Herman Melville: A Study of His Work and Writing Advice

Herman Melville had never been one to shy away from his own opinions and fascinations. Drawing inspiration from his own whaling adventures and voyages and real historical whaling events, one of the most famous American novels, by the name of Moby Dick, was written and published in 1851.

Born in New York City in 1819, Melville hopped around from job to job and eventually to sea voyages while trying to find stable work and income to support himself and his family. Several of the jobs he was able to acquire required him to work in the whaling industry aboard ships destined for foreign lands.

Later, Melville would go on to do more research into whaling adventures and more specific legends famous amongst whalers, including The Essex—which crashed in 1820—and the famous Mocha Dick—a very large whale residing on the coast of Chile who was hunted and eventually killed for oil in 1838.

Melville’s Inspirations & Early Writing Career

Herman Melville was largely inspired by his own experiences on various whaling expeditions. He was drawn to the captivating creatures and the audacious personalities that he would encounter on ships like the St. Lawrence and the Acushnet. Melville himself was somewhat reserved, but often switched between flickers of depression and euphoria.

He found himself working as a cabin boy on the St. Lawrence and from there—with the odd teaching job and store clerk positions—Melville sought sea travels as a stable income for the next several years. This time at sea led Melville to have quite a few stories to write about and draw inspiration from. In 1842, after having a rough time aboard, Melville and a friend decided to jump ship into the Polynesian Marquesas Islands. Melville was soon captured by the cannibalistic Typee people. About a month later, he escaped onto another vessel, the Lucy Ann. However, hard times didn’t end here and Melville was accused of mutiny and put in jail in Tahiti. From here he managed to escape again and fled to Hawaii and worked as a store clerk until 1844 when he again set sail, this time heading for Boston.

His time with the Typee people inspired his first novel, titled Typee, which was published in 1846. And just a year later, Omoo, the sequel was published in 1847. Like the reputation whalers held, Melville now had an adventurous writing reputation of his own following the success of these two novels. For a time, Melville and his family found the income from his writing to be sustainable. Financial pressures soon returned to the family after the unfortunate death of Melville’s older brother, Gansevoort, only aged 30 and the marriage between Herman Melville and Elizabeth Shaw. The rushed writings and publications of Melville’s next two novels, Redburn and White-Jacket, did not receive the praise that Melville had hoped for.

These novels were most likely so rushed due to the family’s financial troubles, but also the pressure Melville was feeling in trying to follow up his previous novels—which were both praised for their crazed adventures and enthusiasm Melville seemed to show for their contents. Critics did not respond the same way, however, and Melville took the opportunity to move in a different direction.

Moby Dick

His next novel, the famed Moby Dick, was published in 1851. At this point in his life, it may not be a reach to claim that while Melville was still interested in whaling adventures, he was equally as interested in the deeper levels of humanity that he found he could reach through his writings. Moby Dick is an adventure and has some of the same qualities as Typee and Omoo, but it also is written by a version of Melville that had survived the death of a beloved brother, was married, and now resided on his farm, Arrowhead, in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.

Known for its perpetual ambiguity and rife symbolism, Moby Dick was not well received at the time of its publication.  Many readers and critics were not satisfied with the emotion and insights into humanity the novel provided. Despite the complexities found in Moby Dick, readers of this time were not looking for an allegorical novel—it wasn’t until the 1920s that readers began to turn to this kind of novel and appreciated Moby Dick for what it is. The opposite can be said when comparing critics of the 21st century and critics if the 19th century, however, as many of them prefer the decreasing sanity and internal tensions that Moby Dick provides.

Moby Dick is very loosely based on Melville’s own experiences among the seas and also takes inspiration from a real historical event in which a whaleship, The Essex, sank in the Pacific Ocean in 1820. Much like The Essex, the crew in Moby Dick board the Pequod. Both real and fictional ships are sailing out of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The Essex was attacked by a sperm whale and many of the crew members died instantly or were stranded adrift and some were even reduced to cannibalism for survival. This horrendous tale spread amongst whalers and became very popular in the 19th century.

While Captain Ahab of Moby Dick was attacked on a previous expedition by a whale—like those on The Essex—the differences start here. Captain Ahab, accompanied by Starbuck, Queequeg, and the narrator, Ishmael, set off to hunt and kill a white whale, named Moby Dick, which bit off his Captain Ahab’s leg. Ahab is all consumed with this task and despite hearing the doubts of others, pursues the whale endlessly, and ultimately to his and his crews demise—with the exception of the novels narrator, Ishmael. This rage envelops Ahab and he follows a self-destructive path, one which Melville keeps persistent until the very end. It becomes clear that Captain Ahab is aware of his madness and knows that he should relinquish the anger he has towards Moby Dick, but he cannot, and he witting and foolishly hunts the whale down.

A Friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne—Hawthorne’s Influence on Melville

Like Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne struggled financially to provide for his family solely based on his writing career. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Hawthorne met Melville on a hike and picnic to the Berkshires in August of 1850. Both novelists wished to be recognized for their literary endeavors, and unlike Melville, Hawthorne earned widespread success and popularity with the publication of The Scarlett Letter in 1850.

At the time that Hawthorne was writing The Scarlett Letter, Melville was drafting Moby Dick. Melville drew much inspiration from his friendship with Hawthorne. In the couple of years that Melville and Hawthorne knew each other, they grew a close relationship. Letters Melville had written and his Moby Dick dedication to Hawthorne suggest that perhaps their relationship may have been more than just friendship, despite both of them being married. Nathaniel Hawthorne proved to be a great influence on Melville and convinced him to convert his latest whaling adventure into a more allegorical novel. Hawthorne’s novels were known to be allegorical, especially his most recent at the time. Melville also likely drew inspiration from the lengthy and conceptual conversations him and Hawthorne held. During their first meeting in 1850, the two men were forced to seek refuge in a cave while waiting out a storm during their hike and picnic up Monument Mountain.

Melville’s letters and reviews of Hawthorne’s work certainly makes an audience ponder upon the true nature of their relationship but none of it is quite clear on what really happened between them, especially since Melville’s was published a few weeks before the two men officially met—one of the many mysteries of the literary world. Melville’s represented feelings could have all been one sided or a daring act on his part to the much reserved Hawthorne.

We’re lucky that these writings and Melville’s works are so accessible today, as his writing career pretty much ended more than 30 years before his death in 1891. It was matriarchs of the Melville family that preserved his work and who are responsible for his lauded reception in the 20th century.

Herman Melville’s Writing Advice

Melville was deeply inspired by real historical events and his surroundings. The mountains and landscapes around his Arrowhead farm are the subject of several of his poems and novels. He was often heard describing the slopes of the mountains looking like the curves of a whale. Melville was also inspired by the Civil War and had personal ties to soldiers, and published Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the Civil War: Civil War Poems in 1866.

While he wasn’t exactly the most popular author during his time, it could be presumed that his advice would mostly consist of writing what you feel is best. Melville’s writing career was sporadic over his lifetime. His financial troubles caused him to hold many types of employment which provided him with many types of experiences. His most influential being his time as a whaler, and while Melville published works about whaling expeditions and stories on the seas, much of the time he spent writing was actually from his Arrowhead farm. He spent a majority of days taking care of his animals, spending time with them, watching them eat—especially his favored cow, taking walls, and generally spending time in nature. For 13 years, Melville resided at Arrowhead farm with his family, including his mother and four sisters. He was, in general, inspired by the nature and landscapes that surrounded him in the Berkshires.

A community of Shakers, a particular sect of Christians, inspired the character Gabriel in Moby Dick. Melville was also inspired by Mt. Greylock, which he could see in the view from Arrowhead. Many of the places that Melville frequented can be visited by tourists or anyone looking to learn more about the author. Click here to see a list and directions for visiting.

While there isn’t much that Melville directly said that relates to advice to writers, it can be presumed that he would say to surround yourself with nature and observe the beautiful things that you find are around you. Based on his pattern of published works, I think Melville would also advise to write what you actually want the world to see. Despite the not-so-great reviews Melville received for a couple of his earlier works, after much success from Typee and Omoo, Melville went in the direction he felt was right anyway. This didn’t earn him any more praise, but also didn’t deter him from immediately writing more. Inspired by Nataniel Hawthorne, Melville saw the depth in his writing and instilled it into his own. Melville was all about authentic experiences and writing down what you thought was interesting. Clearly this was adventure and whaling expeditions for Melville, but I don’t think he would be too upset if that was something different for his readers and fellow writers.

Discussion Questions

Below are some discission questions. Feel free to answer these questions in a comment below the article or on your own in a journal or note. There are no right or wrong answers. These questions are completely open ended and are meant to be fun! We look forward to reading what you’ll come up with.

Based on what you now know about Herman Melville, leave a comment about your thoughts on Herman Melville. Have you read Moby Dick before? Was it enjoyable or did you feel it was lacking?

·       If Herman Melville were alive today, what author do you think he would enjoy meeting and why? What would be his favorite modern book?

·       What other 19th century writers do you feel had the same impact that Herman Melville did?

·       Herman Melville was largely inspired by his whaling adventures. Are you also inspired by your own adventures, or do you prefer to write using your imagination? Maybe you use both experiences from your own life and a mix of imagination?

·       Herman Melville’s Moby Dick was not received as well as his previous works. This even happens with authors of the 21st century. Do you think this is inevitable? What could writers and authors potentially do to find their specific audience?