Difference between revisions of "Moby-Dick"
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
''Moby-Dick'', a novel by [[Herman Melville]] published in 1851, is considered one of the finest novels in the English language. The facts concern an obsession by one Captain Ahab to hunt and kill an albino whale named Moby-Dick. The meaning addresses the human struggle for meaning, happiness, and salvation. Historians view Moby-Dick as the epitome of American Romanticism. "Call me Ishmael" is the famous beginning of the book, and it cites other biblical figures and themes throughout its story. | ''Moby-Dick'', a novel by [[Herman Melville]] published in 1851, is considered one of the finest novels in the English language. The facts concern an obsession by one Captain Ahab to hunt and kill an albino whale named Moby-Dick. The meaning addresses the human struggle for meaning, happiness, and salvation. Historians view Moby-Dick as the epitome of American Romanticism. "Call me Ishmael" is the famous beginning of the book, and it cites other biblical figures and themes throughout its story. | ||
| − | The initial reviews of the novel were critical, and it was not until the 20th century that it received immense praise | + | The initial reviews of the novel were critical, and it was not until the 20th century that it received immense praise. Now, 155 years later, it is less popular among teachers. The shifting popularity of the novel may reflect the shifting views toward Christianity in American schools, as the novel's invocation of religion was perhaps too superficial for schools in the 1850s but too much for schools today. |
Revision as of 00:36, February 3, 2007
Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville published in 1851, is considered one of the finest novels in the English language. The facts concern an obsession by one Captain Ahab to hunt and kill an albino whale named Moby-Dick. The meaning addresses the human struggle for meaning, happiness, and salvation. Historians view Moby-Dick as the epitome of American Romanticism. "Call me Ishmael" is the famous beginning of the book, and it cites other biblical figures and themes throughout its story.
The initial reviews of the novel were critical, and it was not until the 20th century that it received immense praise. Now, 155 years later, it is less popular among teachers. The shifting popularity of the novel may reflect the shifting views toward Christianity in American schools, as the novel's invocation of religion was perhaps too superficial for schools in the 1850s but too much for schools today.