ipl-logo

Herman Melville Research Paper

3151 Words13 Pages

Herman Melville is considered one of the greatest American novelists of all time. Melville was born in New York City on August 1, 1819. Melville’s writing was greatly influenced by the untimely death of his father (Moulton, Wells, and Tucker 191). Melville spent much of his twenties as a sailor, exploring and learning about the world. He married Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of a Massachusetts Chief Justice, and together they had four children. Herman Melville passed away on September 9, 1892 after having a prolonged and thriving career. Through his writing, Melville was renowned for incorporating many themes and techniques to express his thoughts to the reader. Of all the themes conveyed in his books, the themes of religion and homosexuality …show more content…

Murray believes that Ahab represents Satan; he backs up this claim with a quote from Melville saying the book is “secretly baptized in the name of the devil” (qtd. in Chase 66). Ahab can also be considered evil because of his wicked name, taken from the evil King of Israel. The Captain was known for defying the laws of the church, calling those who believe in God “cricket-players and pugilists”, and even for spitting in the communion wine (66). Murray accredits Melville’s influence to possibly be from Paradise Lost, a book that Melville was reading at the time …show more content…

By assigning a specific reference to democracy, Melville is able to induce a certain mentality upon the reader. When the reader comes across a reference of a circle in Melville’s work, he is able to display the importance of democracy. In one of Melville’s stories, circles are describes as having a certain center, or thought, and then having a full circumference, or story surrounding it (43). Democracy is used as “an anchor-like point that the plot and social issues alike can revolve around” (43). Since there is a definitive shape assigned to this thought, Melville uses democracy as a style to drive a plot around a specific

Show More
Related

  • Richard Melville: Case Study

    513 Words  | 3 Pages

    On November 1, 2014 Richard Melville, twelve years old, was riding the school bus home from Bedford Falls Middle School. He was dropped off in the area of 666 Elm Street, an area and building owned by C.D. Management. This area is urban with vacant structures, empty lots, commercial establishments, decrepit buildings, and a high frequency of crime. Richard was approached outside of 666 Elm Street, coerced into the building’s basement, and was brutally beaten, leaving him unconscious. As a result, Richard suffered serious injuries.

    Read More

  • Compliments In Herman Melville's Benito Cereno

    675 Words  | 3 Pages

    The issue being addressed here is whether or not one character, the narrator, truly treats the slaves on the ship, and slaves in general, with respect. In the passage under examination, Melville is working to show

    Read More

  • Melville's Use Of Understatement In Benito Cereno

    907 Words  | 4 Pages

    I argue that through the use of various forms of understatement in Benito Cereno, Melville produces a destabilizing effect that undermines and mocks the supposed power and intellect of Captain Delano. One of the first descriptions we get of Captain Delano sets this tone for his characterization throughout the rest of the novella: he sees himself as noble, but Melville’s writing fosters doubt about this in the reader. This occurs very early on, as after observing the mystery ship in the distance, Delano decides that despite the fact that it shows no colors, as was customary, the ship probably means no harm. Melville’s narration justifies this by explaining that “Delano’s surprise might have deepened into some uneasiness had he not been a person of a singularly undistrustful good nature, not liable, except on extraordinary and repeated incentives...to indulge in personal alarms, any way involving the imputation of malign evil in man” (36).

    Read More

  • Bartleby The Scrivener Research Paper

    953 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this story, readers often debate whether the narrator is ultimately a friend or foe to Bartleby by analyzing their relationship. Through the narrator’s actions and responses to Bartleby, he poses more as a friend rather than just another tool to Bartleby’s downfall, showing how Melville uses their relationship to demonstrate the idea that despite general understandings that a

    Read More

  • Bartleby Scrivener

    874 Words  | 4 Pages

    The job of every author is not only to create a story with an interesting plot line, but also to create characters that capture the reader’s attention. In the classic story of, “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, author Herman Melville does an excellent job of portraying Bartleby in a way that leaves the reader wanting more. Not only does Bartleby’s character challenge the normal standards of the average employee, but the reader is also allowed to take a look into the mind of the author during a time of strife and struggles. Although it might be difficult for the reader to look past the many noticable differences between Bartleby and the average worker, once scratching the surface of comparisons they may be able to find similarities between Bartleby

    Read More

  • How Is Animal Imagery Used In Frederick Douglass

    2293 Words  | 10 Pages

    The presence of animals is essential to both texts, with the creatures functioning as complicated symbols. Melville’s Israel Potter suggests that the distinction between man and animal is not clear, while The Narrative of the

    Read More

  • Arm You Re Joking, By Richard Feynman

    1115 Words  | 5 Pages

    Melville’s educational philosophy was focused on solving their own curiosity, unlike other parents who focus on delivering information. In Richard Feynman’s autobiography, Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman, he mentions family trip went to the ‘American Museum of Natural History’, which he debated about the origin of atoms. His father started to ask questions on the basis of advanced theories. Feynman described father’s education as “enough to bring me [Feynman] to a science field”, and to be a scientist (Feynman, 16-17). After few decades, when Feynman became one of the greatest physicists and he could contribute to the popularization of quantum

    Read More

  • Comparing Melville's Benito Cereno And Minding The Body

    1202 Words  | 5 Pages

    Matthew Rebhorn’s analysis argues that ‘Benito Cereno’ offers both an ‘inside narrative’ to be analyzed, as well as a guide on how to properly read analytically (157). Melville is using our hunger to understand the truth as a tool to display the negative effects of such an appetite, like Delano’s quest to understand the mysterious intentions of Cereno blinds him to the reality of the situation aboard the ship, in this sense, he traps the reader in this ambiguity in order to guide the reader out of it (157-8). Melville uses language to tangle and subvert meaning, challenging our “logocentric reading practices” and highlighting the “[in]adequacy of rational discourse” (Rebhorn, 158-9). ‘Benito Cereno’ discredits an objectivist reading practice, and replaces it with what Rebhorn identifies as an embodied reading practice. (161).

    Read More

  • Herman Melville's Impact On American Literature

    975 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the twentieth century on, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick has been considered a masterpiece of literature and a landmark in

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson And Ahab Analysis

    874 Words  | 4 Pages

    Melville displays allusions to Andrew Jackson in various instances throughout Moby Dick and certainly for good measure. The significance itself, though lies in the fact that Andrew Jackson and Ahab, the infamous ship captain, are both merciless towards the minorities. With an imagination, arguments can be proposed that Andrew Jackson and Ahab are the same person. In order to back up the argument one must understand Andrew Jackson’s presidency, the two’s personalities, Ahab’s role in the novel, and the hickory pole. Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, possesses the reputation of being a ruthless, barbarous, and ignorant man.

    Read More

  • Herman Melville's Allusion Of 'Bartleby'

    147 Words  | 1 Pages

    Another allusion which is most apparent was the narrators’ response to the grub-mans finding. At the bottom of page thirty-four, “Strangely huddled at the base of the wall, his knees drawn up, and lying on his side, his head touching the cold stones, I saw the wasted Bartleby.” (Melville, 34) The lawyer murmurs, “With kings and counselors.” (Melville, 34)

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Bartleby The Scrivener By Herman Melville

    776 Words  | 4 Pages

    Critical Analysis The short story “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville, showcases the protagonist, Bartleby, as a scrivener who is inundated with the demanding expectations of his job while being employed by an overbearing mercenary boss. Ultimately, Melville illustrates the protagonist’s sanity and moral value deteriorating as Bartleby begins to lose the will to live due to the stress that his job has created. Herman Melville (1819-1891) was born in New York City, New York. He is the third child out of eight.

    Read More

  • Percy Byssh Shelley Research Paper

    996 Words  | 4 Pages

    Percy Bysshe Shelley from a young age was very political and outspoken. Percy was born at Field Place, Sussex August 4 1792. Shelley's father was Timothy Shelley, a wealthy landowner who sent him to Syon House Academy at the young age of ten. At Syon House Shelley was bullied and lonely, but he became interested in science; mostly astronomy and chemistry. Shelley also picked up a love for juvenile thrillers that had lots of horrors.

    Read More

  • Herman Melville's Influence In Moby Dick

    886 Words  | 4 Pages

    Melville’s life had a great impact on the story Moby Dick. In the same way, he had a bad leg on one of his journeys, he creates Captain Ahab with a broken leg. Primarily, by reading Shakespeare’s plays he creates the setting and language of the novel. In the same manner, he uses his dramatic technique in creating Ahab as a tragic hero villain.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Benito Cerreno

    977 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to consent with Alleline’s allegations, the reader must interpret the text as being anti-slavery oriented, given what was called the “immorality of slavery”. In accordance with Alleline, I agree that Melville was making a statement against the institution of slavery in his writing of Benito Cereno. Whereas Alleline’s interpretation of Benito Cereno is distinctly about one effect of slavery, general American shallowness; My interpretation differs in regards to what I think is Melville’s overarching theme of the countless detrimental effects of slavery on an entire population. While J. G Alleline’s critique of Melville’s story, serving as vehicle to highlight American superficiality is slightly narrow, his general ideas that Benito Cereno is a subtle anti-slavery work of literature is accurate, as portrayed through the ignorance of Captain Delano and

    Read More

More about Herman Melville Research Paper

Open Document