Showing results by author "Herman Melville" in All Categories

Herman Melville’s novel The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade (1857) is a comedy of masquerades and a blend of allegory, cultural satire, and metaphysics. The book portrays a confidence man who sneaks on board a Mississippi steamboat on April Fool's Day, and sets out to defraud his fellow passengers. He rapidly assumes various guises and the pleasure of trickery seems more important than the monetary gain. Each person is forced to confront that in which they believe.

This classic story of a New York lawyer and his oddly rebellious clerk is as relevant today as when it was first published in 1853. Herman Melville brings us into a small Wall Street law office and introduces us to the lawyer and his quirky staff, the quirkiest of whom is poor, quiet Bartleby, whose increasing refusals to participate in office procedures lead to increasingly bewildering and tragic consequences.

Captain Delano is approached on the open sea by a battered-looking ship led by Captain Benito Cereno. Cereno, always accompanied by his personal slave, Babo, explains that his crew was transporting a group of slaves from Africa when their ship was caught and damaged in severe weather. He is polite but always timid and requests supplies for his ship's remaining journey. Captain Delano agrees to help but begins to notice the strange social interactions and atmosphere of Cereno's crew and the slaves.

This is the epic sea adventure, a harrowing tale of slavery and revolt aboard a Spanish ship, is often regarded as Melville's finest short story. The balance of forces is complete, the atmosphere one of epic significance, the light cast upon the hero intense to the highest degree, the realization of the human soul profound, and the telling of the story orchestrated like a great symphony.

"The Whale" (or "Moby Dick" as it is more commonly-known today) is the unforgettable story of Captain Ahab’s quest to avenge the whale that ‘reaped’ his leg. The quest and the novel is a story of how man can become blindly obsessed. The tale is also a testament to democracy and liberation, as the ship's crew work together for a common end. Ishmael, the novel’s narrator is a young, ordinary sailor learning the practice of whaling. Moby Dick is one of the greatest novels ever written and a timeless classic.

Reegarded by many as the greatest American novel, Herman Melville’s tale of the hunt for the white whale, Moby-Dick, is a sublime work of the imagination, an American Odyssey. It is at once an adventure story of the high seas, and an exploration of the uncharted regions of the soul.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville is one of the most celebrated works of fiction in the English language, a cornerstone of American literature, and an unflinching exploration of the human spirit. First published in 1851, this timeless classic has captivated generations with its daring narrative and profound themes, earning its place as a touchstone of literary excellence.

Evoking Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, this is a story of interlocking tales from a group of steamboat passengers traveling down the Mississippi toward New Orleans. Aboard the Fidèle can be found all manner of con men, from those selling stock in failing companies and herbal cure-all "medicines" to those who are raising money for supposed charitable organizations and those who simply ask for money outright.

The life of a Scrivener can be a dull one. After all, your entire occupation has to do with the handwritten copying of law documents. But when Bartleby arrives, he turns the office upside down with the enigmatic phrase: “I prefer not to.”

Ishmael, a sailor looking for his next adventure, and his friend who happens to be a former prince, sign up to join a whaling ship in Nantucket. The morning before they set sail on their voyage, many ominous signs of what the pair's fate may be are seen and heard through sermon and prophecy as the two friends ignore the warnings and make their way to the docks. Soon into the trip, the one-legged Captain Ahab announces that the whaling adventure is really a hunt for one very specific large, white sperm whale.

Herman Melville was born in New York City on 1st August 1819. His father died when he was 12, leaving the family in very straitened times. Two years later Melville took a job in a bank and followed up with a failed stint as a surveyor. He went to sea and travelled across to Liverpool and then to the Pacific on adventures. Presented here is perhaps his best known short story, ‘Bartleby, the Scrivener’, an enduring story of a Wall Street lawyer and his very particular assistant.

Do men need poems? Is the gender of brawn and ‘can-do’ really a candidate for honeyed verse? Obviously yes. Through the centuries men seem to dominate the writing of poetry. From books of epics to quatrains of love poetry it seemed to be a man’s world. His domain. A volume purely for men, to show other facets of their personalities and characters seems to be an obvious choice. One verse fits all is, in fact, far removed from the truth. Men needs words. They need support, understanding as well as goals, ambition and structure. They need purpose, desire; the need to love and be loved.

Contents: - Washington Irving. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Edgar Allan Poe. The Gold Bug - Herman Melville. Bartleby, the Scrivener - Bret Harte. The Luck of Roaring Camp - Leo Tolstoy. The Death of Ivan Ilyich - Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man - Rudyard Kipling. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi - Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The Yellow Wallpaper - Anton Chekhov. The Lady with the Dog - D.H. Lawrence. The Prussian Officer - James Joyce. Araby - Ivan Turgenev. First Love.

"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of Putnam's Magazine.

Billy Budd, an orphaned, illegitimate child suffused with innocence, openness, and natural charisma, has been impressed into service aboard the HMS Bellipotent. He is adored by the crew, but for unexplained reasons arouses the antagonism of the ship's Master-at-Arms John Claggart, who falsely accuses Billy of conspiracy to mutiny.

Herman Melville's life and writings continue to resonate with readers, inviting them into a world of adventure, philosophy, and introspection. His works inspire deep reflection on the human condition and the mysteries of existence. Melville's legacy as a literary pioneer, exploring the depths of the human psyche and confronting existential questions, remains enduring. His contribution to American literature and his ability to capture the essence of human experience make him a figure of profound significance in literary history.

Herman Melville wrote the 1855 novella Benito Cereno, a story about a revolt on a slaver ship, the San Dominick, off the coast of Chile in 1799. It is an adventure story which highlights the cruelty of slavery and the hopeless desperation that slaves experience. The tale begins when Captain Delano of the whaling ship Bachelor's Delight spots another ship approaching, floating listlessly with torn sails.

Herman Melville is now seen as one of the great figures in American literature, a man who expanded the role of the novel and gave new and complex depths to the meaning of a story. His best work uses the form of the novel or the story as a means of carrying and discussing concerns about the nature of humanity, the role of God, and a sometimes satiric, sometimes bitter, examination of colonialism and capitalism.

Herman Melville, known primarily for his epic Moby Dick, also wrote a number of equally incisive, but much shorter stories. This collection contains four of his best: "Bartelby the Scrivner", "Benito Cereno", "Jimmy Rose", and "The Fiddler".

Durante una travesia maritima, un grupo de esclavos negros se rebelan para obligar a que sean llevados de nuevo a su hogar africano. Esta es la base argumental de la novela, que forma parte de una antologia llamada Cuentos de la plaza que tienen en comun la descripcion de personas que viven por fuera de la sociedad.