The culture this great author was a part of was the time .

             in American history where inspiring works of literature .

             began to emerge. It was also a time when American writers .

             had not completely separated its literary heritage from .

             Europe, partly because there were successful literary .

             genius' flourishing there.

             .

             B. Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819, he was the .

             son of Allan and Maria Melville. During Herman's childhood .

             he lived in the "good" neighborhoods of New York City. .

             In 1832 Herman suffered tragedy when his father died after .

             trying to cope with the stress of debts and misfortunes. .

             After a short time in a business house in New York City, .

             Herman determined he needed to go to sea.

             He spent years traveling on a variety of ships, including .

             whaling ships. .

             .

             C1. Melville's perspective on life is that God created the .

             universe with an infinite number of .

             meanings and man is always trying to determine one specific .

             meaning.

             D2. The "lessons" that Melville is likely to weave into .

             his writing are 1. An exposition on .

             whales and the whaling industry. 2. A commentary on the .

             universe and human destiny. 3. .

             Thoughts about God and Nature.

             .

             III. Characters.

             .

             B. The protagonist in this book is Ishmael, a Christian, .

             schoolteacher and part-time sailor. Ishmael's role in the .

             hunt for "Moby Dick" is to interpret what is happening. He .

             discusses his reasons for going to sea and interprets and .

             looks for understanding a number of reasons for any specific .

             action where other characters only understand one reason.

             .

             C. It is hard to say what changes take place in Ishmael's .

             personality, since he is the narrator he doesn't .

             talk about himself, he only talks about what he sees.

             .

             D1. Ishmael befriends Queequeg who is a cannibal. Even .

             though Queequeg is very ugly Ishmael sees that Queequeg has .

             an honest heart, great honor, and a lot of courage. This .

             friendship had a positive influence on Ishmael's behavior .