Moby Dick consists primarily of perspectives on whaling and the natural world. The text includes historical references to whales and whaling practices, drawing from sources like King Alfred's time and later voyages. It also presents narrative elements from the novel, introducing characters such as the narrator Ishmael, Queequeg, Ahab, and other members of the Pequod's crew, and detailing their interactions and observations at sea and ashore. Interspersed are descriptions of different whale species and whaling techniques, along with philosophical musings on life, fate, and human nature as experienced through the lens of this dangerous and all-consuming pursuit. The text highlights the intense and sometimes violent encounters with whales, particularly focusing on the elusive and formidable Moby Dick, and explores the complex motivations and personalities of those who hunt them.

Frankenstein details the correspondence of Robert Walton, an explorer seeking a passage to the North Pole, who rescues a man named Victor Frankenstein stranded on the ice. Frankenstein, weak and near death, begins to recount his life story to Walton. He describes his idyllic childhood in Geneva, his passion for natural philosophy at university, and his subsequent secret and ultimately horrifying experiment in creating a living being. The narrative shifts to the perspective of the creature Frankenstein abandoned, who learns about humanity from observing a benevolent family and recounts his experiences of rejection and suffering at the hands of everyone he encounters, including Frankenstein himself, leading him to seek vengeance. The text concludes with Frankenstein's desperate and relentless pursuit of his creation across the globe, culminating in their encounter on the ice, and Walton's decision to turn back his ship after his crew insists upon it due to perilous conditions.