Herman Melville, A Writer of Contrasts
By Matthew Cox

Herman Melville is one of America’s best known writers. He covers many generas including essays, novels, and short stories. Perhaps his best-known work in Moby-Dick. It tells the story of Captain Ahab’s obsession of killing a white whale. The narrator, Ishmael, tells the tale in a clear way. He uses vivid descriptions of whales, Ahab, the sea, and the like. This story ends ironically. When Captain Ahab harpoons Moby Dick, he gets trapped in the rope and is pulled out to sea; the whale kills Ahab and not vice versa. Bartleby the Scrivener is different in both writing style and theme. It is a short story about a young man who works at a lawyer’s office. Bartleby is quiet and gives up on his work. He does not leave the law firm, even after it moves to a different location. Although the lawyer is kind to the scrivener, the writer dies by starving himself in jail. Herman Melville uses many writing styles and themes for his stories.
Herman Melville’s timeless tale, Moby Dick, written in 1851, is one of the English language’s most recognizable stories (Elliff). The plot centers on Captain Ahab, a whaler who is driven insane by a white whale who bit off his leg. The tale is told in the first person narrative by “Ishmael.” He knows a lot about whips, whales, and sailing. Also, readers get a first-hand view of what takes place. Every chapter provides insight into human nature.
Melville sets the tone of the story by including details about the setting and information about whales. He also states how other writers including Shakespeare and Hawthorne describe whales. Herman even writes about Biblical references to the sea-mammal. Melville uses such descriptions to illustrate how Ishmael talks about being bored with the land. The main character longs for adventures at sea. On his way to the ocean, he meets Queequeg. The native of the South seas is large, animated, and carries a small statue of his god, Yojo. Both friends travel together to the whaling port of Nantucket. They join the crew of Capt. Ahab aboard his ship, the Peaquod.
The obsessed and charismatic Captain anoints the White Whale “Moby-Dick.” He energizes the crew by promising a Spanish sixteen-dollar piece to the first crewman who spots the whale. During the voyage, the Peaquod captures several whales. Ishmael tells the reader everything he knows about these creatures. Later, the crew hears reports from others ships about their encounters with the White Whale. Ahab uses this information to pinpoint the exact location of the creature. He orders his crew to sail through a dangerous storm to meet Moby-Dick. However, the superstitious sailors view the gale as an omen. After the tempest passes, Ahab sees the whale and orders his ship to chase it. The Peaqod pursues Moby-Dick for three days. On the third day, the obsessed skipper orders his men to take small boats and harpoon the creature. However, the creature destroys the small vessels. Moby-Dick is enraged and smashes into the starboard bow. Ahab is horrified and throws a harpoon into the whale’s side. The rope gets caught around his neck. He gets pulled into the sea after the whale. The crew is demoralized by this and the sinking ship. It creates a whirlpool which sends debris from the Peaquod in every direction. Ishmael becomes the sole survivor because the coffin of Queequeg, who dies earlier in the book, floats to the surface.
Many critics and scholars find different meanings and significance in Moby-Dick (The Significance of the Narrator in Moby-Dick). Perhaps one of the most prominent features in the book is the first-person narration in the tale. Many literary experts feel that Ishmael links Ahab, the text, and the natural setting together. The narrator is mostly objective as he carefully explains the plot, setting, characters, and action. However, there are times that he becomes subjective and an unreliable narrator. For example, during the storm, he becomes scared like other people in the crew. He loses rational thought and believes that the storm is a bad omen for disaster. Some experts believe that this foreshadows the crew’s fate with Moby-Dick. Other critics say that Melville tried to desubjectify Ishmael by not providing enough background details. He is simply connects the reader to the story. The emotional impact of the book is not the whale hunt. It is really the narrator struggling to remain objective as he, the crew, and Ahab become increasingly caught up in their own feelings. Melville creates suspense by revealing small parts of the whale at a time. Not only does this keep readers guessing about the whale, but lets them question Ahab’s sanity as well.
Literary critics compare and contrast both Ishmael and Ahab. Both men are similar in many ways. For example, they have experience with boats and sailing. Also, such individuals love the sea. Also, Melville does not reveal a lot about their pasts Ishmael and Ahab; both men are a mystery to the reader. Their main differences include objectives. Ishmael sails because he likes the thrill of adventure. Ahab is bent on killing the whale that ate his leg. The narrator is level-headed and literal minded. The captain is losing his mind and does not act rationally. Eventually, he pays the price for his obsession by being carried out to sea by the whale. One may argue that the idea of the story is man verses nature. This is true because the Peagod’s crew face natural forces at sea. Also, the antagonist is a creature and not a person.
In contrast to Moby-Dick, “Bartleby the Scrivener,” published in 1853, does not deal with people dealing with outside forces (Bath). Instead, it involves a person confronting their own issues in life. The nameless narrator is a lawyer and businessman who helps wealthy people with mortgages, bonds, and deeds. His three scriveners are Bartleby, Nippers, and Turkey. The latter is drunk, but works well in the mornings when he is clearheaded. Nippers suffers from an eating disorder and has a bad temper. He only does a good job in the afternoon. Despite their shortcomings, both workers are a good balance and do their work. The lawyer hires Bartleby hoping that his quiet personality will help calm Turkey and Nippers down.
Although the new scrivener does his work well at first, he gets to be sloppy. For example, the lawyer asks him to proofread a document. Bartleby only answers “ I would prefer not to.” This goes on as he does less and less work. The young writer always says “I would prefer not to” when his boss asks him to do work. After a while, the lawyer discovers that Bartleby is living in the office. Nobody can explain his strange behavior. However, the narrator cannot get rid of him. Apparently, the young man manipulates his boss who feels sorry for him. The lawyer moves his office to a new location. However, the new tenants of the office cannot get rid of Bartleby. He is quiet, but hangs around the building. They get the lawyer to talk with Bartleby who does not listen. After a few days, the young scrivener get arrested. His health deteriorates from starvation. When his former boss checks on him, he refuses the narrator’s kindness. Later, the lawyer tries to make sure that Bartleby is getting enough to eat. However, the scrivener dies. We find out that the scrivener worked in the Dead letter Office before working for the law firm. The lawyer realizes that working there could have forced Bartleby over the edge. Also, the narrator sees that someone who isolates themselves from society is better off dead.
Although the short story appears to be simple, it opens up many complicated questions (Examining Three Different Literary Analyses of “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville). In order understand the issues in the tale, we can look at it from the perspectives of a formalist critic, a historical contextual critic, and a psychological critic. The expert in formalism ,Walter Anderson, suggests that Bartleby is a Christ-like figure who suffers for the redemption of humankind. Other characters represent various concepts from the Bible. For example, the lawyer symbolizes kindness and Christian love. The faults of Nipper and Turkey show how sinful people quarrel with each other. Writer Barbara Foley implies that the story represents the class struggle between rich and poor in the 1840’s. Melville depicts the lawyer’s kindness as hypocritical. Instead of helping Bartleby to improve himself, he only neglects the young scrivener’s needs. The narrator also pays his workers very little money and keeps most of it for himself. Literary Scholar Dennis R. Perry looks at the story from a psychological point of view. Bartleby suffers from a Compulsion Disorder. For example, he refuses to work, does not leave, the lawyer’s office, and refuses food in jail. Such behaviors are not typical because they are self-destructive. Only someone who is bent on such abnormal actions act like that.
Herman Melville uses many writing styles and themes for his stories. He covers a wide variety of subjects in his essays, novels, and short stories. Moby-Dick is one of Melville’s most popular stories. The plot involves Captain Ahab’s revenge against a whale that bit off his leg. The narrator is an experienced sailor named Ishmael. He colorfully describes the setting, characters, and action in the book. Ahab meets an ironic fate when he gets pulled to his death by the whale as he tried to harpoon it. “Bartleby the Scrivener” is a short story with a different idea and style of writing. This tales regards a law office worker who is very quiet. He starts out doing good work. As time goes on, he refuses to work and does not leave the law firm. He dies by starving himself in jail.



Works Cited


Bath, Felicia. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” planetpapers.com 2006. 29 February 2008.
http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/5748.php

Elliff, Benjamin. “A Critical Review of Herman Melville's Moby Dick.”
Ccwonline. 2001
29 February 2008 http://www.ccwonline.org/fineprint/moby.html

“Examining Three Different Literary Analyses of ‘Bartleby, the Scrivener’ by Herman
Melville.” 2008. 29 February 2008.
www.students.stedwards.edu/jpayne/academic/Bartleby.pdf

“The Significance of the Narrator in Moby-Dick.” thepequod.org. 2005.
29 February 2008.
http://www.thepequod.org.uk/essays/litcrit/mobydick.htm