The Romance

Continuation…
Herman Melville(1819-1891)

• Was a descendant of an old, wealthy family

that fell into poverty upon the death of the
father.
• No college education.
• Most of his early novels grew out of his
voyages.
• His first book was “Typee”.
Moby-Dick or The Whale
• Melville’s masterpiece.
• Epic story of the whaling sheep.
• Realistic adventure novel contains a series of
meditations of human condition.
• Has been called a “natural epic”.
 Main Characters:

• Ishmael - The narrator, and a junior member of the crew of the Pequod.

• Captain Ahab - The egomaniacal captain of the Pequod.
• Moby Dick - The great white sperm whale. 
• Starbuck - The first mate of the Pequod.
• Queequeg - Starbuck’s skilled harpooner and Ishmael’s best friend.
• Stubb - The second mate of the Pequod. 
 Other Characters:
• Pip - A young black boy who fills the role of a cabin boy or jester on the Pequod.
• Fedallah - A strange, “oriental” old Parsee (Persian fire-worshipper) whom Ahab has brought on board unbeknownst to most of
the crew. 
• Peleg - A well-to-do retired whaleman of Nantucket and a Quaker.
• Bildad - Another well-to-do Quaker ex-whaleman from Nantucket who owns a large share of the Pequod. 
• Father Mapple - A former whaleman and now the preacher in the New Bedford Whaleman’s Chapel.
• Captain Boomer - The jovial captain.
• Gabriel - A sailor aboard the Jeroboam. 
• Tashtego - Stubb’s harpooner.
• Flask - A native of Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard and the third mate of the Pequod. 
• Daggoo - Flask’s harpooner. 
 Alexis de Tocqueville
• A French writer and politician.
• He was best known for his works Democracy in
America.
• He reasons that, in a democracy, literature would dwell
on “the hidden depths of the immaterial nature of
man” rather than on mere appearances or superficial
distinctions such as class and status.
• Moby-Dick and Typee fit this description.