Herman Melville Research Paper

Herman Melville was born August 1, 1819 in grand Manhattan, New York City. He was born to Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melville. Herman was third born in a family of eight. Herman’s childhood was a relatively easy one as his father was well off due to his success as a high-end importer and merchant. However, Allan Melville took a great hit from a financial loan he had borrowed and dug his family into a great debt. Herman and his family moved to Albany in an attempt to correct their financial mistakes. Sadly, things didn’t work out and Allan Melville suddenly died in 1832. As tragedy had shaken the Melville household with debt and the death of their father things were looking grim. The oldest son now took control of the family business and had
Herman and Elizabeth had four children. During his later years Herman took a break from writing and in the late 1850’s became a customs inspector in New York City. During this time he made much poetry. He published a collection called Battle-Pieces and Aspects of War in 1866. Eventually, Herman’s spark for novel writing was struck once again and he began to write on another novel. Sadly, Melville died instantly of a heart attack in New York City on September 28, 1891. Herman Melville’s last novel was published in 1924 as Billy Budd, Sailor. Herman Melville unlike other writers, wasn’t as much influenced by people, but instead was influenced by his own personal life experiences. Melville is regarded as one of America’s great writers. One of his most commonly known masterpieces, “Moby Dick” has seen a revision into the movie format in 1956 and the latest movie adaption “in the Heart of the Sea,” has had even more success than the last the film and has grossed over 100 million dollars. As an exception to whom Herman was influenced by we can take a look at The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Herman was inspired to write Moby Dick because of his friendship with Nathaniel and was successful in writing his novel, but the fame soon died away due to the fact that Herman did not advertise his books. Moby Dick’s story was in a way what Herman wanted people to see in the sea; A new adventurous world undiscovered and completely uncharted. Herman uses Ishmael as a narrative to describe the sea. One of Ishmael’s great quotes "Know ye now, Bulkington? Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous slavish shore?" Herman Melville lets the reader’s see into the wondrous sea like lifestyle