James Webster Jr., age 13, of Bessemer, Ala., for his question:
WHO WROTE 'MOBY DICK'?
One of the great novels in all of literature is "Moby Dick," a book that was written by Herman Melville, a man who, ranks among America's major authors.
Many of Melville's other works are literary creations of a high order. His books blend fact, fiction, adventure and subtle symbolism. Melville's wealth of personal experience in faraway places was remarkable even in the footloose and exploring world of the 1800s.
Melville brought to his extraordinary adventures a vivid imagination and a remarkable skill in handling the new American language.
Melville was born in New York City in 1819. The family name was Melvill until the author added the "e" later. Father was a well to do merchant from New England and mother came from an old and socially prominent New York Dutch family.
After his first 11 years in New York City, the family moved to Albany, N.Y. where Melville worked as a clerk in his brother's hat store. Later he was a bank clerk and also taught school.
In 1837 Melville sailed to Liverpool, England, as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. He described this voyage in his novel "Redburn."
A bit later Melville signed on the newly built whaling ship Acushnet for a trip in the Pacific Ocean. From this trip came the basic experiences recorded in several of his books, and above all, the whaling knowledge he put into "Moby Dick."
Melville sailed from New Bedford on the Acushnet in 1841 and stayed aboard for 18 months, helping to catch and cut up whales. But when the ship put in at Nakahiva in the Marquesas Islands, he and a shipmate jumped ship. He told of his Polynesian adventure in "Types."
Melville then traveled the beautiful and unspoiled islands of Tahiti and Moorea. He described this adventure in his novel "Omoo."
After a tour of duty on another whaling ship, Melville landed at the Sandwich Islands where he lived by doing odd jobs. Then early in 1844 he enlisted as a seaman on the frigate United States, flagship of the Navy's Pacific Squadron. Later he recounted his long voyage around Cape Horn to the United States in the novel "White Jacket."
Later in 1844, Melville was released from the Navy and headed home to Albany. His imagination was overflowing with his adventures.
Melville wrote about his experiences so attractively that he very soon became one of the most popular writers of his time. The books that made his reputation were "Types" (1846); "Omoo" (1847); "Mardi" (1849), a complex allegorical romance set in the South Seas; "Redburn" (1849), and "White Jacket" (1850).
Then came "Moby Dick" in 1851. On one level it is the story of the hunt for Moby Dick, a fierce white whale. Captain Ahab is the captain of the whaling ship. He has lost a leg in an earlier battle with Moby Dick, and is determined to catch the whale.
On another level, "Moby Dick" is a deeply symbolic story. The whale represents the mysterious and complex force of the universe, and Captain Ahab represents the heroic struggle against the limiting and crippling constrictions which confront an intelligent and non passive man.
Melville died in 1891. He left the manuscript of "Billy Budd," a short novel that was published in 1924. It is considered Melville's finest book after "Moby Dick."