Whale oil was a huge business back then. Oil lanterns were ubiquitous in businesses and in homes. Whalers were very well paid and doing a very physical and relatively dangerous job, sort like frackers now.
Moby Dick is a great book, but it's a mistake to make 16-year-olds read it. I've heard of many people reading it 30 years later and really enjoying it.
There's a movie called "In the Heart of the Sea" which you should watch. It's about the same shipwreck of the Essex that Melville took inspiration from.
It's based on an excellent book, of the same title. The book delves into the social structure of Nantucket society and the whaleship crews, the personal backgrounds of many of the officers and men, and the details of the whaling business.
I don't remember if the film showed this, but the captain had to go home and tell his sister they ate her son, his nephew. It was second disastrous voyage, if I remember correctly, and it was the end of his career. No one would risk a whaling ship under him again.
