Antagonist/Protagonist

For the first 200 or so pages of Moby Dick, I believed that the antagonist was Ishmael and the antagonist was Captain Ahab, Moby Dick, or a combination of the two. However, I know believe that both Moby Dick and Captain Ahab will each have moments when one appears to be the protagonist and the other the antagonist. Both characters seem to have already had moments where they can be portrayed as good or evil. The switching of roles creates a realistic dilemma; very rarely are real world problems a scenario where “good” people trying to conquer those who are “evil.”
In my opinion, Captain Ahab’s first appearance in the novel presented him as the antagonist. His deformity and demeanor portrays a man who is not mentally stable. Numerous times Ishmael refers to him as a monomaniac. I believed that this monomania was one of evil desires, but it could also be viewed as a fatal flaw, which many protagonists in Greek drama have.
Moby Dick is thoroughly analyzed by Ishmael when he discusses the color white. He references Biblical and monarchal practices that indicate white is holy and noble. However, he believes that white is more deformed and uncertain. He references the albino and the sight of whitewater on the ocean. These ambiguous character traits allow the reader to form his/her own opinion about the characters.