursuit 9). The strong religious influence of the time probably made the characters more morally righteous than people today. Whalers often stayed at sea for long periods of time and had to be resourceful. It was not uncommon for a whaler to salvage parts and entire lifeboats from a stranded ship (Chase 12). Ships often faced environmental hazards in addition to the dangerous nature of their trade. When traveling, a ship sometimes had to “abandon the idea of ​​maintaining correct longitude” (Chase 39). 2001: A Space Ody...... middle of paper ...... a better ourselves. In A Space Odyssey, humanity's improvement is ultimately its downfall. The first real AI, HAL. Considered 100% error-proof, he fails and kills several humans whose lives were entrusted to him. 2001: A Space Odyssey continues to demonstrate the theme of man versus nature through the scientists' interaction with the obelisk and Bowman's journey through the solar system. It is considered a classic due to the highly stylistic camera shots and the eerie but fully functional film music. So what we need to ask is why has human nature guided us in such a way that our own reward-seeking tendencies ultimately be the cause of destruction? And how should we go about changing it? It seems that man is constantly fighting with his own subconscious, the conscious man and the unconscious mind thinking they know what is best..