1. Herman Melville
( )

2. Life of Melville Family Background
Born in a prestigious well-to-do family in New York
Paternal grandfather Thomas Melville participating in Boston Tea-Dumping Event in 1775
Maternal father, a military officer serving in The American War of Independence and the wealthiest in Albany of New York
Father handling textiles who died in 1832 soon after bankruptcy and Melville abandoning school doing different odd jobs, feeling abandoned

3. Life of Melville Melville’s Harvard and Yale
A cabin boy on “St. Lawrence” bound for Liverpool in 1839 (Mardi, 1849; Redburn, 1849)
A sailor on American whaler “Acushnet” for 18 months between
Exile at Marquesas in South Pacific for a month, living among Typees (Typee, 1846)

4. Life of Melville
A sailor on an Australian whaler and exile on Tahiti Island (Omoo, 1847)
Back to American in 1843 on American Whaler “Charles and Henry”
A sailor on American Navy ship for 14 months in 1843 (White Jacket, 1850; Billy Budd, 1924)

5. Life of Melville
Buying a farm “Arrowhead” in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Moby-Dick (1851) created here
Influence of Hawthorne (Melville’s “American Shakespeare”) in the techniques like symbolism, parables and topics like human evils
The vice surveyor of New York port from 1866 till 1885.
Death in September 1891 after two sons’ young death

6. Melville’s contribution to American literature and features
A literary vanguard
Doubt about God and Christianity and faith crisis between 1890s and 1920s
Doubt about society
Doubt about human soul
A 19th century writer
American myth popular in the 19th century
Discard and pursue pattern typical of 19th century American literature

7. Melville’s contribution to American literature and features
Autobiographical elements, Moby-Dick for instance
Symbolism

8. Appreciation of Moby-Dick
American epic
Lyric prose poem
Cervantes romantic novel
Shakespearean tragedy

9. Appreciation of Moby-Dick · Chart of Characters
Ishmael
Moby-Dick

10. Appreciation of Moby-Dick · Questions
What kind of Narrator is Ishmael? What is his attitude towards Ahab, Moby-Dick?
What is the relationship between God, Nature and Man as reflected in this novel?
What does the whaler “Pequod” suggest?
What Biblical Images can you find from this novel?
What do you associate by reading Pequod’s journey around the glob?

11. Appreciation of Moby-Dick · Questions
What kind of person is Ahab? How do you like him?
Do you find anything interesting about the relationship between Ishmael and Queequeg?
What does Queequeg symbolize or suggest?
What does the whale Moby-Dick remind you of? What does its color suggest?
Is there anything in common between Ishmael, Ahab and Melville
What may the coffin Queequeg ordered for himself suggest? What may the carving on the coffin imply?