Herman Melville is a famous American writer with a difficult fate. He began to work very early, managed to see and learn a lot. In his youth, he was a traveler, in the middle of his life he was a well-known and respected writer, in his youth, he was a forgotten public servant. Interest in the works of the author arose only in the 19th century, and his fame began to grow steadily. Melville began to be perceived by the reader as a contemporary, and his novel Moby Dick became the most significant novel of the time.
Herman Melville: biography of a famous writer
Melville was born on August 1, 1819 in New York. He began to receive secondary education at a local school for boys. When German was 12 years old, his father, who was engaged in commerce, went bankrupt. The family had to move to the city of Albany, where the boy was able to continue his studies. In 1832, the head of the family died.
Labor and travel start
Not finishing secondary education, Herman Melville was forced to start working to help his family. The young man changed several occupations. He was: a bank employee, a farmer, a teacher at a local school.
At the age of 20, Melville changes his measured way of life to sea voyages - he gets a job first on a cargo ship, and then on a whaling ship. The extraction and sale of whale fat at that time was very popular and profitable. On this, many were able to make fortunes. However, the young man quickly got fed up with this work, and after six months, he escapes from the ship while staying on one of the small islands.
Here he met and lived for at least six months in the local Taipei tribe, who were cannibals. Communicating with the locals, the color of their life inspired the young writer to write the work of the same name, which was published in 1846 and very quickly began to gain popularity.
Upon returning home, the young man begins to seriously think about his future. He is trying to catch up in education. Reads a lot. It is during this period that he begins to write.
The first works of the author
In the work of Taipei, the author’s style is already felt. The narration comes from the first person, and the main character describes his experiences, adventures and wanderings. The talented writer managed to keep the reader in suspense and wait for the long-awaited denouement, because such stories were rare for the literature of that time. German Melville took a lot from his own experience, but something remained only a fiction.
Another result of the constant travels of the young man was the story "Omu." The work showed the life of different classes, from the point of view of the author. The writer ridiculed many aspects of people's lives. The story was ambiguously perceived and the author was even called a slanderer.
However, the allegations were unfounded. Herman Melville was an excellent observer and was able to study well the character and manner of behavior of people. In the novels, he vividly and colorfully described human characters, their greed and cruelty.
Personal life
In 1847, a young and already famous writer marries the Elizabeth Shaw. The girl was from a well-known family in the city - her father was the main judge. The family settled in New York.
The young couple lived in the same house with the family of brother Herman, his mother and several sisters. At this time, Herman Melville repeatedly tried to get a job in government agencies, but did not succeed. In parallel, he continues to write.
The novel "Mardi" and "White pea jacket"
In 1849, the novel Mardi and the Journey There was published. The new work had its own characteristics. It was completely fictional; the author gave vent to his imagination. Here another feature of his creations is manifested - the uncertainty of the author. It always leaves room for other scenarios or other opinions.
Melville's next novel, The White Pea Jacket, again became a description of his experiences. After the young Herman left the whaling ship, he got a job on an American warship. Here he finds himself in a new environment for himself, gets acquainted with military customs and orders, sees the daily humiliation of soldiers.
In order to achieve publication of the novel, the author goes to England. Upon his return, he decides to move to live in Massachusetts, where he acquires an estate with his father-in-law. Here Melville decides to start farming and lead a quiet family life of the writer.
Herman Melville. Moby Dick
Already crossed the countryside, Melville met N. Hawthorne. It was this acquaintance that inspired the writer to write a new novel, which became his most famous work.
The novel "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville is the crown of creativity of the author. All works written earlier were only preparation for the main creation. Despite this, the novel did not receive success with the American public.
Outwardly, the work was not impressive. It was the story of a traveler on a whaling ship. However, here the author was able to weave a huge number of genres. The book by Herman Melville “Moby Dick” is both adventures, and philosophical reasoning, and science fiction, and a moralizing novel. The author describes in great detail the subtleties of whaling, the character of the heroes, as well as the features, varieties and anatomy of whales.
Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick is full of characters. In the process of revealing the image of a whale, Moby Dick appears. Ultimately, the white whale - the main purpose of the ship's trip, becomes the personification of the problems and issues tormenting humanity as a whole.
Another symbol of the work is the crew of the ship. He personifies all of humanity, which wanders through life, like a ship in the ocean.
Further work of Melville
After the Moby Dick novel, which the American public received rather dryly, Herman Melville writes several more novels and short stories (Pierre, Israel Potter, Rogue and others). However, none of the works brought the author any fame, recognition or income. Almost all of them were recognized as either complete or partial failure. The financial situation of the family was rapidly deteriorating. Even friendship with famous personalities, among whom N. Hawthorne remained, did not give a result. Friends tried in vain to find Melville a good position.
In 1856, Melville was forced to sell his half of the house in Massachusetts to his brother. With the funds received, the writer decides to travel, hoping to restore his physical health and moral peace.
Upon his return, the writer arranges to teach at the university, where he lectures on the situation in Rome and the South Seas. Only after the death of his father-in-law in 1866, the family manages to establish their financial situation. The father left his daughter half of the estate as a legacy. Selling a home helped Melville publish War Poems, written earlier. But this work did not bear fruit. At the same time, the writer finally manages to get a job, for a public position - as a customs inspector.
The 60s, Melville devoted work on the poem "Clareil." Despite the duration of the work and the zeal of the author, the writer was not understood again.
At this time, several tragedies occurred in the family life of Herman Melville: two of his sons die, one of his daughter is seriously ill, and with the other they break off relations.
"Billy Budd, Fore-Mars Sailor"
The author devoted the last years of his life to work on the story “Billy Budd, Fore-Mars Sailor”. The writer did not have time to publish the work, it remained in the manuscript.
The story was published only in 1924 and was a huge success. The author finally achieved recognition.
Writer Book Reviews
Herman Melville receives mostly positive reviews. Of greatest interest is his novel Moby Dick. The reader notes that the writer writes very interestingly and the plot is addictive, however, the book has a lot of interweaving of plots and lines, which makes one be attentive. It is the difficulty of reading the novel that often pushes fans of easy reading from it. The symbolism of the work makes it even more mysterious and at the same time interesting.