The culture this great author was a part of was the time in American history where inspiring .
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.
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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. .
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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.
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III. Characters.
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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.
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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.
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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 because it taught him not to judge on outward appearances.
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