Herman Melville: A Biography And Analysis Essays -- essays research pa

Herman Melville: A Biography And Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout American history, very few authors have earned the right to be called â€Å"great.† Herman Melville is one of these few. His novels and poems have been enjoyed world wide for over a century, and he has earned his reputation as one of the finest American writers of all time. A man of towering talent, with intellectual and artistic brilliance, and a mind of deep insight into human motives and behavior, it is certainly a disgrace that his true greatness was not recognized until nearly a generation after his death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born in the city of New York on August 1, 1819, Melville was the third child and second son of Allan Melvill(it wasn't until Allan's death in 1832 that the â€Å"e† at the end of Melville was added, in order to make a more obvious connection with the Scottish Melville clan), a wholesale merchant and importer then living in comfortable economic circumstances, and of Maria Gansevoort Melvill, only daughter of â€Å"the richest man in Albany,† the respected and wealthy General Peter Gansevoort, hero of the defense of Fort Stanwix during the American Revolution. In total, Allan and Maria had eight children. On his father' s side, his ancestry, though not so prosperous as on his mother's, was equally distinguished. Major Thomas Melvill, his grandfather, was one of the â€Å"Indians† in the Boston Tea Party during the events leading to the war and who had then served his country creditably throughout the hostilities. The Melvill family kept on their mantelpiece a bottle of tea drained out of Major Melvill's clothes after the Tea Party as a momento of this occasion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Herman attended the New York Male High School from about the age of seven until 1830. By that time, Allan Melvill's business had begun to fail, due to his credit being overextended. After futile attempts to re-establish himself, he eventually found it necessary to accept the management of a New York fur company back in Albany. The family moved there in the autumn of 1830, and during that time Herman attended, along with his brothers Gansevoort and Allan, the Albany Academy. Just as luck seemed to again be favoring the Melvills, Allan's business affairs again suffered a setback. Excessive worry and overwork finally took their toll upon his health. By January, 1832, he was b... ...an left behind in a tin box after his death. It was here Billy Bud was first discovered and later published, which introduced a whole new generation to Melville's work. Soon critics, students, and the general public were reading his novels and stories, and greeting some of them as masterpieces. In 1927, American novelist William Faulkner declared that Moby Dick was the book he most wished he had written.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Knowing the quality of his work, one can not help but feel sympathetic to Melville's passing. He died on September 28, 1891 in his home in New York City, still unknown by the general public. If any writer deserved to be recognized and praised during their lives, Melville is that writer. Although unfortunate that his passing went almost unnoticed by the public, he is now and justly so, an immortal in the annals of American literature, and his work will be looked upon with both admiration and envy for many years to come. APPENDICES Any appendices should appear after the text of your term paper. BIBLIOGRAPHY Use the Bibliography TaskWizard to help you quickly and easily create a bibliography for your paper. Pick the same style as your footnote style.