Herman Melville

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    Herman Melville

    "If at my death, my executors, or more properly my creditors, find any
precious MSS. in my desk, then here I propectively ascribe all the honor and
the
glory to whaling; for a whaleship was my Yale College and my
Harvard."(Melville
24). Throughout history American authors have written countless essays and
songs, poems and plays, novels and short stories which have led to the great
accomplishment of Amercian Literature. However since it emerged from its
crude
colonial beginnings more than 300 years ago certain authors have contributed
more than others, one of which is Herman Melville. Herman Melville ranks
among Americas most prominent authors and in modern times has been regarded
as one of the great authors in American Literature. Melville was the first
to treat
the South Seas in fiction; "Typee' (1846), and Omoo' (1847) which gave
fascinating images of this exotic region. These two books and the three that

succeed them then prepared Melville to write his time honored classic Moby
Dick
(1851). Which is regarded by some as the greatest contribution of American
letters to world literature. Melville lead a interesting life and as a
result
accumulated a wealth of personal experiences at sea to write about.
    Herman Melville was born in New York City on August 1 ,1819 ,the third
of eight children. His father was a merchant from New England and his mother

came from an old and prominent Dutch family. In 1832 when Herman was 14 his
father passed away leaving his mother and eight children in a heap of debt.
As
Herman grew up he held many distinct problems, from resentment and grief for
the
debts and death of his father to the matter of supporting such a large
family.
Melville finished school at age 15 and was young, inexperienced and poor. To

escape his problems at home and get some adventure he decided to go to sea.
In
1837 at the age of 18 Melville embarked as a ships-boy on a merchant ship
bound
for Liverpool, England. In 1841 Melville returned to New York but decided he

could not forget the sea. In 1841 and at the age of 22 Melville took a berth
as an
ordinary seaman aboard the whaler Acushnet. The ship left Fair Haven, Mass.
for
a long whaling voyage around the Cape Horn and into the South Pacific. It is
upon
this voyage that Melville had most of his early adventures.
    Melville soon discovered that the seafaring life was harsh and oppresive,
and after 18 months he jumped ship with his fr

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