1. Herman Melville (1819-1891) Introductory Notes Compiled by M. Wheeler Rozakis, Laurie E. Ph.D. American Literature. Alpha Books: New York, 1999.

2. Biography Born into a wealthy family, but his father blew all the money and left his wife to raise Herman and 10 brothers and sisters. Melville forced to quit school and help support family. Tried teaching at age 18—failed. Spent five years on a British merchant ship. 1841, severed ties with mother and set sail for the Pacific aboard a whaling ship

3. Biography 1841-1844—Roamed South Seas on a whaling ship. Spent time on South Seas islands with cheerful natives who turned out to be cannibals...escaped to Tahiti and then to Hawaii. Eventually returned home and began writing about his adventures. Published Typee and Omoo, novels of cannibal banquets and nubile slave girls. The public and reviewers LOVED them!

4. Biography Melville wanted to write about more serious themes and ideas. Published Mardi, which turned off his fans. Returned to the hula girls in Redburn and White Jacket. During this period, he enjoyed great financial success and popularity 1850—Announces to friends that he has a novel “broiling in the hellfire of my brain...” This was to become Moby Dick.

5. Biography Moby Dick was a critical and commercial failure. Only Melville’s good friend and neighbor Nathaniel Hawthorne, gave it a favorable review. As far as the reading public was concerned, his career was over. Melville never again ventured into literary marketplace. Took a job for $4.00 a day as a U.S. Customs inspector. Died in total obscurity in 1891 In early 20 th century, people began to recognize Melville as a symbol of artistic integrity. By mid 20 th century, his novels, short stories, and poems were celebrated as among the best in American literature and Moby Dick is considered by many to be one of the finest examples of the novel.

6. Moby Dick Moby Dick Originally, Melville wrote Moby Dick to exploit his whaling adventures. Eventually, he used it as a means to seek ultimate truth and to peer into human nature. Second great American symbolic novel. (Can you guess the first?) Published same year...The Scarlet Letter Book was a total commercial and critical failure. Was not recognized as an important work until the 1920’s

7. Melville as anti-Transcendentalist In Nature, Emerson suggests that nature provides one message for all: beauty and inspiration. Melville felt that human beings decipher what they want from nature according to their own psychology. Melville believed fall of mankind prevented us from ever knowing the truth of God’s mysteries. Humans are always flawed and fallen. People’s natures prevented them from ever knowing divine truths.

8. Moby Dick Protagonist: Ishmael—narrator. Compassionate and intelligent Antagonist: Captain Ahab. Crazed, one-legged hero-villain whose defiant quest for revenge drives the story. Starbuck: First mate who fights the destiny Ahab has carved out for him. Queequeq: A huge cannibal Stubb: Average Joe Sailor. Not much brains, but handy Flask: a materialistic blockhead Pip: Little black cabin boy

9. Captain Ahab Modeled after following: ◦ Faust—sold soul to the devil for power and knowledge ◦ Prometheus—stole fire from the gods ◦ Icarus—aspired to fly but wings melted when too close to sun ◦ Satan—fallen angel cast out of heaven for defying the will of God. All over reached—all aimed for something sinful and failed. All punished.

10. Moby Dick The white whale symbolizes many things: ◦ Mystery of nature ◦ Innocence ◦ Evil ◦ An unattainable goal ◦ What lies “beyond”? It symbolically eludes and pursues

11. Moby Dick Moby Dick Conflicts: person vs. self (Ahab); Person vs. nature (whale) Literary Techniques: symbolism, allegory, allusion, parody, metaphor Setting: Whaling ships out of Nantucket, 1840’s; Pacific and Indian Oceans Themes: human self-destructiveness in quest for unrealizable; ability of an idealistic, self-absorbed leader to gain absolute power; cruelty and unfathomability of surrounding forces