Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28,
1891) was an American novelist and short
story writer .
His first three books gained much
attention, the first becoming a bestseller, but after a fast-blooming literary
success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the
mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime. When he died in 1891, he was
almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival"
in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, most notably Moby-Dick
which was hailed as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and
world literature.
His Work Like :
Moby
Dick (Moby-Dick, or, The Whale) is a novel published in 1851 by the American
writer Herman Melville.The plot of the book can be summarized very briefly as
the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Achab in search of
whales and sperm whales, and particularly the enormous white whale (actually a
sperm whale), which gives the title to the novel. However,in Moby Dick is much more of whaling scenes
are punctuated by reflections scientific religious, philosophical and artistic
character of Ishmael, the writer's alter ego, making the trip at the same time
an allegory and epic epic .
Characters
• Ishmael: He is primarily an
omniscient narrator; through his
eyes is seen that this endeavor.
• Captain
Achab: guide the
crew through the mad enterprise of hunting white-whale leviathan. This fury is
described by Melville as a monomania:“Roso di dentro e arso di fuori dagli artigli fissie inesorabili di un’idea
incurabile”.
• Starbuck: the young first mate of the
Pequod, is a thoughtful and intellectual Quaker.
• Queequeg: is a native of the Pacific
island romance Kokovoko or call Rokovoko. Is
the first important person to Ishmael met at the Inn of the aperture.
• Pip:
is a sailor a
bit 'dazed and awkward.
Themes:
The white whale has
also been seen as a symbol for many things,
including nature and those elements of life that are out of human control.
The white whale has
also been seen as a symbol for many things,
including nature and those elements of life that are out of human control. The Pequod's quest
to hunt down Moby Dick itself is also widely viewed as allegorical. To Achab,
killing the whale becomes the ultimate goal in his life, and this observation
can also be expanded allegorically so that the whale represents everyone's
goals. Melville may be implying that people in general
In last
in this novel insider the multiple references to death – from the beginning
with the Spouter Inn where Peter Coffin is the manager to the images in the
whaler’s chapel.
The symbolic and
actual meanings of the coffin and its imagery are important. On the one hand,
the coffin signifies death. On the other, its structure saved Ishmael.
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