Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Herman Melville’s Message in Moby-Dick. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
In seven pages this paper considers how the author conveys his message of the limits of knowledge throughout his novel masterpiece and the ways in which he uses language and various literary devices including narrative and symbolism to get his point across. Ten sources are cited in the bibliography.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGmobydick.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
meantime, Americans were enjoying a calm before the storm. Author Herman Melville (1819-1891) was also enjoying his first taste of celebrity; however, he was not content to rest on
his literary laurels. Melville noticed "a world in transition," and struggled to understand the impacts of new technology and the latest scientific theories on time-honored religious views and classical
philosophy (Andriano 143). But he discovered that the more he knew, the less he understood. Inspired by the 1819 Essex whaling catastrophe, he embarked on a text about
the whaling industry of which he had firsthand experience (Loveday 1). But then with the encouragement of his friend and fellow author Nathaniel Hawthorne, Melville decided to combine what
he believed to be the limits of knowledge in offering concrete explanations for such hot topics of the day as Darwinism (or evolution), whether life was determined by fate or
free will, and racism into what would become his masterpiece, Moby-Dick (Doctorow 55; Loveday 1). When delivering a lecture on Herman Melville, E.L. Doctorow speculated on the authors construction process
for Moby-Dick, which required him to structure an entire novel around one event - "a single life and death encounter with a whale (55). Naturally, this represents the books
climax, but how would Melville fill the huge writing gap between the introduction and the climax? He could have composed a short work that could have utilized some flashbacks
leading up to the climax (Doctorow 55). But for Melville, that would have represented a quick fix and not consistent with his detailed style of writing. As Doctorow
noted of Melville, "Whatever he writes about, he takes his time" (55). He would establish an intimacy through language that will appear as if the book is actually having
...