Reading the Classics #51: Herman Melville

Herman Melville (1819-1891) is one of the greatest American authors of all time. That’s just how it is. You just need to make sure that you start off with the right book. Let me explain. My first experience of Herman Melville was when I read Billy Budd, Sailor. I was new to reading Classics at this point, so the tone was very different for me. The language as well is also a bit hard to read. So I finished this, and concluded that Melville was a bad writer and that I would never read anything of his again. I persisted in that belief for a while, but eventually I decided to try again. So this time I read Moby-Dick, and I absolutely loved it. If I had started on that one first, then I would never have thought badly of Melville. So yeah, that’s my own little story. But we have books to discuss now. The books of Herman Melville.

1. Moby-Dick

2. Typee

3. The Piazza Tales

4. Billy Budd, Sailor

5. Israel Potter

For those of you who haven’t heard of Moby-Dick, it’s the tale of a crew of whalers in pursuit of the infamous whale Moby-Dick. The crazed Captain Ahab, the Polynesian sailor Queequeg, and the main character Ishmael make up the main cast. Among discourses on nature and philosophy, the crew sail the seas in search of the whale, and finally meet with it in the climax. It’s a masterpiece of fiction. Based off of Melville’s own adventures, the story unfolds in a delightful way, and is arguably the greatest work of American fiction. Definitely a must-read.

Typee was the novel that propelled Herman Melville into the spotlight. This was also based off of his own experiences, but the story is quite different. While on a voyage, two sailors crash-land on an island in the Pacific. They quickly find themselves among the Typee, an infamous cannibal tribe. Thinking the white men to be gods, the Typee honor them in many ways, but refuse to let them leave. Now it’s up to the sailors to either wait among the cannibals for help, or try to get out themselves. I really enjoyed this story, and I would recommend it to others. 

The Piazza Tales are a collection of 6 short stories first published in 1856. Perhaps the most famous one is Bartleby the Scrivener. I think it was my favorite story of them all. I don’t really remember the other stories; it’s been a while since I read The Piazza Tales. Overall, though, I remember liking them. It’s a good read, if you feel like reading it. 

Ah, we come to Billy Budd, Sailor, the book that made me hate Melville. Looking at it again after such a long time, I both hate this book and love it. Billy Budd is an innocent-looking young man, always helping aboard the ship and trying to make friends when he can. However, when another sailor provokes him he strikes back, and accidentally kills him. The captain must now come to a decision: Hang Budd for murder, even though it was unintentional, or let him be and risk the consequences? It’s a fascinating story, incorporating elements of ethics and philosophy. The only reason I put it so low, is that my original reading experience kinda ruined the book for me.

The last book I’m reviewing today is Israel Potter. I didn’t really enjoy this one. The character and the plot are easily forgettable. It didn’t stand out to me in anyway. Sorry Melville, but I just can’t give this one a good review. 

Well, I hope you found that interesting. Herman Melville was supposed to be Post #35, but then I replaced him with Sinclair Lewis. After that he was going to be #43, but then I decided to do Willaim Faulkner instead, so it got pushed back again to here. You’ll notice that Billy Budd, Sailor appears in 1924 on the timeline, even though Melville died in 1891. That’s because he never published it during his lifetime, but it was published posthumously about 35 years later. As always, thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next time!

1630-1651- Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford

1819- Rip van Winkle by Washington Irving

1820- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

1839- The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

1842- The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe

1842-1843- The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe

1843- The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

1844-1845- The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe

1845- The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

1846- Typee by Herman Melville

1849- Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe

1851- Moby-Dick by Herman Meville

1855- Israel Potter by Herman Melville

1856- The Piazza Tales by Herman Melville

1878- Daisy Miller by Henry James

1880- Washington Square by Henry James

1881-The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

1886- The Bostonians by Henry James

1888- The Aspern Papers by Henry James

1898- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

1903- The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James

1908- The Jolly Corner by Henry James

1920- Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

1922- Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis

1924- Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville

1925- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

1926- The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

1927- Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway

1929- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

          A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

          The Dunwich Horror by H.P. Lovecraft

1930- As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

1935- It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

1936- Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

          At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft

1940- For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

1941- The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft

1950- Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov

          I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

1952- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

1955- A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor

1957- The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

1960- The Violent Bear it Away by Flannery O’Connor