Herman Melville
is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest writers in history. His works such as Typee and Moby Dick prove that he had incredible talent for writing. Although Melville was a financial ruin throughout his life and his works did not receive much of the credit that was due to them, Melville is still regarded today as one of the greatest writers in American history.
Melville's heritage and youthful experiences were fairly important in forming the conflicts his artistic vision deals with. was born in New York City on Aug. 1, 1819, the third child of Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melvill, in a family that was to grow to four boys and four girls. ("" http://www.comptons.com) His family had been ...
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and slow. His mother regarded him as a dull boy. (http://www.comptons.com) In 1826 Allan Melvill wrote of his son:
"He is very backward in speech & somewhat slow in comprehension, but you will find him as far as he understands men and things both solid and profound, and of a docile and amiable disposition."
("Concerning " http://www.melville.org/others.html)
In that same year, scarlet fever left the boy with permanently weakened eyesight, but he attended Male High School. When the family import business collapsed in 1830, the family returned to Albany, where Herman enrolled briefly in Albany Academy. Allan Melvill died in 1832, leaving his family in a very poor financial situation. The eldest son, Gansevoort, assumed responsibility for the family and took over his father's felt and fur business. Herman joined him after two years as a bank clerk and some months working on the farm of his uncle, Thomas Melvill, in Pittsfield, Mass. About this time, Herman's branch of the family ...
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Mass., on a voyage to the South Seas. This, along with many other voyages to sea, would greatly influence Melville in his works.
In June 1842 the "Acushnet" anchored in the Marquesas Islands in present-day French
Polynesia. Melville's adventures here, while somewhat exaggerated, became the subject of his first novel, Typee (1846). In July Melville and a companion jumped ship and,
according to Typee, spent about four months as guest-captives of the reputedly
cannibalistic Typee people. Actually, in August he was registered in the crew of the
Australian whaler "Lucy Ann.". Despite the nature of the situation and the reputation of the Typee people, Melville represented the ...
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Herman Melville. (2005, April 21). Retrieved April 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Herman-Melville/25728
"Herman Melville." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 21 Apr. 2005. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Herman-Melville/25728>
"Herman Melville." Essayworld.com. April 21, 2005. Accessed April 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Herman-Melville/25728.
"Herman Melville." Essayworld.com. April 21, 2005. Accessed April 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Herman-Melville/25728.
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