By Herman Melville Herman Melville Herman Melville is

By: Herman Melville

Herman Melville • Herman Melville is considered to be one of the best American writers of all time. His best novel, Moby Dick, is a masterpiece. Billy Budd was published after his death.

Melville Biography Timeline • 1819 born New York, family went bankrupt and fell apart, leading Melville to drop out of school • 1839 1 st voyage at sea • 1841 -1848 experiences at sea=37 books about it – At first popular reading & commercial success – But wanted to change writing, wanted meaning; wanted to rebel, write banned books

Timeline cont. • 1850 develops relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne – Returns to “popular fiction” but hates it – Melville to Hawthorne (while working on Moby Dick): “Dollars damn me. [What I feel] most moved to write, that is banned—it will not pay. Yet altogether, write the other way I cannot. So the product is a final hash, all my books are botches. ”

Timeline cont. • 1851 Moby Dick – Topic: 800 pages about guy trying to find whale and get back at it – Not successful; received little notice – Wanted to write novels written at two different levels • Said to Hawthorne: “secret motto that few would discern” • Said about Hawthorne’s books: “are superficially calculated to deceive— egregiously deceived, the superficial skimmer of books”

Timeline cont. • 1852 -1867 Pierre, Israel Potter, trip to Europe, edits Hawthorne’s works, The Confidence Man • 1867 abandons fiction – Magazine writing to make $ – Publishes short stories in Europe – Emotionally wrung out from failures, careful of issues of offensiveness, still trying out technique of writing for two audiences at once • Melville’s work rediscovered in 1920

Brief Summary • Billy Budd is about a sailor that is very strong. His nickname is the “Handsome Sailor. ” • When he comes on board he is well liked among all the other sailors. • The Master-of-Arms Claggart, is the only one that doesn’t like him. • Once Billy is accused of treason, he must defend himself.

Main Characters • • Billy Budd- Handsome sailor The Captain- Captain of H. M. S. Bellipotent John Claggart - The Master-of-arms The Dansker- Billy’s friend

Setting The book takes place on the H. M. S. Bellipotent in the year of 1797 in the Atlantic Ocean.

Theme Herman Melville uses a theme Good vs. Evil in the book. To find out who wins the battle you must read the book. The ending might be surprising to some people.