Showing results by author "Herman Melville" in All Categories

Moby-Dick is widely considered to be the Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story details the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whale ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale: Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. And Ahab intends to take revenge.

Ignoring prophecies of doom, the seafarer Ishmael joins the crew of a whaling expedition that is an obsession for the ship's captain, Ahab. Once maimed by the White Whale, Moby Dick, Ahab has set out on a voyage of revenge. With godlike ferocity, he surges into dangerous waters - immune to the madness of his vision, refusing to be bested by the forces of nature.

Widely considered one of the great American novels, Herman Melville's masterpiece went largely unread during his lifetime and was out of print at the time of his death in 1891. Called the greatest book about the sea ever written by D.H. Lawrence, Moby Dick features detailed descriptions of whale hunting and whale oil extraction as well as beautiful, incisive writing on race, class, religion, art, and society.  

Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street is a short story by Herman Melville, first serialized in a magazine in 1853, and reprinted with minor edits in The Piazza Tales in 1856. Set in the mid-19th century on Wall Street, the story tells of a lawyer who employs Bartleby, a new clerk, who, after an initial stint of hard work, refuses to perform any task required of him, with the words, "I would prefer not to." The narrator attempts to reason with Bartleby to no avail, and Bartleby starts living at the office. 

The outcast youth Ishmael, succumbing to wanderlust during a dreary New England autumn, signs up for passage aboard a whaling ship. The Pequod sails under the command of the one-legged Captain Ahab, who has set himself on a monomaniacal quest to capture the cunning white whale that robbed him of his leg: Moby-Dick. Capturing life on the sea with robust realism, Melville details the adventures of the colorful crew aboard the ship as Ahab pursues his crusade of revenge, heedless of all cost.

Labeled variously a realistic story of whaling, a romance of unusual adventure and eccentric characters, a symbolic allegory, and a drama of heroic conflict, Moby Dick is first and foremost a great story. It has both the humor and poignancy of a simple sea ballad, as well as the depth and universality of a grand odyssey.

The Nantucket whaling ship, the Pequod, spirals the globe in search of Moby Dick, the mythical white whale of the Southern Oceans. Driven on by the obsessive revenge of Captain Ahab, the crew and the outcast Ishmael find themselves caught up in a demonic pursuit which leads inexorably to an apocalyptic climax.

"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.

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.

Call me Ishmael. These three famous words begin one of America's most epic novels, a tale of one obsessed captain, his doomed crew, and an elusive white whale named Moby-Dick. The massive original, however, can be very hard for young listeners to navigate. This beautifully abridged and adventure-filled version will thrill children and whet their appetite for the complete work - when they are ready to tackle it. 

Captain Ahab, stomps around his ship on a peg leg that was caused by a huge whale called Moby Dick. Ahab is so crazed by his desire to kill the whale, that it becomes his sole reason for living. He is prepared to sacrifice everything, including his life, the lives of his crew members, and even his ship to find and destroy his nemesis, Moby Dick.

Billy Budd, Sailor is a novella by Herman Melville which was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1891. Ecstatically received by critics in 1924 when a hastily transcribed version was published, it soon became second in importance only to Moby Dick among the author’s works. Budd is a sailor who strikes and inadvertently kills John Claggart, the Master-at-arms. The ship's Captain, Edward Vere, is aware of Budd's lack of intent but the law of mutiny requires him to sentence Billy to be hanged. 

"Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas" is the second book by American writer Herman Melville, first published in London in 1847, and a sequel to his first South Sea narrative Typee, also based on the author's experiences in the South Pacific. After leaving the island of Nuku Hiva, the main character ships aboard a whaling vessel that makes its way to Tahiti, after which there is a mutiny and a third of the crew are imprisoned on Tahiti.

Kapitän Amaso Delano nimmt im Morgengrauen ein fremdes Schiff wahr - unkontrolliert und ohne Flagge treibt es auf den Hafen zu, in dem er vor Anker liegt. Delano vermutet, dass das Schiff in Seenot geraten ist, und möchte helfen. Doch damit bringt er sich in große Schwierigkeiten, denn aufständische schwarze Sklaven haben dort das Ruder übernommen und der einstige Kapitän Benito Cereno muss um sein Leben bangen. "Benito Cereno" ist eine vielschichtig erzählte Novelle über die Konsequenzen von Rassismus und das Ausmaß menschlicher Grausamkeit, eindringlich gelesen von Rolf Boysen.

"Not long ago, having published two narratives of voyages in the Pacific, which, in many quarters, were received with incredulity, the thought occurred to me, of indeed writing a romance of Polynesian adventure, and publishing it as such; to see whether, the fiction might not, possibly, be received for a verity: in some degree the reverse of my previous experience - this thought was the germ of others, which have resulted in Mardi."

"Moby-Dick" or "The Whale" is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee.

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.  

"Benito Cereno" ist eine Erzählung des amerikanischen Schriftstellers Herman Melville, die erstmals in drei Teilabdrucken im Oktober, November und Dezember 1855 in der Zeitschrift Putnam’s Monthly Magazine veröffentlicht und 1856 zusammen mit fünf anderen kürzeren Erzählungen in einer leicht veränderten Fassung in den Sammelband "The Piazza Tales" aufgenommen wurde. Die von der Literaturkritik nach der anfänglich zumeist positiven Aufnahme lange Zeit eher unbeachtete Erzählung gilt aus heutiger Sicht als eines der bedeutendsten kürzeren Prosawerke Melvilles.

Kapitän Ahab ist besessen von seiner Jagd nach Moby Dick, den weißen Wal, der ihn zum Krüppel gemacht hat. Ein aufregendes Abenteuer auf Leben und Tod kreuz und quer durch die Weltmeere.

Die Jagd nach dem weißen Wal wird für Kapitän Ahab zu einer Lebensaufgabe und auch zu einem aufregenden Abenteuer auf Leben und Tod. Er ist besessen von einem einzigen Gedanken: Er will Rache üben an seinem Todfeind, Moby Dick, dem riesigen weißen Wal, der ihn zum Krüppel gemacht hat. Mit seinem Walfänger durchsegelt er die sieben Weltmeere.