Moby Dick

MOBY-DICKMoby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by the American writer Herman Melville, published in 1851 during the American Renaissance. Sailor Ishmael tells the story of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge for Moby Dick, the white whale who, during the previous whaling trip, bit Ahab’s leg at the knee. The novel was a commercial failure and exhausted at the time of the author’s death in 1891, but during the 20th century, his reputation as a great American novel was established. William Faulkner confessed that he would have liked to write it himself, and DH Lawrence called it “one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world”, and “the greatest book of the sea ever” written”. “Call me Ishmael” is among the most famous opening phrases of world literature.The result of a year and a half of writing, the book draws on Melville’s experience at sea, his reading of whale literature and literary inspirations such as Shakespeare and the Bible. The white whale is modeled on the famous albino whale Mocha Dick, whose end is based on the sinking of the whale whale Essex. Detailed and realistic descriptions of whaling and whale oil extraction, as well as life on board a culturally diverse crew, are mixed with the exploration of social and class status, good and evil and the existence of God. In addition to narrative prose, Melville uses literary styles and devices ranging from songs, poetry, and catalogs to Shakespeare’s scenic directions, soliloquies, and sides.HERMAN MELVILLEHerman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, a news writer, and a poet of the American Renaissance period. His best-known works include Typee (1846), a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life, and his whaling novel Moby-Dick (1851). His work has been almost forgotten in his last 30 years. His writing is based on his experience at sea as a common sailor, the exploration of literature and philosophy, and the engagement in the contradictions of American society in a period of rapid change. He developed a complex Baroque style; the vocabulary is rich and original, a strong sense of rhythm permeates the elaborate sentences, the imagery is often mystical or ironic, and the abundance of allusions extends to biblical writing, to myth, to philosophy, to literature and the visual arts.Melville was born in New York, the third child of a dry French merchant. His formal education ended abruptly after his father’s death in 1832, leaving the family in a difficult financial situation. He briefly became a teacher before sinking in 1839 as a seaman on a merchant ship. In 1840, he signed aboard the whaler Acushnet on his first whaling trip, but jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. He returned to Boston in 1844 after other adventures.His first book was Typee (1846), a highly romanticized account of his life among the Polynesians. He became such a bestseller that he wrote the Omoo Suite (1847). These successes encouraged her to marry Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of a prominent Boston family, but success was hard to maintain. His first novel that was not based on his own experiences was Tuesday (1849), a tale of the sea that develops into a philosophical allegory – but it was not well received. He received warmer critics for Redburn (1849), a story of life on a merchant ship, and his 1850 description of life aboard a warship in White-Jacket, but they did not provided financial security.