Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Rostock (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: "No! In Thunder!" Herman Melville's Short Fiction, language: English, abstract: Herman Melville's work is characterized by a dominant overarching theme in most cases. One of the strongest motives is that of seamanship. Be it in "Moby Dick", "Billy Budd, Sailor" or "Benito Cerino". But how great is the impact of those themes on the overall plot or story and, in conjunction, would they play out the same in a land-based setting? To explore the psychological effects of isolation and confinement on the characters, this essay will mostly rely on studies by Jack Stuster. His work mainly deals with extreme isolation in arctic or space missions, but the same circumstances apply to life aboard a seagoing vessel, though to a lesser degree. In addition, the author draws on three years of personal experience working in a maritime setting, one year of which was spent on a civilian ship and two years of military service aboard navy vessels. The first chapter will define the distinctive features of Melville's chosen setting and seperate it from a dry land theme. In the second chapter, the essay will apply those features to the novel "Moby Dick" and the short story "Billy Budd, Sailor" in order to analyze their impact on the plot development.

19th century classic. Thoroughly annotated.

In a series of 35 original essays, this companion demonstrates the relevance of Melville’s works in the twenty-first century. Presents 35 original essays by scholars from around the world, representing a range of different approaches to Melville Considers Melville in a global context, and looks at the impact of global economies and technologies on the way people read Melville Takes account of the latest and most sophisticated scholarship, including postcolonial and feminist perspectives Locates Melville in his cultural milieu, revising our views of his politics on race, gender and democracy Reveals Melville as a more contemporary writer than his critics have sometimes assumed

An anthology of selected critical essays from the early reactions to a broad selection of more modern scholarship. With an extensive introduction by the editor, Robert Milder (Washington University, St. Louis). Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

From The Odyssey to Moby Dick to The Old Man and the Sea, the long tradition of sea voyage narratives is comprehensively explained here supported by discussions of key texts.