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1、SelectedReadingsinAmericanLiteratureUnit5HERMANMELVILLE(1819-1891)HermanMelville(1819-1891)anAmericannovelist,shortstorywriter,essayistandpoet.HermanMelville(1819-1891)LifeWorksEvaluationMoby-DickLifeMelville’schildhoodwashappytotheageof11,whenhisfatherdiedindebt.MelvillewasborninNewYorkC
2、ity.Bothhisparentscamefromwell-to-dofamilies,butlatertheirfamilybusinessfailed.Hehadlittleeducation.Hehadtoleaveschoolattheageof15,andbegantowork.Heworkedasaclerk,afarmerandateacher,beforebecomingacabinboyonashipatabouttwenty.Therearethreethingswhichdeservementionabouthislife:goingouttose
3、a,hismarriageandhisfriendshipwithHawthorne.Melvillewasawhaler,thelowestofsailors.HewenttoLiverpool,EnglandandtheSouthPacific,spendingmostofhisyoungmanhoodundergoingoneofthemostbrutalizingexperiencesforaman.Hisexperiencesandadventuresontheseafurnishedhimwithabundantmaterialforfiction.Thema
4、rriedlifeofMelvillewasmorelikethatofScottFitzgeraldthanMarkTwains.Thesemenallmarriedabovethem.MarkTwainsenjoyedtheunderstandingofhiswife.BothMelvilleandFitzgeraldhadtodohackworkforthemoneytheyneededtokeeptheirwivesintheirextravagantstyle.MelvillemarriedElizabethShaw,thedaughterofawealthyj
5、udge.Tosupportherandtheirgrowingfamily,hehadtowriteformoney.Duringthesummerof185o,MelvilleandHawthornemet.Theyexchangedvisits,meetingatleastninetimes,andwrotetooneanotheroften.MelvillesawinHawthornetheoneAmericanwhowasexpressivelyawareoftheevilatthecoreofAmericanlife.HefoundHawthorne’sund
6、erstandingofevil,thatblacknessofvision,unusuallyfascinating.WorksRedburn1849Typee1846Omoo1874MobyDick1851Mardi1849WhiteJacket1850Pierre1852BillyBudd(posthumously)TheConfidenceManBattlePieces1866EvaluationMobyDickis,criticshaveagreed,oneoftheworld’sgreatestmasterpieces.Togettoknowthe19thce
7、nturyAmericanmindandAmericaitself,onehastoreadthisbook.Itisanencyclopediaofeverything,history,philosophy,religion,etc.inadditiontoadetailedaccountoftheoperationsofthewhalingindustry.“Toscalegreatheights,wemustcomeoutofthelowestdepths.Thewaytoheavenisthroughhell.Wene
