Edgar Allan Poe 
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket 

Follows the story of Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away on the whaling ship, Grampus. Unfortunately for him he finds himself stuck in an adventure that includes mutiny, butchery, and cannibalism, premature burial, a ghost ship, gigantic polar bears, and uncharted islands peopled by barbarian hordes. That'll teach him not to try and get a free ride in the future. If he has one.