Term Papers on Herman Melville- A Biography And Analysis

Term Paper Title	Herman Melville- A Biography And Analysis
# of Words	2566
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	10.26

herman melville- a biography and analysis

HERMAN MELVILLE:
A BIOGRAPHY AND ANALYSIS
Ì
English III
Jon Clausen
Saturday, March 15, 1997

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CONTENTS
PREFACE, OR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS       ii
I.     INTRODUCTION       1
II.     CHAPTER NAME, OR MAIN IDEA 1       n
III.     CHAPTER NAME, OR MAIN IDEA 2       n
IV.     CHAPTER NAME, OR MAIN IDEA 3       n
V.     CHAPTER NAME, OR MAIN IDEA 4       n
VI.     CHAPTER NAME, OR MAIN IDEA 5       n
APPENDIX       n
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY       n

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1.     Illustration 1       n
2.     Illustration 2       n
3.     Illustration 3       n
4.     Illustration 4       n
5.     Illustration 5       n

LIST OF TABLES
1.     Table 1       n
2.     Table 2       n
3.     Table 3       n
4.     Table 4       n
5.     Table 5       n

HERMAN MELVILLE:
A BIOGRAPHY AND ANALYSIS

     Throughout American history, very few authors have earned the right to be called “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.
     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 “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  “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 “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.
     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 both physically and mentally very ill. On January 28, 1832, Allan Melvill
died. The shock of his father’s financial collapse and his tragic death only slightly more than a year
later took its toll on Herman’s emotions. He was to draw upon this memory two decades later in
his writing of Pierre.
     In order to support the family, Herman took a position as an assistant clerk at a local bank, and
his brothers Gansevoort and Allan took over their late father’s fur business. Possibly because of
his mother’s concern over his health, Herman left his position at the bank in the spring of 1834
and spent a season working for his Uncle Thomas’s farm near Pittsfield.
     During the winter months of early 1835, Herman left Pittsfield and joined his brothers in the fur
business. Now fifteen and a half, he kept the books of the firm for the following two years. At
some time during this period he enrolled as a student in the Albany Classical School. He also
became am member in the Albany Young Men’s Association, a club for...

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