Herman Melville during his time was known as the greatest writer. He was the author of many novels such as, Moby Dick, and Bartleby the Scrivener (Allen 9). Herman Millville stories were based on factual aspects in his life and the world surrounding him. Through his literature he expressed his feelings on certain political or economic issues that were occurring during the nineteenth century. In this essay I will be discussing Herman Millville’s life, his literature works and how it relates to him.
Herman Melville was born August 1, 1819 near the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, which was located at sixth Pearl Street in New York City (Miller 1). He was the second son and third child of Allan and Maria Gansevoort. His original last name was spelled Melville, he added the “E” after the death of his father (Allen 11). Herman’s father was an importer of French goods. His mother was an attractive woman; she was the daughter of General Peter Gansevoort, who was a famous American Revolutionary. Herman was baptized in South Reformed Dutch Church, on August 19, 1819(Allen 14). A few months after that, the alarum fever sickness reappeared again, which in turn forced his mother to flee to Albany, while his father stood behind in NY with his business. However, when the fever sustained she returned to NY, and discovered that Mr. Melville’s business was damaged. Therefore he had to borrow money from his family including his brother in law. From time to time his mother would go to Albany and visit because her parents lived there. Throughout Herman’s childhood he traveled back and forth between states and would visit his uncle ships. Since he was young he would hear many of his father adventurous stories on his travels, and he himself wanted to trav...
... middle of paper ...
...e, he strived to make the best of it. As many writers hope for their books to be a success, it may not always work out that way. Herman Melville felt like failure, but the very book that brought his career down, is the very same novel that is famous till today which is, Moby Dick. Herman Melville work, is one of the most life experience and insightful piece of literature ever written.
Bibliography
Allen, Gay. Melville and His World. New York: Viking, 1971. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Herman Melville’s: Billy Budd, Benito Cereno, Bartleby the Scrivener and other tales. New York: Chelsea house, 1987. Print.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Herman Melville. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1997. Print.
Miller, James. A Reader’s Guide to Herman Melville. New York: Octagon, 1977. Print.
Puchner, Martin. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. New York: Norton Company, 2012. Print.
Parker, who wrote the script with Catherine di Napoli, has transported Melville’s story into a surreal contemporary nowhere world,” (Scott, 2001). The last resource being used in this research paper is an article wrote by Damon smith called “Poorly conceived “Bartleby” fails to bring characters to life”, this article discusses the drastic changes in the 2001 film “Bartleby”, compared to Melville’s original writings. Smith feels that these changes does not give Melville’s short story the justice that it deserves. These three sources are credible scholar articles that will provide comparative information to help support my thesis as well as primary points with this research. There are more differences in the movie and book that effect the way that the short story may have been perceive in its time. Parker takes a 18th century story and modernizes it to fit a culture that the viewers are in to help them to understand what Melville was trying to interpret in his writings. To some those drastic changes dampened the story and to others it made it more understandable and exciting. This research will show those differences as well as the similarities and show that the symbolism in both kinds of literature is the
In conclusion, this essay analyzes the similarities and differences of the two stories written by Herman Melville, Billy Budd and Bartleby. The settings, characters, and endings in the two stories reveal very interesting comparisons and contrasts. The comparison and contrast also includes the interpretation of the symbolism that Melville used in his two stories. The characters, Billy and Bartleby, could even be considered autobiographical representatives of Herman Melville.
When inquiring about the comparisons and contrasts between Melville’s Benito Cereno and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of an American Slave, Written by Himself, the following question almost inevitably arises: Can a work of fiction and an autobiography be compared at all? Indeed, the structure of the two stories differs greatly. Whereas Douglass’s Narrative adapts a typical pattern of autobiographies, i.e. a chronological order of birth, childhood memories, events that helped shape the narrator etc., Benito Cereno is based on a peculiar three-layered foundation of a central story recounting the main events, a deposition delineating the events prior to the first part, and an ending.
Melville, Herman. Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories. Ed. Frederick Busch. New York: Penguin, 1986.
To begin, Melville believed that "we are all sons, grandsons, or nephews or great-nephews of those who go before us. No one is his own sire." Thus, his writings both mimic Emerson's views and repel it. For ex...
Joseph Adriano’s quote from his article “Brother to Dragons: Race and Evolution in Moby-Dick” asserts not only Herman Melville’s goals of producing a novel that gets people discussing the problem of racial inequality, but also aids in revealing the main point of Moby-Dick, which is that in order for blacks to become assimilated into American society, people must accept change. While people in his time period were not willing to be this flexible, Melville saw it as a necessary step to achieve the essential objective of racial equality. Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, written in 1851, reveals his disposition on the topic of equality in an interracial society and the importance of keeping an open mind when it comes to reform. Melville ultimately accomplishes his goal of creating a protest novel by introducing a plethora of characters, themes, and situations that go against the status quo of the racist American society that he belonged to in the 19th century.
One of the literary elements that Melville uses that convey the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby is diction. The author's diction in this short story is very descriptive and is also slightly comical. One of the ways this is used is when the author gently mocks the narrator by having him expose his flaws through his own words. For example, when the narrator talks of John Jacob Astor, a well respected man who complemented him, we find out how full of himself he is and how highly he thinks of himself. "The late John Jacob Astor, a parsonage little given to poetic enthusiasm, had no hesitation in pronouncing my first grand point…I will freely add, that I was not insensible to the late John Jacob Astor's good opinion." (Page 122, Paragraph2) Another example of the author's use of diction appears on page 127 in paragraph 2; "At first, Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. As if long famished for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day and night line, copying by sunlight and by candle-light. I should have been quite delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious. But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically." Here the narrator's description of Bartleby's writing habits in the office, at first, tell us that he is very pleased with his progress and the work he has done but then it tells us that he is not very enthusiastic but...
Written by Herman Melville, Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative) describes the story of a sailor named William "Billy" Budd who is exchanged for another sailor to work aboard the warship H.M.S. Bellipotent. Billy is described as the Handsome Sailor, and his innocence is exposed through his actions. However, his innocence leads to his ignorance when he is believed to be apart of a mutiny by his rival John Claggart, who is the master-at-arms aboard the ship. Claggart reveals his accusations to Captain Edward Fairfax Vere. Unable to defend himself through words, Budd punches Claggart in the head and kills him. Captain Vere and the drumhead court, the first lieutenant, the captain of marines, and the sailing master, then decide the fate of Billy. Even though they recognize Billy's innocence, Captain Vere and the court decides that he should be hung for his actions. Billy Budd, Sailor ends with the hanging of the Handsome Sailor and concludes with a ballad titled "Billy in the Darbies". During the 1840s, Melville was a seaman for several merchant and whaler ships. Afterwards, he wrote several novels including his novel The Whale, later renamed Moby Dick. After writing the novel Pierre and several short stories and poems, Melville's acclamation as a writer drastically dimenshed, and he began working at the New York Customhouse in the 1860s. After retiring from his job at the New York Customhouse, Melville began writing his poem "Billy in the Darbies," using his experience as a seaman for foundation. When Melville read an article titled "The Mutiny of Sumers," which convicted three sailors of mutiny, one of the officers who convicted them being his cousin, he decided to expand his poem into a longer prose to reveal the inside story o...
Melville, Herman, and Herman Melville. Bartleby ; And, Benito Cereno. New York: Dover Publications, 1990. Print.
Originally the non-fictional basis of this text is on the memoir of the once alive Amasa Delano who wrote of a slave revolt on the Spanish ship Tryall. While "Benito Cereño" is a strong and entertaining story of a slave revolt on a Spanish ship, one may not see the message Melville may be trying to express to his readers. Published in 1855, the United States on the brink of the Civil War with the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, this story speaks the horror and nightmare many abolitionist feared may happen if the s...
Franklin, H. Bruce. "Bartleby: The Ascetic's Advent." Melville's Short Novels: Authoritative Texts, Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Dan McCall. New York: Norton, 2002. 176-85.
Herman Melville’s stories of Moby Dick and Bartleby share a stark number of similarities and differences. Certain aspects of each piece seem to compliment each other, giving the reader insight to the underlying themes and images. There are three concepts that pervade the two stories making them build upon each other. In both Moby Dick and Bartleby the main characters must learn how to deal with an antagonist, decide how involved they are in their professions, and come to terms with a lack of resolution.
Before exploring Ishmael, Ahab, and Moby Dick and their Biblical counterparts, it is important to understand Melville's background. He grew up as a baptized Calvinist in the Dutch Reformed Church. His parents trained him to obey God at all times, even if God’s commands seem unjust and cruel. However, he quickly turned against his faith after his father died. During his travels, he witnessed diseases, catastrophes, and hatred throughou...
Herman Melville uses a first person point of view to show the narrator’s first hand fascination with his employee Bartleby, as well as Bartleby’s strange behavior and insubordination.
Herman Melville believed deeply in his notion that the common-man receives no justice, only the elite member in a society. Perhaps his belief originated in the society that he lived in, or the situations such as a Civil War, that impacted his viewpoint. Throughout this story, the reader is repeatedly introduced to the consistent idea that the common-man is on his own, and the situations that he encompasses are distorted and augmented as time passes.